A shop selling Christmas ornaments in Yaoundé, Cameroon.…
I have been finding out how SOS Children's Villages supports families in Cameroon. At this time increased food prices, the family support work in Mbalmayo had the wonderful idea of creating a community field cultivated by and for the families in the programme. The goal is to help them improve their living conditions.
- Lisa
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A shop selling Christmas ornaments in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
I have been finding out how SOS Children's Villages supports families in Cameroon.
At this time increased food prices, the family support work in Mbalmayo had the wonderful idea of creating a community field cultivated by and for the families in the programme. The goal is to help them improve their living conditions.
The community field is located approximately 15 kilometers from the SOS Children's Village Mbalmayo, on a two hectares plot of land. The choice of the cultivation was left to the families and they opted for plantain - one of the most eaten foods in the locality. There are additional plots for cassava and macabo, which are other essential foodstuffs. Macabo is a local tubercle among the most popular in Cameroon. It can appear in a cylindrical form or sometimes broader down. The ways of cooking vary from one region to another.
Plantain plays an important role in feeding the population in Cameroon. Plantain is always in demand, in urban as well as in rural areas. The price, like that of other foods and products of first necessity, has increased significantly. A look at price changes within a year revealed that from 2,500 CFA (1,000 CFA = approx. 1.5 euro) francs a few months ago, hands of plantain are now sold between 5,000 and 6,000 CFA francs. This increase is, according to the traders, the consequence of higher fuel costs - having a great impact on food transportation - and climatic variations which often cause shortages.
The first harvests started from September 2008 with cassava, and then macabo will be ready to harvest a few months later. The plantain is harvested around April 2009.
The food will be used both for the daily consumption of the families as well as for sale. A portion of funds generated from the sale will be redistributed to the beneficiaries and the other will be used for the running of the programme.
- Mary
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Snow covered scenery in Serbia.
Ms Zaklina Popovic, sponsorship coordinator of SOS Children's Village Kraljevo, describes winter in Serbia.
The day of the first snowflakes is always special. People never really grow out of the joy of the first snow. I love to see the smiles on the faces of the littlest ones in our SOS Children's Village, who were too young, last year, to remember the snow. I wait to hear their shrieks of joy and amazement.
I know I won't be able to avoid the "stray" snowballs when I go home after work. I can't wait for the sledges and the reddened little hands, the pinkish noses and rosy cheeks. And snowflakes falling on spread little hands and melting on the little fingers and palms.
The children talk of New Year's celebrations, of Christmas, of Frosty, of Santa Claus, of the wishes they made and the letters they sent. This first snow is a delightful time.
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