Essential is the word for Médecins Sans Frontières MSF (Doctors Without Borders) who, because they are independent of any government agenda, go where they are needed without fear or favor. One of the places they go is Cameroon where they provide critical work fighting drug resistant HIV, Buruli ulcers and cholera. You can help support this work with an expedition to Culture Shock.

One of the complaints my friends from Africa have voiced is that too often, all we hear from Africa is war, famine and disease. We don’t hear about the vibrant culture and the joy of Africa. A Cameroonian poet Emmanuel Fru Doh wrote about this in his poem Telling Africa. I think it is important that while supporting this essential work of MSF, we remember that the people they serve are more than their diseases, that they have a rich cultural tradition and a long history. That link will take you to a collection of Cameroonian poetry – a small window into the wider panorama of life there.

Continue reading →