Zina, North Cameroon

Solidarity among all parties

In Zina a school class from Kantonsschule Obwalden took part in a project against hunger and poverty in North Cameroon. In the village of Zina some of the young men almost overstretched themselves, but the solidarity within the group saved them.

Zina is situated right in the centre of the Waza-Logone plain. Because the fish population in the river Logomatya had diminished dramatically over the years, the men had to find new ways of feeding their families. A group of villagers therefore presented a "twin-project" to IPA, the cultivation of rice and the start of a fish farm. A school class from Kantonsschule Obwalden took up the project. For several months the young people ran a fund-raising campaign in central Switzerland. Finally the whole school took part in a charity run. The result of this solidarity was that both projects could be financed.

The rice project was realised without any major problems. In the first year over 20 tons of rice were harvested. Now "The young farmers and fishermen of Zina", as the villagers called themselves, intended to dig out the fish pond. It was going to be 60 metres long, 20 metres wide, and 3 metres deep. Although the group had meanwhile increased to almost fifty persons, the start of the project was postponed again and again. But during the dry period the soil became harder and harder and the task of digging out 3,600 cubic metres of earth with only simple picks, hoes and shovels got more and more difficult.

The men launched an appeal for a "war effort"

With temperatures rising to almost fifty degrees Celsius they desperately struggled to reach their aim, but finally had to accept the fact that they didn't have the necessary manpower to dig out the pond before the rainy season began. Now they challenged the solidarity of the other villagers and appealed to them to make a so-called "war effort". A lot of men joined the group and offered their help. Altogether another 1,000 work days were invested. "I no longer believed that we would ever achieve our aim", one of the young men later admitted. "I feared that all our efforts had been in vain." The fish pond, however, was completed in time and three different kinds of fish were released. Almost a year later 1,8 tons of fish could be "harvested". This was in May, at the time of year which is known as the hunger period.

A far-reaching echo

This was a big success indeed! The men in the village were now able to feed their families and to send their children to school. Now it was their turn to show their solidarity. They had promised to do so in an agreement they had previously signed. Like in similar IPA projects the Swiss students had offered their help on condition that part of the profit would be given to the village community. So first of all they granted the salary of a village teacher. In future they plan to buy desks, chairs and course books. Later on they intend to support the medical centre as well.

The village benefits from the project in several ways, hunger and poverty have lessened, the villagers can participate in the success of the fish farm, which at the same time gives the natural fish population in the river a chance to recover. Not surprisingly the village soon had visitors. Civil servants working for the Ministry of Economy went on the long journey from Yaoundé to Zina to analyse the project and establish it as a model example for other fish farms. The mutual solidarity has had a tremendous effect and the Swiss students can surely be satisfied with the result of their work.