The Water of Life and Joy
The Mokolo Dam which collects water from the mountains.
In our Delegation we live in two different situations.
- South Cameroon which has two rainy seasons each year;
- North Cameroon and Chad which have one rainy season that lasts from June to September.
The people await the rainy season with impatience because it enables them to cultivate the land and give better care to their animals. It is the time of the year when everything breathes and lives.
During the dry season in North Cameroon and Chad, everything is dry, the animals are without pastures, and families who live in villages where SNEC (The National Society of Cameroonian Water) does not supply water have to travel long distances to get it. Water then becomes a precious commodity and a real talking point. During this time, the wells, the boreholes and selling points for water are invaded and we have to wait a long time for our turn to draw water or to buy it. Many people suffer from a lack of water. Those who live in rural areas, especially, have to make long journeys to buy water and it is even difficult to find water sheets to draw water from the wells or the boreholes.
In urban centres, water can be cut off for days and then the people have to go to nearby neighbourhoods to buy it.
From North to South, from East to West, water means life; it gives life, gathers the people together and is the cause of a lot of discussion about how to survive during the dry season in Chad and North Cameroon. It is a sign of welcome and friendship; it is a symbol of purity and innocence but it is also the place where evil spirits dwell.
O water, you enable my people to live;
Nothing can be done without you …
Neither cooking nor washing and many other things besides.
You enable our animals to live too
By the greenery which covers our soil
And produces food for humans, animals, birds…
It is you that fill the rivers that give us fish…
Sister water, when you withdraw, we have beautiful sand to beautify our houses and land…
You are the best thing we have,
Because it is you that we offer to our guests when they arrive.
You enable us to welcome and open our houses to passers-by.
Strangers become friends when they stop by to ask for a drink.
Sometimes you cause us to despair
When you flood and take everything from us,
Knocking down our houses with your power, and destroying our crops.
Dear water, do not be so cruel.
O water, source of life and source of joy…
You who are our companion on our journey
Let us find you; let us see you.
Be calm, gentle and loving!
The Delegation of Cameroon Chad
