WeWilNotTurnOur

As the "War on Terrorism" blazes through the American media, there is no escape from its barrage. Yet we wonder exactly where this war should be fought, and exactly who the enemy is. Concurrently, and for many years with little help and attention from the rest of the world, a devastating war silently rages on in Africa. In this war the enemy and the battlefield are painfully clear. Across an entire continent every community, every health care worker, and every youth with the hope of having a healthy future is at risk. When we last visited Cameroon in March of 2001, 40% of all army recruits in that country were testing HIV positive.   Midwifes told us 30-40% of the mothers giving birth were also testing positive for AIDS. We are not sure of the present statistics, but we fear the worst.

   Beckoned by the need for help of any kind, a troupe of 5 Troubadors will leave for the Northwest Province of Cameroon October 15th, using music and theater to illuminate the principles of HIV/AIDS prevention through music and theater. Arriving after the rainy season can no longer swamp the van we travel in and before the dust begins to choke our vocal chords, for the fourth time in five years we will continue our collaboration with Kongadzem, a tireless and dedicated organization of Nso women indigenous to this region. Visiting secondary schools, health clinics, tribal chiefs' compounds and rural town centers, we will perform for almost 15,000 people in two weeks of touring. Before leaving, we will train and fund a group of African
actors and Kongadzem members to continue this work in our absence.

   Among the high points of this experience will be a performance and whole community celebration called a "Kibum Fon" in Oku, a remote mountain village where I was crowned Yah Yefon last year. My title, meaning that I am the "mother of the Fon," or tribal chief, holds with it some deep honors and traditions that I have yet to completely understand! At least I have the proper costume which was hand embroidered for me last year. The magic andmystery of this hoedown will be one of the Troubadors¹ many rewards for two weeks of grueling travel, work, sweat, and gastrointestinal acrobatics.

   We are also excited to be returning to the health clinics we supported in 2001 through a $3000 grant, administered by Kongadzem. Last year, being funded for the most part by the US State Department, we were in a position to help support the struggling community health clinics that try to help those suffering from HIV/AIDS and other serious diseases. The money helped purchase sheets, mattresses, microscopes and other essentials. The resourcefulness of the community members is both heartbreaking and inspirational as we witness so much being done with so little.

    Our tour will end with a cross-country trip to Yaounde, the capital city. By request of the American ambassador and with the support of the US State Department, we will be performing for three days in urban high schools. We hope this will generate future projects in this region of Cameroon, and we are thrilled to be working again with Andree Johnson, Program Officer at the
Embassy in Yaounde, who hosted us last year at her prior post in Cotonou, Benin.

    We are very grateful to the contributing members of Project Troubador and the New England Biolabs Foundation for the funding to support this project. As always, we will remind our African audiences that we are only a symbol of a much greater force of support from our homeland, YOU!

Louise Lindenmeyr is the Executive Director of Project Troubador, a musician, and a Family Nurse Practitioner here in the U.S.