Esther de Castro, an architect and partner of Juan Cuidad NGO in Cameroon, shares her firsthand experience.
I arrived in Douala in mid-January 2016, five months ago. How fast time flies! I'd been to Africa before, but always in rural areas, so at first it was a bit difficult for me to adapt to such a noisy city, with so many motorcycles and where public transportation consists of sharing several taxis to reach your destination. However, our hospital is located on the outskirts of this large city, where the land can still be farmed and where people from the villages are beginning to settle (which is why this whole area is called "le village").
I'm working supervising the construction of the second module of the Saint John of God Health and Orthopedic Clinic, a module that will be used for rehabilitation. The construction is being carried out by a small Cameroonian company, Mr. Magloire, a young entrepreneur to whom the Brothers have decided to give a good opportunity by entrusting their work.
Beginnings are always difficult, but for a young, foreign woman, working on a construction site in Cameroon is even more so. People who come to take a look are surprised to see a woman working under the sun, side by side with the workers.
However, I must acknowledge and value the good relationship and mutual respect we have built among all the workers, considering that here women are still often treated as objects, and where gender-based violence is seen as an everyday occurrence.
Every day, early in the morning, the site manager, Mr. Silvestre, and I visit the construction sites to review the day's program. He is a charming and experienced man, always willing to listen and discuss our differing points of view. Every disagreement leads to a debate from which we can learn. As with any construction site, you have to be attentive to the quality of the work, but little by little, they acquire some of my knowledge, and of course, I acquire some of theirs, in order to achieve a good collaborative effort.
Knowing that once the construction is complete, the building will serve to help many people is gratifying. In Africa, in addition to all the diseases we hear so much about, a main reason for going to the hospital is traffic accidents (due to the widespread use of motorcycle taxis and the poor condition of the roads) and, specifically in Douala, construction-related accidents.
That's why I'm convinced of the need for a specialty of this type in the area. I'm fortunate to experience the day-to-day life of the module, which is already operating, and I see how patients find support and comfort here, not just a cure for their illnesses.
