Efforts Could Attain Dream
Recently we visited our daughter Corrie, a Peace Corps volunteer in Supe, Cameroon. Supe is a village of about 2,000 in the tropical forests of West Central Africa. Since the village has no electricity, it is not difficult to go to bed early. Each morning I woke up at 6 a.m. to the sound of a church choir singing. They had gotten up at 5 a.m. to pray and study and sing together.
In the cool tropical mist of the morning, I would go for a walk along the main gravel road chatting with villagers along the way. As I strolled, they would greet me with “Good morning, Corrie’s father.” Word had spread and the village welcomed us warmly.
The first morning, the village chief and council came to Corrie’s house and welcomed us as visiting dignitaries. They stayed for two hours. These leaders gave us a tour and talked about many needs, but each time they returned to a single concern - The Bridge.
Supe is confined on four sides by mountains and rivers. Three quarters of the village farmland is across the Mongo River to the East. The present “Indiana Jones” bridge is the lifeline for Supe and many other villages to the East. The bridge doesn’t even have wooden slats. Villagers walk on four vines twisted together that run the length of the bridge.
The Bridge - this important lifeline - is often broken.
About seven times a year, as farmers carry their produce across, the bridge breaks and produce is lost. Sometimes the farmers drown. I took two wobbly steps on to the vine walkway, holding on for dear life to the vine “handrails.” I wondered how anyone could carry anything across.
The villagers have a dream. They dream of building a one-lane reinforced concrete platform bridge capable of carrying cars and reliably transporting the cash crops of the villages to market. What is most remarkable to me is their faith. They believe that what they cannot do to build their bridge, God will provide somehow.
Though Supe is a poor village, it is on its way to collecting $30,000 worth of resources from those in the village and the region, believing that another $40,000 will be provided.
When I got back home from Supe, I was driving over the Post Street Bridge and wondering: “If we in Spokane can spend $8 million NOT to build a bridge, could we raise the remaining $40,000 these villagers need to make their hope a reality?”