House hunt

In June I am travelling to the Netherlands. When I come back, I will move to Yaoundé to work from there on fundraising for Knowledge for Children Cameroon. So, last week I travelled to Yaoundé to look for a house. Quite an adventure!

I have to admit it was not as bad as in Nigeria. I tried to find a new house there and I even got offers of apartments on the first floor, without stairs; Madam if you rent it we may be able to build stairs!

In Yaoundé, houses are very expensive. At least, the houses in the better areas, which are safe and central, are expensive. I have really seen apartments (so not villas with a swimming pool, but an apartment) for 1,500,000 CFA (almost € 2300) per month. Just imagine the salary you should have to live there! And especially, consider that the GDP per capita is $ 2300 (data from 2008). So, renting that place for a month is literally the year income of an average Cameroonian.

After looking at houses and rooms for three days, I got the idea it was quite terrible. Places were very expensive. Or the walls are covered in mould (we will paint it Madam, so you will not see it anymore! That doesn’t really solve the problem…) Or there were big puddles in the bedroom (we will dry clean before you move in Madam!). Or they could only be reached through a small path which was already very slippery without rains falling. Or they were right above an evangelic Church.

In the end I found a place where I will move in July. From the outside it looks pretty bad. The landlord said they used tiles from China. And instead of protecting the walls from water, they absorb the water. But the inside is very fine, and that is what it is all about.

So, I'm getting ready for the city life!