A community welfare and health project in rural Cameroon
Phyllis Jansyn, the late founder of the Djohong Project, will not be there in a physical body, yet her presence will be felt and seen in the hearts and minds of the hundreds of people whom she has inspired and influenced during her long stay as "American Princess of the Savannah" in the rural village of Djohong, Cameroon.
"My Cameroonian team will welcome you to the uniquely beautiful plateau of Djohong; to the land of sociable people. Bon Voyage."
I'm David Lewis Brooks, I recently (March 2019) retired from full-time employment as university professor of English as a foreign language at Kitasato University in Sagamihara, Tokyo (not far from Tokyo).
About this site's owner: David lives and works mainly in the Tokyo area of Japan. I am in transition from a full-time professorship to Adjunct Professor status, which begins in April, 2019. In addition, I'm in the process of expanding the scope and business objectives for my Japanese corporation, Edvantix, Inc. (K. K. Japan).
Here are some photos taken during my group's Earthwatch Expedition in December 2000 - January 2001 to assist Phyllis Jansyn with her
work with the villagers in Djohong, a small town in the northeastern region of Cameroon.
Since this is the 20th year (Dec. 2000 - Jan. 2001) since I participated in the Earthwatch Expedition to assist Phyllis Jansyn in helping the villagers in the rural northeast village of Djohong cope with some of the challenges they faced. Intestinal parasites were one of the major health problems that could be treated with proper knowledge and medications.
Therefore, our mission over the two-week long expedition was to assist Phyllis and her staff of local men to conduct health checks and conduct classes in basic hygiene and prevention of disease due to poor sanitation. Some of us used a microscope to examine feces sample brought by each villager to looks for evidence of intestinal parasites. Others of us keep records of the villagers who attended. Still other conducted basic health checks for infants and small children brought along with their mothers to the impromptu clinic, held in either Djohong or in outlying villages (about a 5-7 hour walk from Djohong).
The video is a compilation of excepts taken with an old digital video camera. It shows a few different scenes, including a New Year's Day dance done by the children of Djohong Village, scenes of Phyllis' compound where she lives and where we lived while in Djohong, our walk to another part of the village, where we encounter villagers on holiday, Phyllis talking about a first excursion at a informal meeting at her compound, and the local adult villages engaging a spontaneous dance, and other scenes.