You know, we are victims of power cuts throughout the year, here in Cameroon. But during these holiday seasons, it has become even worse!
How to get water without electricity?
If you live here in Cameroon, you should know that water and electricity, well they are like twin sisters. Because when our electricity is cut off, the water will follow in the few minutes or even seconds that follow…
During these end-of-year holidays, We barely have any electricity! We are given load shedding from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., then from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and finally from 11:30 p.m. until the next morning at 9:30 a.m.…
We no longer have electricity. And so we must develop mechanisms for conserving water to drink, otherwise we won’t even be able to make food for ourselves. We have to fill our basins and pots in the nearest boreholes, as soon as there is some electrical power. You can also fill plastic bottles to keep them in a corner of the kitchen. And above all, you must consume it sparingly. Because if the water reserves manage to run out during these holiday periods, which are quite hot, well it is also the use of the toilets in the house which will become completely delicate.
How to sleep successfully
Have I even been sleeping for a few days? I lie down on my mattress as soon as I manage to catch a few drops of sleep, and I immediately dive into the arms of Morpheus.
Do I even sleep at night? I’m sweating like an ox, I toss and turn on my sheets which I now have to replace every two days, because I sleep without a fan. I am suffocating in the darkness because I sleep unwell, like many other Cameroonians who also reside here in the city of Douala.
Previously Eneo respected us a little, and we were exempted from load shedding during periods of paradoxical sleep. But this time they no longer have pity on us, and they systematically deprive us of electricity every evening! So I have to sleep practically in my underwear, and I first place my towel on the mattress in order to collect some of my perspiration. I also developed another technique, which is that I come home as late as possible. But what does that even change? Without electricity and with the heat that it is currently in our city, it is simply unimaginable to succeed in getting a real restful sleep.
How to work and use the internet connection?
What is it ? Internet ? What are you even talking about? Already even with the crumbs of electricity that we often have, the internet connection is completely crappy with almost all of our operators. Are you still talking about unlimited connection here in this country?
Anyway, I’m going to talk to you about work. Because yes, there are still people who use electrical energy to work in this country. There are welders, television repairers, seamstresses, refrigeration engineers, electricians (well, well), hairdressers, ice cream sellers and what not! How do they work? And I’m not even talking about these bureaucrats like Pierre La Paix Ndamè who work in air-conditioned spaces, and who need a computer turned on in order to be able to provide the expected output. How will they be able to work, my friend Eneo?
We talk about it gently like that, but it’s catastrophic. Especially during these holiday periods when some workers secretly hoped to increase their turnover. For example, I am completely confused. Because as a blogger, what am I going to do since I don’t have electrical energy to be able to work well? As a digital entrepreneur, all my activity is found in the online space. And so what am I going to do? Eh ? Since the power company has decided to shut down virtually all of our many contractors.
How to protect your devices
At this rate, we will soon not have a single operational device left by the end of the holidays. Because electrical energy goes yo-yo on our meters, and this is how our electrical equipment deteriorates until…
I swear, it’s not the joke. I have just lost my Panasonic brand television, which I bought in November 2016 and which still had many years left of it. I’m also waiting for the loss of my refrigerator or microwave. I’m so cautious when the power goes out, and especially when it comes back on, because I don’t know which of my devices will immediately declare themselves dysfunctional. I actually wanted to buy a voltage regulator for these holiday periods (instead of a Christmas tree, you see?), but will it itself be able to withstand the different voltage variations for which Eneo technicians are responsible?
So, I pray to the Lord like everyone else. People lose their home or business devices every day, and no one ever gets repaired. We live in an environment of no man’s landwhere the authorities do not protect their millions of citizens, and where a company which nevertheless drains us to the tune of billions, still allows itself to cause us unimaginable harm, and what’s more during the holiday season of year…
Some patients are suffering from power cuts in hospitals. Source: Photo by AMISOM via Iwaria
How to live without electricity during the end-of-year holidays?
So you know, we are victims of untimely power cuts throughout the year. But during this holiday season, it got even a hundred times worse!
How to survive without electricity? We must return to the age of carved stone, we must use candles to light our way, and we must communicate through smoke signals like our ancestors did before.
How to survive without drinking water? Since water is the twin sister of electricity in Cameroon, we must collect it from the most distant sources, and bring it to a boil at least one hundred degrees in order to be able to consume it.
How can we survive without electrical energy in a country which is nevertheless full of dams, rivers and rivers in almost all our administrative departments?
Because if you have to see clearly, it’s just simple wickedness! Cameroon is one of the few countries in the world that still experiences daily power cuts, and yet we have invested hundreds and hundreds of billions. Cameroon is a “continent” on which electricity is still a luxury. Our consumption bills are still incredibly exorbitant, and generators will unfortunately become a part of our daily lives.
But the worst part of all this is that they voluntarily decided to completely deprive us of electricity during this holiday season!
Ecclesiastes DEUDJUII survive without electricity
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