Nothing Works But Everything Works Out: My Peace Corps Experience in the West Region of Cameroon

by Leigh Marie Dannhauser

Cameroon is a country in West Africa, directly south-east of Nigeria. Leigh Marie Dannhauser gets sent by the Peace Corps to be an agriculture volunteer in the West Region of Cameroon, specifically to Baleveng, a village of 15,000 people spread out over 88 square kilometers in the heart of Bamiléké country. There she faces the challenges of adapting to a completely new way of life, one where while struggling to adapt to new customs and the absence of amenities common at home, she undertakes a job assignment of improving food security through improved agricultural practices with nothing more than 10 weeks of Peace Corps training as agriculture experience.

But she persisted, working hard to become a part of the Baleveng community, learning how to not just survive her two years of service but to fulfill her job assignment. She had successes and faced setbacks, went to ceremonies, and learned how to farm the Cameroonian way in order to help where she could. In the process, she learned what it means to be a true Bamiléké while also learning about herself away from American society.

Nothing Works But Everything Works Out describes her journey and her two years in a village that became her home but is now just a memory.

188 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 2019

Reviews

[Rachel Santos · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read and insight into the author’s unique Peace Corps experience! Full of interesting stories, Cameroonian cultural experiences, humor and real-ness. Loved it!

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just okay. Informative, but lacks depth or emotion.