Have you ever paid $7.00 for a jar of peanut butter? You would if you lived in Cameroon, Africa. Beth Gault serves with her husband, Steve, in Cameroon’s capital. Her August 2007 letter gives her prayer supporters revealing insights about the differences between life in America and life in Cameroon.
Dear Friends,
I have been thinking for some time now how interesting it might be for all of you if I took some time to write down comparisons of what it is like to live here in Cameroon Africa vs. living in the United States. As many years as our family has lived in Africa now, it just never ceases to amaze me sometimes when I stop to compare the two lands.
It has been more costly to live here in the Cameroon than it was in the Ivory Coast and I am reminded of this every time we go to town for supplies. I rarely even refer to it as grocery shopping, because it is rarely a pleasant experience here and we do much of our shopping in more of a warehouse type setting, where we can by things a little cheaper or in bulk. So many times Steve refers to it as a “necessary evil.” This is in part to the long, undesirable process that it is to even get through the traffic out here to get into the center of town where most of the shopping is done. Not that either one of us would want to come across as being negative, we just wanted to be able to be a little “real” and paint you a picture of one corner of our world.
Here are some examples of prices that have really stood out to me here, unfortunately they continue to rise. [prices given in U.S. dollars]
1- regular bottle of dish soap---$5.50
1- small jar peanut butter---$7.00
1-5lb. box laundry detergent---$11.00
1-6lb. bag of Jasmine rice---$7.00
1-reg. size box of cereal---$6.00 or more
1-500 gram box of All Bran--$11.00
1-reg. size can of shaving cream---$7.00
1-28oz. can whole tomatoes---$2.50
1-28oz. can corn---$3.80
1-larger plastic coffee creamer (powdered)---$8-9
1-dozen eggs---$1.65
1-can of tuna---$5.00
16 oz. of cheese---$8.00
1- 2 lb. bag of cocoa---$7.00
1-16 oz. bottle vanilla---$17.00 (when we can find it)
1-16 oz. can baking powder---$3.00 (when we can find it)
Thought you all just might enjoy comparing some of these prices when you go shopping next. If you want to know a price of something that I haven't listed, just drop us a line and I will try to satisfy your curiosity just for the fun of it!! :0) It could be that we can't even get it here because there are a LOT of things we just don't have access to.
We love you all and are so very thankful for your friendship and faithful prayers for our family!!
Lovingly for the family,
Beth