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Shannon May and her husband, Charles Fai returned to the Walker area recently and spoke about their work in Cameroon
Shannon May and her husband, Charles Fai returned to the Walker area recently and spoke about their work in Cameroon
Peace Corps volunteer returns to thank county employees
The Pilot-Independent
Last Updated: Sunday, May 23rd, 2004 11:02:36 AM
Caption: Shannon May and her husband, Charles Fai returned to the Walker area recently and spoke about their work in Cameroon at the Cass County Courthouse.
Photo by Gail DeBoer
Former Hackensack resident and Walker-Hackensack-Akeley High School graduate (class of 1996) Shannon May and her husband, Charles Fai of Kumbo, Cameroon, spoke May 12 to a group at the Cass County Courthouse.
May has just finished serving with the Peace Corps in Cameroon Africa. Part of her assignment involved work with the Riba Agroforestry Resource Center, a project that aims to enable rural people to improve their situation through sustainable use of natural resources, including restoration of depleted soils.
Funds donated by some Cass County employees were forwarded to May for the RIBA project, where they were used to build a much-needed well.
May commented that Riba was one of few projects she saw in Cameroon that had the potential to be self-sustaining and that took a long-term view of things, rather than pursuing short-term success and money.
Although he was not directly involved in the Riba project Fai, who was a geography teacher and Dean of Studies at a Catholic college in Kumbo, commented that "If you can help people to help themselves, it's better than just giving money."
May, a graduate of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and her husband are moving to the Twin Cities, where they hope to pursue graduate studies.