Effa Tambenkongho
22 April 2008
It did not seem to be a rainy day and many people left home without taking precautions. But in the afternoon, the rains poured seriously. People in taxis were trapped, wondering where to hide after dropping from the taxi, for there was no hiding place from the rain. Then this reporter from a hiding place saw a young man approaching like a saviour with an umbrella to rescue the passengers from the rain. The passenger uses the umbrella till his next stop or when he gets to a hiding place and then returns the umbrella to the owner but has to chip in a little offering.
This is the kind of jobs young boys have picked up in Douala during this period that the rains are approaching. They buy umbrellas and stand at strategic positions like rond point Deido and other roundabouts where they can find people who alight from taxis without an umbrella and they will in turn make some money.
Cameroon Tribune talked to a certain Ebolo who has taken this job as his occupation during every rainy season. He said he does this job to raise capital in order to do a different trade during the dry season. He explained that the job is very lucrative because if an individual uses an umbrella alone he has to pay FCFA 300 but if two people have to share one, it costs FCFA 150. He added that if in one day he makes FCFA 1,000 in one month he would have made FCFA 31,000, which he said is good enough to start up a trade. He said the rains have not really started fully in Douala but the days it rains he gets out with his umbrellas and stands around the Deido round about waiting for customers.
During the dry season, he said, he goes to the Chinese, and buys female shoes and female dressing slippers and sells in front of the Chinese Shops.
He said he is trying to raise money which he can continue with the trade in the dry season. He also carries luggage during the dry season and is being paid. These sums, he said he puts together and is enough to continue with his business. Ebolo said he would rather do that than to become a thief.
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