It goes without saying that Naperville, Illinois and Yaoundé, Cameroon are two very different places. In addition to being more than 6,500 miles apart, Naperville and Yaoundé have extremely disparate demographics, geography, history and traditions. And yet despite all odds, Samuel J. and Samuel K. are brothers whose roots respectively trace back to these vastly different regions.
Naperville, Illinois: A suburb of Chicago with just under 150,000 residents, Naperville is actually the 5th largest city in the state. 82% of residents are Caucasian, 12.5% Asian-American, 2.5% African-American and 3% are other races. Just under half of the households in Naperville include children under the age of 18 and 70 percent of all households include married couples living together. With a median family household income of over $120,000 annually, Naperville is one of the most affluent suburbs in Illinois. It is also home to three public libraries, an independent film festival and eight different universities or university satellites. In 2006, Money Magazine named Naperville the second Best Place to Live in the United States, primarily due to its strong public school system, low crime rate and its comfortable proximity to Chicago.
Yaoundé, Cameroon: The bustling capital of The Republic of Cameroon, Yaoundé is home to approximately 1.1 million residents, most of whom speak both English and French. Originally settled by German ivory traders in 1888, Yaoundé was taken over by the French following Germany’s defeat in WWI. In 1960, The Republic of Cameroon became an independent state and has since experienced relative economic and political stability compared to its neighboring countries (Nigeria to the west, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east and the Republic of the Congo to the south). Yaoundé is located in the country’s Centre region, Cameroon’s intellectual and cultural hub. The city is home to large colorful outdoor markets, a soccer stadium and numerous museums and universities (including The University of Yaoundé, the country’s most important higher education institution) and enjoys a temperate tropical climate with a length rainy season. The main industries in Yaoundé are food and timber processing, brick making, construction and artisan trades such as pottery. Directly outside of Yaoundé lives a thriving farming population, who produce foods like plantains, groundnuts, yams, tropical fruits and livestock that are processed and sold in the capital.