The Job

and a bit more….

The job of collecting information has been made incredibly easy by my host family and the newly formed HAP committee. On my first day of culture shock I met with village chiefs and the HAP committee where a program was made on my behalf. I was told by my advisor it would be difficult to interview 15 people in a month but I’ve only been here 1 week and I’ve interviewed over 20 and had 2 focus group discussions, visited farms, seen goat keeping, tree planting project, wells, dams, bee hives and hundreds of people and heard songs, stories and seen many dances. ‘The Program’ is carefully planned by passing notes through many children’s hands across the villages. When we arrive we are always greeted with songs and dances, followed by the many welcome speeches from the important people in the villages. We gather under a tree with all the chairs in the village put forth in our honor. I have really appreciated all their efforts and it’s made my job ever so easy.

We get between the villages on foot or by bike in the amazing heat…..now I will digress and give a few gripes……I have to ride the bike and perform everything I do bound up in a wrap or skirt WHICH I THOUROOUGHLY HATE!!! I like shorts – short shorts so I can take long strides, ride mountain bike etc, this get-up cramps my style and is so HOT. And god forbid my knee should escape, which causes Mr Ngalu, my host , to tell me to fix my skirt. I have noticed there aren’t any other women riding bikes and I wonder why. It’s not easy with a damn skirt on. Today I stopped the bike and asked him if it were better if we walked because I could do no better with the bloody skirt so if he had a problem we should just walk. God I simply hate being told what to wear and how to wear it. I have managed absolutely everything else I am not used to but this could become a real problem…….and while I’m at it…..the bike’s handle bars move at will as does the seat and they are worried about my knees showing????? Did I mention the breaks don’t work? But keep your skirt in order!

Back to the job….. today I interviewed 6 people. One woman, a typical woman that I meet had 8 children living in her house plus 2 orphans and no husband. She can’t go to the store to buy food because she has no money and there is no store anyway. She has to go and collect corn from her fields, carry it home, take all the kernel off the cobs by hand, dry it for 3 days in the sun, take it on her head to the mill to be ground – provided there is power. This is only part of her day. She also has to fetch water, cook all the meal s– which is always the same – nsema – a hard cooked corn porridge. (Which I have eaten everyday 2 times a day for a week, makes for a rather hard stomach, like eating bricks.) She has to cook everything on a fire which means collecting firewood cutting it and keeping the fire going all the time. Can you imagine hanging around a fire when it’s 85 degrees? The women smell of smoke all the time. She also has to do the dishes, wash the clothes by hand…. I can’t even think of all of her tasks. This woman, Unice, looked tired but she didn’t complain about anything except her hunger. She thanked me for coming, she was hopeful for the help she might receive from the NGO and grateful for what she had already received. They never complain except of drought, floods and hunger. Part of the HAP standard is to get them to speak up and complain, to take more ownership of the projects – all working towards empowerment.(oh my word, a breeze came through!)

I ask questions about their participation in projects and awareness of the organization giving the aid. And what they get from me is to be heard. They all have a story and want to share it. They do it with pride and dignity- never pity. I take their photos which is the high point and they can see themselves immediately after. They love this and laugh and laugh. They’re hopeful when a new face arrives with hope for improving their situation. They often ask me directly what I can do for them to get through this coming year and I have to tell them I don’t have any answers but offer them encouragement that together we can all sort something out. Today we were in an area that has been hit particularly hard and they were so so thin. It’s frightening to see. They’re absolutely terrified.

Another job….every night there’s a growing number of kids coming for English lessons. We gather in the moon light and I’m in heaven. We sing songs and jump around. Yesterday before beginning the lessons, we all took the kernels off a huge sack of corn sitting on mats on the dirt with happy chatter and the busiest, strongest little fingers I’ve seen. I must say I thought I was pretty good at it too! The number of kids has grown to around 70 and it’s getting a little tough to keep them from pushing each other around. We shall see how many show up tomorrow.
I have always had a dream that I would be standing in the hot African sun, barefoot in the dirt with kids all around. So there you have it, whatever your religion,…….ask, believe and you shall receive. I’m so grateful to be here. But in my dream I’m wearing shorts. I should file a complaint!

Well and happy??????