March 22 There's A Hole In The Bucket Dear Krisi

As you can see, my rose colored shades have fallen off….

At home I complain about things that don’t work or cause me delay or frustration such as traffic and trains not on schedule or the store running out of something I want. Next time I’m inconvenienced I will try to remember this day. I‘m leaving the village tomorrow so there’s going to be a farewell party in the village. They know I love to dance so that will be our main event. I have bought a crate of coke for those who will follow us back to the house. Getting the crate here was much more of a hassle than the cost. We started out carrying it between us but half way through we rearranged so I got to carry a baby on my back African style and the crate was popped onto the mommy’s head and we proceeded.

Now starts the trouble…..water. I followed Krisi to the well – which I now am allowed to do – to discover the pump was broken. We continued walking to another spot to collect water from a hole where there was a group gathered – the hole was dry. We proceeded to 2 more wells and with the 3rd we had success. But where were we now? Far from home. We scrubbed and filled our buckets and popped them on our heads to head back home. (by the way, pumping the water is more strenuous than carrying it home. It's a real work out!) The painful walk – almost a kilometer – gave me plenty of time to think about how different my life is simply cause I was born into a well off American family. I have so much to be grateful for…..But back to the village – what to do? How will the village get the money to fix the pump. The government takes no responsibility for the villages. I have given half of my possessions and am leaving all my medicines. I secretly hand out money to those daring enough to whisper requests in private. But what good does it do? How will it help them next week? It’s so complicated. And do they really want to give up this village life where when the corn processing for the day is over, your only job – if you’re a man – is to lie around and chat and plan meetings.

One of the water buckets is cracking. I watched Krisi and Spencer just looking at the bucket on the ground. (EVERYTHING is on the ground as there are no counter tops, tables, chairs etc. Just a portable mat you move around as needed.) They had nothing to say. What could they do? It’s crazy – they have no income. They live off the land and shop for very little – but what to do when the land failed to produce this year? They need cash for a new bucket, for food. Where on earth will it come from?

I spent yesterday talking to the field facilitator about working in this area. I wondered why cotton, a drought resistant cash crop, wasn’t more popular. He said they had done a study and it caused trouble in the households by giving the men cash and caused them to spend time in the markets which left the women out of the loop. The men like to drink a bit if they get a little cash. I don’t think I got the whole story, but it was evident it went deeper into their family and social structures than simply switching crops.

The plot get mores complicated all the time. I understand more.... and less every day. At first I thought it was simple, there's water everywhere under ground and the powerful Shire River (not sure how to spell that) is not far away. So they just need to get the water up somehow. Then i learn about the politics of the dam project. I think change crops. They don't want to change crops. Empower the women, plant trees, grow vegetables, keep bees, goats - all these things are happening but they're long term solutions - there is no solution for this year. But why haven't the goats and bees started to generate income after the 3 years they've had them. I think it's politics - local politics, family politics and the village lifestyle that are slow to change. And they're used to getting aid for free. What to do??
Got any ideas??
I'm going to keep thinking about it.....