sometimes we need to remember that this is AFRICA

Today’s mantra: This is AFRICA


Situation One: Last week, I met with the women of St. Margaret Goretti and arranged to visit all of their businesses. They told me to arrive at 9 am. Surprised, I asked them several times if a later time would be better because 9 am is very early for business here. No, they insisted. 9 am. So I show up for work this morning at 8:30 and get Aunt Norah, who is going to escort me. “9 am?” she laughs. “Banage, imagine we would meet at 9 am. No, I think we will meet at 2.” I point to the program: each woman has a copy of the program that we are meeting at 9 am. We compromise. 1:30. I spent the morning wandering around Nyendo meeting Aunt Norah’s friends, which while fun, was not really productive. We then went to a meeting of Aunt Norah’s catering group which should have taken 5 minutes. The members were each filling out an insurance form designed specifically for such a group: it asked for only 5 things. Name. Marital Status. Client ID Number. Beneficiary. Address.
The meeting took two hours. Oh well…TIA. The facilitator was from Foundation for International Community Assistance and she looked like she wanted to kill herself by the end of the meeting. The meeting was in a furniture warehouse.
TIA.

Situation Two: The Haircut
One of the women in LUGADA used her loan from the revolving fund to improve her hair salon. The salon is the front room of a shop and it is rather luxurious by Nyendo standards: it has electricity (meaning a hair dryer) and running water (meaning a sink to wash hair in). The salon is called WORK IS A BLESSING BEAUTY SALON. Mira, the owner, was so welcoming to me that when she asked if she could cut my hair, what else could I say?
Actually, I did say one thing. I said, “You’ve cut white people hair before, right?”
She laughed answered, “I’ve had a salon for ten years.”
What she meant by this was “I’ve had a salon for ten years and have never once touched Mzungu hair.”
Well….the haircut is definitely creative. I told her I wanted a few inches taken off and she tied a ponytail, plugged in her electric razor and just shaved off the ponytail.
“All done!” she proclaimed. “Awesome!” I said. “Hm…do you think you could make the front the same length as the back?”
After much adjusting, it is more or less even and quite short…whatever. Hair grows and this is Africa.

Situation Three: When the United Nations Met LUGADA…
Moments before I leave work, Norah hands me an envelope. “Florence wanted you to read this, she hasn’t head time.” I open it and immediately notice the letterhead. “This is from the United Nations!” I said excitedly. “Wow, terrific! They know about us!”
They know so much about us that they have invited us to a workshop on revolving funds, microfinance, and income-generating activities that are gender sensitive and environmentally sustainable. Wow. That sounds exactly like what we do!
The workshop is tomorrow. The letter was unopened since June 9.
So if the workshop starts at 9 and I have to move into my new house at 8:30 and punctuality isn’t Florence’s thing….who will be there to meet the UN? More importantly, will they hire me now or later?
….TIA.