My son once told me that I should not ‘assume’ anything. As in the modern vernacular it may turn out to make an ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and ‘me’. Even after having spent over a year in Africa I still find myself assuming things. One of the most striking is that any kind of planning or thinking that I do might not apply, be relevant, be of concern to or even assist in the assumed progress of Africa. Take for example when we have a Food for Work program which is currently underway. Charts on what is growing where, how much, the time of planting, fertilizing, weeding, and expected harvest seem simple enough to capture on a document that might reflect the goals for the FFW. Life is not a simple straight line. The earth is round. It took mankind even a while to get rid of the flat earth assumption.
So the written, bureaucratic, non-African in some places, is not as easily constructed as one might like. Should it be? We forget the reality of just living, having enough concerns about what will my family eat today or why is my child sick and the hospital so far away or why are the FFW field so distant from my village?
The best way to overcome assumptions of course is to live beside someone or work with someone or dialogue intentionally with someone. Not a perfect method but at least there is a sharing to overcome the mis-understanding that people are either lazy, don’t want to do it, cannot get it, don’t appreciate what you do, are not smart enough, etc!
Village life is different. Distances to and from ‘your’ garden, to the water supply, to any kind of market, to school, to a hospital, even to church are significant. Significant because most of it is done on foot often without shoes. Here we arrive with the large SUV able to move mountains. Drink coca-cola whenever we want. Seem to have an endless supply of money to pay for things like seed, fertilizer, tools, storage facilities, etc. What do they assume about me? There is a challenge to find a middle road, a way to walk together to share and know that we are together or as one villager reflected “you have sympathy with us”. Does God have sympathy with us?
Enjoy some pics of the village life. Take them for what they are. Another person’s life, simple, often struggling, rejoicing and celebrating life just as we do before God’s grace.
The granery where the cobs of maize are kept.
Such a hospitable family who showed us the hard work done in the gardens.
The proud farmers in the soya bean garden.
Maize and relish drying in the sun for future use. The relish is tomatoes and pumpkin leaves.
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