So this morning I started out going through the various spreadsheets he had given me on a usb key. I think I was making pretty good sense of them but the time came where I felt I should ask for some assistance. There were some underlying data that the spreadsheets were referring to that would provide more clarity. I walked in to the office of two of the 5 accountants and began the introductions all over again. The language barrier certainly contributes to the slow pace of understanding and trust. At first I felt a pretty strong level of frustration and apprehension from a girl named Adjia. Of course I don’t know her, so it could simply be my false-impression but that’s all I got out here. She answered my questions and I returned to my office to continue working.
They take a “repose” (siesta) here from 12:00 to 3:30 so I headed out on my first “tour-de-ville”. Their is a communication tower close to the office, so it acts as a great landmark to ensure that you can find your way home. Also the “Grande Mosque” is just down the road so you can see that quite well too. I ventured out for lunch on my own for the first time. I walked up to a little stall where the young owner greeted me. He asked what I wanted and I pointed to a large bowl of white rice that sat on the table in front of the guy beside me. I thought I should keep things pretty simple until I adjusted. He returned with a bowl of green beans covered with a stew and meat in it. So it’s clear my french is worse than I thought. Okay…here we go. It was very tasty.
After eating, I walked a fair bit away from the office twisting and turning through the town. At one point, I saw in the distance, over the different walled courts and dwellings another mosque. Taking the last turn that would put me directly in front of the mosque, I came across a scene that could only be described as real “Jesus-movie set-like”. Donkeys neighing, goats bleating, sheep ba-ha-ha-ing kids playing, adults sitting and lying under straw covered shelters to escape the noon hour sun laughing and talking. Within seconds, I got to experience that old movie cliché scene. I could feel the gust of wind on my back (honest I felt it) as that proverbial door slammed shut on the ambiance; complete and utter silence. Wait, actually I think I did hear a goat bleat out on behalf of the others present “Whoa…where the hell did that come from?” Now, I’m not pretending these people haven’t seen a white guy before (it’s not like that here)…but that’s what happened. A huge smile ripped across my face as I realized that I got to play the “that” in the phrase “Where the hell did that come from.” I reached the Mosque and strolled right back past the goat and everyone else.
From the Mosque, I made my way to the market. The market comes through town every 3 days, carrying produce, tools and just about everything else.
As I returned to the SEMUS courtyard, I met Salimatra. A young girl that had been cooking for a friend of mine that had been to Yako last year on a similar mandate. A bit of a relief of course for me, because while I can go days without eating (I really can)…the last thing I want happening, on this trip, is to get weak and fall ill for a few days; I’m only here for a month. I would hate to spend any amount of this time laid up in bed or on the toilet. I had already resigned myself to eatting TOH with my hands (in the dark) for the next month, so this was good news.
Returning to work I asked Adjia if she could join me in my office to confirm something. As I walked back to my office, I noticed a french family pulling into the court on bicycles with young 3 kids. They had taken a Sabatical and where travelling across North Africa. Imagine. What an experience for all involved. Trés cool. When Adjia arrived, I asked few more questions and then proceeded to give her a quick demo of what I thought might be a useful solution…”Microsoft Excel Pivot Tables”. As I began to show her, she pulled her chair in close. The door was starting to open…I was relieved. After the quick demo, Adjia said (en francais), “Tomorrow, I will bring my laptop and spend the morning with you. You will show me how to do this”. A friend of mine at work introduced me to Pivot tables, about 15 years ago. “Neywaoogo(Welcome) Yako Adam”…part of you is now in Africa with me. Woohoo, what a way to end the day.
It occurred to me that this is one way that we (people of privilege) can create value. You see, at home, whenever I’m wondering how to do something, like you, I can just jump onto the internet and find all sorts of help; read an online article, watch a “how-to video on Youtube”. Here, I wouldn’t dream of going to Youtube (slow internet). From my perspective, these folks are just as “smart" and “intelligent” as we are. Just as creative and innovative, as we are. They just do not have access to the same resources to solve for solutions. They don’t have the same privileges that we do. Why do we have these privileges? Most of us are just happy answering with “Well we just do”.
My daughter, a few years ago, as part of a high school project travelled to Mexico to do some volunteer work. Rightfully so, she was quite proud of the fact that she and her young friends had helped build a house. She playfully was teasing me about the fact that my volunteer work was not going to include any manual labour. Before leaving, I knew my mandate would be serving the finance department in the area of budgeting and process. I had guessed that some this work would naturally involve MS Excel. Both kids teased me with “ooooo Mr. Excel….what a geek”. We all had a pretty good laugh. But this morning it occurred to me, places like Burkina Faso have plenty of muscle…and brain for that matter. What they don’t have is the liberty and luxury of education and training. We take the opportunity for professional development for granted. Quite frankly I’m beginning to see there are simply higher priorities right now in places like this (like clean water). For us this is almost at our leisure….a quick “Google” search and we are on our way. So, if I can come in from the bottom and deliver a little support to move things forward. Right on! See Becky & Taylor Daddy is right again. LOL
xoxoxo
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