After about an hour or so of biking towards a group of irrigated fields, I came across two young women carrying buckets on their way to fetch water. One of them spoke some English, and pointed towards a giant tree in the distance which indicated the location of the borehole they were travelling to. "Do you want to come along?" she asked. Sure, I thought, why not? So I followed.
After about 20 minutes of walking, we reached the borehole. A group of 15 women and children gathered around the Afridev pump, taking turns and sharing the effort. I noticed something that I had seen before - a small concrete block built on top of the platform (or the "apron", as it's called). As women in Malawi are largely responsible for water collection, and they typically carry water buckets on their heads, this block intended to assist them in getting water from the ground to the top of their heads.
"Do you find this useful?" I asked, pointing to the block. "Of course," the women replied, as they filled their buckets to the brim to prepare for the long journey home. A simple converations that left me with so much thought.
The reason this interaction sticks with me so much is that just a few days earlier, I was having a conversation with a co-worker (a man) about these blocks, and if they were worth investing in. He voiced that they're not very useful, and that the project shouldn't bother installing them with the new boreholes.
Now perhaps he speaks to more people than I do, and has more experience in this district that could lead to a fairly knowledgable perspective, but something about his answer didn't sit right. I guess this just makes me think about the voices that are heard when development decisions are made. What steps can you take to make sure that you're making decisions based on well-rounded evidence and dialogue? And how can you make this a part of such a short project timeline when you're already trying to meet deadlines? What I really want to know is whos reality counts in the decision making process?
Be well, and much love.
Kevin
Hey, Kevin!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. Hey, I know in Zimbabwe you can find sandals made of recycled tires! Also, I have seen some boreholes with a concrete tub, which in some areas, they pump water into it for watering their livestock.
Hey Kevin,
ReplyDeleteThose are some tough questions! It seems to me that they essentially make up the underlying theme to your placement there. How are you going about your "detective" work into the decision-making process? I assume it involves a lot of talking to a lot of different people. What kind of questions do you ask? Are most people open to answering questions or are they hesitant?
I love that you're really trying to seek out different perspectives and get a feel for what it's like to live in Malawi with the challenges that they face.
What's your favourite word in Chichewa??
My thoughts are with you from the west coast!
Lauren
Amazing experiences you're having, Kevin! A great lesson I hadn't heard before...
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear all is well,
Jordan
Thanks Jordan! And Lauren..
ReplyDeleteThat really is a tough thing to do. One of the most challenging things about this decision is building an image for yourself, and building trusting relationships with other people. It will be important to present myself as someone who is not looking to point blame, or condemn people for the decisions they’ve made. I would like to show my co-workers and people in the district that I’m trying to understand the challenges they face, in order to see parts of the system that aren’t working as well as they could.
In the end, I won’t come up with all of the answers, but if my placement is successful, I will have explored ways that districts and consultants can be better informed to make appropriate siting decisions.
I’ve even found that by talking about my experiences in Msamati village, people start to see me as someone interested in learning, and someone that are comfortable sharing with. Lately, I’ve been taking breaks throughout the day to play Bao (a game played with marbles or stones) with my co-workers. It’s really enjoyable, and it’s a good way to get to know them at the office.
But really, building trust is key. This even seems to manifest itself in learning Chichewa, tucking in my shirt, shaving every day, shining my shoes, and presenting myself in a professional way. Because in the end, I would really like to viewed as a young professional who would like to learn and understand – not just a naïve Westerner here to change the world.
It’s difficult to know which questions to ask, but it’s helpful to know who to ask. Not all questions are appropriate for all people.
Asking someone questions about their supervisor or district representative won’t always get you very far – people are not too open to talking about those higher up on the record. I find that I never ask very direct questions, but my questions are mostly conversational. They are questions about their family, their home, their village, their work history. It seems that from those conversations a lot of perspective is shared.
As my partner has advised to me, it’s important to not go into this blank slate. I need to have a hypothesis, an observation, or a theory that I want to investigate. If I bring people nothing, and start asking them questions about siting decisions that they’ve made, I’m not going to get very far. I’ve been trying to work with the Microsoft Excel decision database to understand how decisions may have been made from a qualitative point of view. Hopefully this will be a good starting point when I approach the district in the near future.
And thanks Lauren, I’ve really enjoyed living in the village. It’s been helpful to get myself in the frame of mind of rural livelihoods. What are the challenges that people face in their day-to-day lives? What gender roles come into play? What does a typical day look like for my neighbors? How does their access to water influence all of these things? Msamati has also been a great place to build friendships.
I love pang’ono pang’ono (‘pung-oh-no pung-oh-no’). Which means “little by little”. It’s the way I plan to learn Chichewa!
Great to hear from you, Lauren. Can’t wait to chat again soon!
-Kev