I have been reflecting a lot on culture these days. There are so many dimensions of culture, it's hard to unravel them. What is inherent in the culture here which is purely African? I have often wondered the same about the Navajo: what is a visible element of the culture that is basic, original, to this culture? Certainly the central importance of the family in both cultures. And what is inherent in the culture as a result of poverty, the sort of features that would not be there if poverty did not exist? Perhaps the expectation that you will receive payment for every little thing you do. (It's hard to conduct an informal market study in the village for our bakery because we would have to pay people to do it.) Volunteerism is not a common concept here. For a poor person here it takes your whole day, every bit of time, to conduct the daily affairs of your life.
What does amaze me is the way the Christian faith has planted in both Ruth and me a culture we share. Today at breakfast she told stories of the generosity and hospitality in her home growing up. Her father was a lay pastor at a Baptist mission in Congo. He and Ruth's mother were generous in their offering of food, water, and a place to sleep for people who came to the mission hospital and/or their family members. And they raised several children in addition to their own. In my own home, my parents were equally as hospitable and generous, though not as much was demanded of them. I can remember my father receiving transients who would plead for assistance. This is a layer of culture that transcends the other layers for the two of us. And of course, we share a culture as well-educated people. That's another layer.
I have also reflected on the "right" and "wrong" of culture. Generally, I believe that matters of culture are neither right or wrong. Just different. But sometimes you see things in a culture -- any culture -- that are just plain wrong wherever you see them. For example, so many cultures have an ethos of the possession and exploitation of women. That's wrong wherever you see it. That's clear. There are other features of culture that are much harder to discern the "rightness" or "wrongness" of. It's a slippery slope. One can slide right into a judgment that is not appropriate.
Lots to reflect upon here!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
February -- Different focus
February 13, 2011
I’ve been quite remiss at keeping my blog up. Less is happening. The pace is more relaxed. My focus has shifted from assisting the nursing students to assisting Ruth with her NGO. I’m reading and working on the business plan for the vocational center.
Last week we did get out to the villages to follow up on some of the people the Linfield nursing students had seen. One teen had suffered for several years from a scrotal hernia that had grown quite large. The students paid for his repair surgery, and he is overjoyed. So we checked in on him. He is doing well. He expressed concern for his little sister. She is 7, very small and sad. Apparently she had not been feeling well for sometime. She had a skin problem on her scalp and the inside of one of her elbows. But she also complained of itching all over her back. But there was no visible problem there. Ruth became quite concerned that she may be HIV positive, given the fact that her parents both died of AIDS (when she was 3), she seemed to be losing weight, and itching is a symptom. So the next day we took her to the hospital in Mbanga. They ran an HIV blood test on her and it was negative!!!! We were all so relieved. The doctor gave her some ointment the nursing students had left, and the girl was then a much happier child. You should have seen her eat bread later (very hungry!) and her smile was a major reward. We were not charged anything for this visit. Ruth wants to continue following both of them more closely since the care they receive seems pretty minimal (both in terms of food and clothing). I told the teen how lucky his sister is to have a big brother like him.
Then we saw the mother whose little 2 year old has cerebral palsy. The nursing student who had taught the mother some physical therapy exercises for the disabled toddler would be proud to see this mother’s follow through. The child no longer cried when her legs were fully extended or drawn up against her chest!
While we were still in that village, two teenage girls dropped by. They are orphans approaching the age when they will no longer be in the country’s orphan system. They asked about the students’ concern for their vocational training -- sewing apprentice and hairdresser. It would cost only about 60,000 CFA ($120) for each of them so I do hope the students decide to follow through.
February 14, 2011
Happy Valentine’s Day – and Arizona Statehood Day. (Arizona’s 99th birthday) There is a French nursing student here with us in Douala for one month. She is mainly working at Souza hospital, but we take her to a village when we go so she will see that aspect of village life. She's learning to cope with late taxis and traffic jams! I like her a lot and she’s having a great internship.
The number of meetings we are having about WEH and our future bakery project is accelerating. Good meetings. Like many of us, Ruth has a board with several members who have lost interest. We met with one of them. It was good. I basically communicated this message: Those of us who want to help here in Africa in some way are totally dependent on you and on WEH. We need people here, working on the front lines, to do the work. If you don’t care about the poor here, why should we? I hope she got the message. Then we met with another board member who is still passionate about the work and excited about the future. We’ll be having a board meeting in the next week or two.
I keep working on the business plan for the barkery. We are going to hold several focus groups in the villages to assess bread consumption habits, preferences, and costs.
Seth, my second son, and his wife Tomomi are expecting the birth of their son Noah in the next few weeks in Japan. Sam and I are sitting at the edge of our seats! Seth has permission to call Ruth’s phone any time of the night or day when Noah arrives.
I’m using my French a lot. Ruth is impressed by my ability to express myself, but my ear still refuses to comprehend what it's hearing. With the French nursing student here, and me the only Anglophone, they don’t translate for me quite as often. That’s probably good in the name of French immersion, but I really don’t understand much.
I’ve been quite remiss at keeping my blog up. Less is happening. The pace is more relaxed. My focus has shifted from assisting the nursing students to assisting Ruth with her NGO. I’m reading and working on the business plan for the vocational center.
Last week we did get out to the villages to follow up on some of the people the Linfield nursing students had seen. One teen had suffered for several years from a scrotal hernia that had grown quite large. The students paid for his repair surgery, and he is overjoyed. So we checked in on him. He is doing well. He expressed concern for his little sister. She is 7, very small and sad. Apparently she had not been feeling well for sometime. She had a skin problem on her scalp and the inside of one of her elbows. But she also complained of itching all over her back. But there was no visible problem there. Ruth became quite concerned that she may be HIV positive, given the fact that her parents both died of AIDS (when she was 3), she seemed to be losing weight, and itching is a symptom. So the next day we took her to the hospital in Mbanga. They ran an HIV blood test on her and it was negative!!!! We were all so relieved. The doctor gave her some ointment the nursing students had left, and the girl was then a much happier child. You should have seen her eat bread later (very hungry!) and her smile was a major reward. We were not charged anything for this visit. Ruth wants to continue following both of them more closely since the care they receive seems pretty minimal (both in terms of food and clothing). I told the teen how lucky his sister is to have a big brother like him.
Then we saw the mother whose little 2 year old has cerebral palsy. The nursing student who had taught the mother some physical therapy exercises for the disabled toddler would be proud to see this mother’s follow through. The child no longer cried when her legs were fully extended or drawn up against her chest!
While we were still in that village, two teenage girls dropped by. They are orphans approaching the age when they will no longer be in the country’s orphan system. They asked about the students’ concern for their vocational training -- sewing apprentice and hairdresser. It would cost only about 60,000 CFA ($120) for each of them so I do hope the students decide to follow through.
February 14, 2011
Happy Valentine’s Day – and Arizona Statehood Day. (Arizona’s 99th birthday) There is a French nursing student here with us in Douala for one month. She is mainly working at Souza hospital, but we take her to a village when we go so she will see that aspect of village life. She's learning to cope with late taxis and traffic jams! I like her a lot and she’s having a great internship.
The number of meetings we are having about WEH and our future bakery project is accelerating. Good meetings. Like many of us, Ruth has a board with several members who have lost interest. We met with one of them. It was good. I basically communicated this message: Those of us who want to help here in Africa in some way are totally dependent on you and on WEH. We need people here, working on the front lines, to do the work. If you don’t care about the poor here, why should we? I hope she got the message. Then we met with another board member who is still passionate about the work and excited about the future. We’ll be having a board meeting in the next week or two.
I keep working on the business plan for the barkery. We are going to hold several focus groups in the villages to assess bread consumption habits, preferences, and costs.
Seth, my second son, and his wife Tomomi are expecting the birth of their son Noah in the next few weeks in Japan. Sam and I are sitting at the edge of our seats! Seth has permission to call Ruth’s phone any time of the night or day when Noah arrives.
I’m using my French a lot. Ruth is impressed by my ability to express myself, but my ear still refuses to comprehend what it's hearing. With the French nursing student here, and me the only Anglophone, they don’t translate for me quite as often. That’s probably good in the name of French immersion, but I really don’t understand much.
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