work

It is my first trip to Africa, and after a week I've fully adjusted to the time change. I'm sitting on a wood bench in the middle of a mud and brick church. It's hot, an afternoon rainstorm is approaching, and I'm listening to a group of community member in Western Kenya discuss sanitation & hygiene. But, they are discussing so much more than sanitation & hygiene. They are also being challenged to be problem solvers and responsible community members. Near the end of the morning the group breaks into two and is given the task to list the advantages and disadvantages of subsidies. As an employee of an organization representing many donors who have already helped many African communities and want to continue to help communities like this one. I'm completely intrigued by what they are about to say...

Both groups come up with amazing lists. My favorite advantage: "subsidies make the impossible, possible". It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.

Then they say subsidies also:

Promote laziness
Encourage selfishness
Are unreliable and rare
May not be enough
Reduce self-esteem

Surely there is a way to help without doing such harm. How do we give only what is needed? How do we even know what is needed? Can we provide all the advantages, but negate the disadvantages? Is it even possible?

I don't have answers, only more questions which I think is a good place to start. But this takes time... more time that I want it to.

A few of days later I am sitting in a similar structure although this time it is at a school. I am attending a meeting with our team, the school's head teacher, some community members, a few school board members and some students. We are discussing their water and sanitation requirements to function and to keep their students healthy. I am overwhelmed by their needs. They explain their water situation; a small rain tank, an unprotected spring and a hand dug well. My warm fuzzy feelings about making the impossible possible dry up like most of their water sources will when the rain stops in a couple of months.

We want to help, we are engaging them in conversations on how we can help... but the truth is we won't be able to help soon enough. They need a clean water source before their dry season, technically they need a large rain tank now to collect the water during the rainy season, and really they needed it yesterday... last spring... years ago...

I wish the tears that are filling my eyes could help fill up their small rain tank. I'm crushed, burdened by the reality that my new friends will have limited access to water in a matter of months. But, even though this is their reality, the group does not share my feelings. The conversation continues, engaging all the participants to identify everything they think is needed to for clean water, what they have the ability to do and what they need help doing. Their hope is overflowing and contagious and I'm excited to see these conversations evolve into clean water solutions & healthier kids.