Monday, December 31, 2012

One Nation, Two Worlds (Scott's post)

The motto on the Zambian seal is "One Nation, One Zambia".  It's a great motto.  It has been bringing together over 70 different tribes in this country all speaking different languages for many years in relative peace.  One aspect of Zambian culture where it falls short of its goal is bringing together rural and urban Zambians.
During a meeting in our village to discuss how we should proceed with finishing the well that our villagers are digging it was determined that the major problem right now to overcome was getting the well deeper.  The water level is lowest at the end of the dry season, which is about October in our area, and the villagers made a lot of progress on the well, reaching a depth of 8.5 meters.  However, as they continue to dig, the water table continues to hinder progress with digging deeper and makes it difficult to get anything but very muddy water from the well.  So it was decided that someone needed to ask water officials in our Boma (Mwinilunga, the nearest big town) for assistance with getting a water pump to evacuate the water from the well allowing it to be dug to about 12 m.
"OK, who is going to do that?" I asked.  I already knew the answer before I asked since this topic comes up whenever we discuss getting assistance for anything from government officials in the Boma. 
"You know, Mr. Scott, when you go and talk to the people in offices there in the Boma, they listen.  But when it is one of us doing the talking, we come away with nothing."  Ryvus said.  The villagers in the rural areas seem to have an inferiority complex when it comes to interacting with officials from the Boma.  The list of possible reasons why is long and complex.  Perhaps it is because the officials don't have any respect for the villagers.  Or because of the difference in education between Boma officials (which is usually a high school education and sometimes a Bachelor's degree), and the villagers (which can range from no formal education to grade 9 completion only).  Or an obvious lack of interest in helping the villagers.  Or a lack of understanding of the problems of the villagers.  One reason for lack of assistance that is not likely is a heavy workload.  Overworked is not something for which I have seen much evidence.  Many Peace Corps volunteers have lamented about how it seems that government officials are not doing much of anything when they visit them in their offices.
This inferiority complex, for whatever reason it exists, is probably one of the top 5 reasons for the slow pace of development in this country.  Some others include corruption, lack of infrastructure, the need for government officials to get "sitting fees" to do anything outside of their physical office, and feeling helpless against the effects of witchcraft.  But those are topics for a different blog.
With an understanding of the situation I went to the Boma and talked to three different agencies who might have a water pump for their activities.  Two of the three said they have a water pump, but it is in the provincial capital, Solwezi, and they are not sure when it will be back in Mwinilunga.  I wouldn't be surprised if the pump in question is actually the same pump, shared by both agencies when they have a project to complete in Mwinilunga.  We agreed to keep in touch about when it might be back, which translates to me calling the officials periodically to see if the pump is there or not. 
The third agency quickly dismissed the need for a water pump at all.  "Ah, those villagers are better off using their traditional ways to dig.  Just have them use buckets to draw the water as they dig." said the official in a tone wavering between disgust and conceit.  I asked the official to imagine standing in a hole 9 meters deep and just a little over 1 m in diameter trying to use a shovel and a pick to dig while avoiding getting hit in the head with one or two buckets continuously going in and out of the well, periodically sloshing water over you as the buckets going out hit the side of the well.  The official shrugged, "It is hard work, but that is what they should do.  It is expensive to transport a pump and the fuel to operate it to the village.  And they should use the local materials they have so they learn to do it sustainably."
Sustainable!  I thought.  As the Ministry of Health peppers rural Zambia with a borehole next to every school and health clinic in Zambia, and World Vision installs boreholes in other areas where they are focusing on children's welfare, this official has the nerve to talk about sustainability.  It is the catch-phrase of many organizations, including the Peace Corps, giving assistance to Zambia these days.  Those organizations are seeing the "free handouts" mentality growing in rural Zambia as government and NGO's have tried to jump start development in rural Zambia with gifts of equipment, structures, and training.  Many villages expect to receive the same free things that they heard about another village receiving.  I didn't think of this sustainability "rebuttal" until after I left.  At the time of my interaction with the man I spoke with remorse, "It is easy for us, with our nice bicycles and motorcycles, new shoes and nice clothes, and a well-paying job, to say 'let them use buckets'.  But this is hard work that none of US would be willing to do when we know there is an easier way.  So I will continue to try to find a water pump until all options are exhausted.  Only then will I tell my villagers that no agencies are willing to help with obtaining a water pump and that they will 'just have to use buckets'".  With that I simply walked off in disappointment.  To date we found a water pump we could use for a price but it is too small to be able to pump 12 m of vertical head.  I have not exhausted all options yet but I am thinking of how to tell our villagers to 'just use buckets' in a positive way.
By the way, lest you worry about our water supply, we are confident in our water filter to make our water clean enough for drinking if it has to come from the questionable water sources further away, and in the rainy season which we are in right now it is easy to collect fresh rain water from the gutters I built on parts of our roof.  For our villagers, however; using gutters requires some materials in which most are not willing to invest, so the woman and girls resort to carrying water on their heads for their daily water needs, where bathing and rehydration get the short straw because of the amount of time and energy required to get water from those questionable water sources.  Meanwhile those officals in the Boma, just 16 kilometers but a world away, continue to turn on a faucet in their house whenever they need water.

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