Survival Mode

Major computer trouble at the organizations I work with this week has helped me understand how hard it is to “make change” here when it seems all anyone can do is try to survive another day.

On Monday, organization #1 had two computers stolen right out of their office. One was a laptop purchased by an Australian volunteer as a gift for the street boys living there. The other contained all of the director’s important files and no, it was not backed up.

Organization #2 had purchased their office computer here in Tanzania. The machine was of questionable quality and was most likely loaded up with fake anti-virus software. Their computer completely crashed. Again, most of the files were not backed up. 

So much data lost, so many hours of work--gone.

When things go wrong like this, it helps us understand, at least a little bit, why some of our local colleagues sometimes seem not to care so much about their work, or about getting it done efficiently and excellently. (This has been a struggle for Duncan at Bugando Hospital as well, i.e. working with some local doctors that don’t seem to care much about quality patient care.)

We’re learning that a common theme in African world view is that impersonal, unpredictable forces govern the universe. Bad things happen, at random, all the time and there’s nothing you can do about them. The best thing you can do is try to survive, and get all the good you can get at the moment for yourself and clan. 

This kind of thinking is common among adults and children. Studies have shown that street children can only concentrate on surviving the next 12 hours--so if stealing the rich foreigner’s wallet now means they will be able to eat now, they will steal it without thinking of the potential consequences.

Though this world view and its associated behaviors can be repugnant to us (probably because in the world we grew up in, it’s generally much easier to feel more in control of your life) we can see that if you are a poor person barely making enough to feed your family, it makes sense. 

We continue to hope and pray that in time, and maybe even through some of our own small efforts here, we can help a few people move beyond survival mode. Though right now, we’ll settle for more understanding. There's so much to learn.