- Was there anything that frustrated you (logistically, equipment-wise, etc.)?
Umm, Yes lol. Pre-paid cell-phones to name one thing. Everyone prepays and will buy, basically like 6 minutes at a time. So they run out every day and have to buy new minutes on a street corner. It’s frustrating when two white Americans get lost in the African Slums and their cell phone is out of minutes. And their friends who call to find where they are at don’t want to talk longer than a few seconds so they don’t waste their minutes! Haha, that happened to me, if you couldn’t tell. It was scary b/c we stopped in the slums and everyone just stared….and not in friendly ways. Turns out the only time they see white people sitting there is if they are lost or want drugs.
The Namibians treatment of time was frustrating at first. No one was ever really on time (except a few). Our driver owned a business called James Pizza…and so he would usually show up really late to pick us up….sometimes after we were supposed to be at our destination. You can’t really count on many people to be on time. Being late everywhere really slows things down. I kind of enjoyed it at times, once I got used to it….or at least it didn’t bother me being late as much. It really slowed down the pace from our American “Get it done now now now” mentality.
(Our driver and amazing friend, James)
- What kinds of "hacks" or workarounds did you have to utilize to get the job done?
Can’t think of too much here. We never actually stayed too far outside of modern civilization (although we did go there) and usually had decent access to resources.
But I can think of one thing that is kind of a “hack”, more of a tip. If you want to win someone’s favor, or possibly get them to do something for you…just give them a Coca-Cola. They absolutely love coke! Some would buy a 2-liter and drink it like we drink a 12-ounce can! One of my local friends said that if you offered a visitor a Coke, it was almost a sign of respect. If you gave them Pepsi, it wasn’t like this blatantly disrespectful thing, but it just wasn’t as good of a thing to do for someone. Crazy, huh?!?
- Did you notice any ingenious systems/tools/ways of working that the locals had integrated into their daily lives?
It’s still amazing seeing the women carry so much stuff on their head.
One thing I did notice, is they just use what they have. There were lots of businesses just being run out of what looked like another house….especially in the slums. There wasn’t a need to build a fancy special purpose building. Appearances aren’t really as big of a thing to many….but probably mostly b/c they don’t have the money to make things appear nicer.
One thing that almost everyone had was a hot water heater. I’m sure they exist in America, but I’ve rarely, if not never, seen one. Basically, you pour some water into a plastic pitcher that has a coil in it, plug it into the wall, and you have hot water in a few minutes. Pretty handy.
Probably the most inventive things I saw were the toys. Kids would often have soccer balls composed of a lot of plastic bags compressed together and tied with some rope. Many kids had these little carts they would push around…wish I could have gotten some pictures. They were made of random stuff like milk cartons. At one of the orphanages, they had the play-car set that you could sit in….it was made out of old car tires. Money for toys is probably the last thing many kids will have over there, so they have to be creative and resourceful.
- Did you have any "necessity is the mother of invention" moments? If so, what did you do to tackle/solve the problem(s)?
Afraid not. There might have been one or two things that are escaping my memory right now. But like I said, we usually had fairly good access to what resources were available over there, so didn’t need too many inventions.
- Being in a place like Africa highlights the disparity between our First World living and their Third World lifestyle. However, not everything is "horrible", necessarily. Were there some things that stood out to you as "simple and elegant" solutions (that didn't require what we rely on as far as "technology" - electricity, microprocessors, etc.)?
Hmm, not too sure about this one either. I am quite an American, and being a Computer Engineer, I definitely learned to appreciate how the technologies we use makes things easier (notice, I didn’t say better).
I think the truth of the matter is, even in Africa, people rely on technology. Maybe not to the extent that we do. And what I mean by that is, if all technology were to just die today, our lifestyle would change drastically more than theirs. But, bar the folks living in mud huts and in the bush, most Namibians have cell phones, TV’s, even Satellite dishes (packed full with flakey American Christian TV).
Ok, I’m probably not going to be able to answer this question any more, but I would like to mention some things that are interesting to me that loosely relate to your question.
One thing I noticed was the disparity between the haves and have-nots in Namibia. “They” always say poor people in America don’t have it bad. I always thought that was kind of stupid. But I understand what they mean now…and kind of agree.
Some things seem silly to me, like when I was watching Oprah yesterday (yeah yeah I’m unemployed right now haha) and she gave away this pink pda/phone to the audience and they went absolutely bonkers….I mean pure nuts. Things like that upset me a bit since returning. I really don’t have a problem with our culture or the way we live, b/c I think anyone would live like us if they had a chance….but still, I guess it shows what we really put our value in.
I saw poverty like I’ve never seen before in Africa. And it’s weird, because there are two types of poverty that I identified. First, you have the people who live away from the Capital city, up North, who live in Grass and Mud huts. They really don’t have anything. Some might have a water pump in their village, some might not. This is what I think of as “stereotypical”, or “real Africa”….the Africa that Americans think of. Even though they had nothing, though, you didn’t feel it. There was a certain sense of contentment. For many, I think that lifestyle was all they ever knew or dreamed of.
(Kids in a small village in Rundu)
There was another kind of poverty in the city in Windhoek. Off toward the edge, in a place called Katatura, there was a neighborhood called the Havana Slums. It will be hard for me to use the word “Slums” anymore for an American hood…when comparing to these slums. These people have very little as well. They live in shelters that are made of scrap aluminum/tin sheets nailed and patched together. Don’t know how the water works there (I think you have to walk a distance to get it)…don’t think there is electricity. Definitely no plumbing…their toilets are just a sheet for some privacy.
(The Havana Slums)
These are poor people. And they know it. These are people who used to have something, or at least know what it looks like to have something. They live near the city and see the middle class and upper class often. There is such a greater sense of desperation there, than in the villages up north…where they have just as little.
We visited an orphanage there in the Havana Slums. 35 kids sleep in a shack smaller than your apartment. When it rains, the place floods. They really don’t have much food or water to go around. These kids are some of the poorest and most vulnerable human beings on earth. But yet, they are still just kids. They laugh, they smile, they play all day. And out of their lack of stuff, we still observed something beautiful. These kids, especially the brothers and sisters, help each other. I watched one brother help feed his younger sister. The brother couldn’t have been more than 3 years old. They look out for each other and care for each other in a way very few American children do. And I’m not knocking on American children or our culture b/c the need just isn’t there. These kids have to look out for each other.
(Brother helping out little sister)
2 comments:
wow Dan thats really touching!
Beautiful :)
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