The Devils are in the Execution

All week, Moses and I have been debating how to charge and collect the payment for the vegetable seeds. Moses felt that the seeds were partly to help farmers practice farming w/ compost so they should be free of charge. With many issues I have seen in Tanzania, I insisted on charging a nominal fee for the seeds so the farmers have a stake in the success of the program.

Moses didn’t want to be the one to charge or collect the money from the farmers, fearing that he would be perceived as someone profiteering from the program in my absence. If the farmers lost their confidence in him, it would make it difficult for him to manage the program going forward. His concern is understandable as corruption is so rampant in Tanzania that most people in leadership roles are presumed guilty. In fact, Tanzanians have a harder time believing that someone is honest than someone would use his position to his own advantage. And I can't blame them. I had seen corruption/greed up and close many times.

I did not feel comfortable letting the treasurer of the farmer’s group collect and keep the money for future use. We finally got rid of the village chairman who tried repeatedly to get involved in our project and benefit himself from it. With the treasurer's integrity not yet proven, I would hate to create a situation where the newly elected group leader has more power and privilege over the rest of the group that would allow him the chance to exploit the rest of the group. This is the part that I enjoy the least - making decisions based on distrust of others. I always find it stressful and distressful.

What's the right thing to do? I am leaning towards having the treasurer collect the money in conjunction with Moses. Perhaps I will write a letter for Naomi to read it to the villagers for me so they understand that I am inviting them to be stakeholders in the program so it would eliminate suspicion that Moses could profit from the vegetable seeds program.

Finally, we decided to take up on Moses' suggestion and let the farmers propose their share of the cost for the seeds in the upcoming meeting. If everything is out in the open, they may have a better chance to scrutinize their own leaders.

A Great Start

Moses had good news for me. He was able to visit about half of the farmers who participated in our group and check out their progresses. Everyone of them has started composting. Some even have as many as 3 piles. I was elated. Compared to their counterparts in the city who have more exposure to information, the Tanzanian farmers in the mountain village have more of a hard time learning the new techniques. I am glad that Moses was there to help them along the way. He put their level of understanding at only 50% despite great level of interest and willingness. His visits and consultations to the much-neglected farmers are invaluable.

The group leaders also seem to have taken up their responsibilities nicely. In between our visits, they helped visit the group members to encourage and monitor progress. It's all very encouraging.

Although it is my wish to eventually expand the program by incenting the farmers in the group to teach others in the village, both Moses and I agreed that it is too early to do so as the seed members are still not very familiar with the technique. Instead, we will start giving out vegetable seeds to the farmers for a nominal fee. The reason for the farmers to share a tiny fraction of the cost for the vegetable is to ensure that the farmers have vested interest in the program and commitment to make the program a success. I have learned from other projects that when things are given out for free, the recipients have less motivation to make things work. The free handout could also create dependency, abuses and false sense of entitlement.

With vegetables, we hope to improve the nutrition of the villagers' diets which are mostly maize and beans. It takes only 2 months at most to grow vegetables. This means that we could see impact quickly and impoverished farmers can benefit shortly. If they are successful with composting and growing vegetables, they might even be able to sell any surplus that they manage to create.

So much to look forward to!

SMS from God

It's a beautiful day. As usual, the Muni bus was packed with rowdy kids who roam the city during their summer breaks. I managed to find a seat today. As soon as I sat down, I noticed the young woman on the opposite side of the bus, not too far from me, was writing like crazy on her notebook. Then, I realized that she was quietly exchanging notes with a bony man on the bus who might be a homeless. Interesting. I thought. How is he doing? What’s his life like? I wondered.

When I arrived in the office, I got an email from a friend that I want to share with you. Maybe it’s my experience in Africa that has made me a bit more philosophical than before, but I thought you might enjoy reading this, too -



GOD: Hello. You called me.

I, Me, Myself (IMM): Called you? No, who is this?

GOD: This is God. I heard your prayers. So I thought I will chat with you.

IMM: Sure, I pray. Just makes me feel good. Actually, am busy now. In
the midst of something, you know.

GOD: What are you busy with? Ants are busy, too.

IMM: Don't know. But I can't find free time. Life has become hectic.
It's rush hour all the time.

GOD: Sure. Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you results.
Activity consumes time. Productivity frees it.

IMM: But I still can't figure it out. By the way, I was not expecting
YOU to buzz me on instant messaging chat.

GOD: Well, I wanted to help you resolve your fight for time by giving
you some clarity. I wanted to reach you through the medium you are
comfortable with.

IMM: Tell me, why has life become so complicated?

GOD: Stop analysing life. Just live it. Analysis is what makes it
complicated.

IMM: Why are we then constantly unhappy?

GOD: Your today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday.
You are worrying because the act of worrying has become a habit.
That's why you are not happy.

IMM: But how can we not worry when there is so much uncertainty?

GOD: Uncertainty is inevitable, but worrying is optional.

IMM: But then, there is so much pain due to uncertainty.

GOD: Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.

IMM: If suffering is optional, why do good people always suffer?

GOD: Diamonds cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be
purified without fire. Good people go through trials. With that
experience their life becomes better, not bitter.

IMM: You mean to say such experience is useful?

GOD: Yes. Experience is a hard teacher, though. She gives the test
first and the lessons afterwards.

IMM: But still, why should we go through such tests? Why can't we be
free from problems?

GOD: Problems are Purposeful Roadblocks Offering Beneficial Lessons
to Enhance Mental Strength. Inner strength comes from struggle and
endurance, not when you are free from problems.

IMM: Frankly in the midst of so many problems, we don't know where we
are heading.

GOD: If you look outside you will not know where you are heading.
Look inside. Looking outside, you dream. Looking inside, you awaken.
Eyes provide sight. Heart provides insight.

IMM: Sometimes not succeeding fast seems to hurt more than moving in
the right direction.

GOD: Success is relative, quantified by others. Satisfaction is
absolute,quantified by you. Knowing the road ahead is more satisfying
than knowing you rode ahead.

IMM: Sometimes I ask, who am I, why am I here? I don't know the answers.

GOD: Seek not to find who you are, but to determine who you want to
be.Stop looking for a purpose as to why you are here. Create it. Life
is not a process of discovery but a process of creation.

IMM: How can I get the best out of life?

GOD: Face your past without regret. Handle your present with
confidence.Prepare for the future without fear.

IMM: Sometimes my prayers are not answered.

GOD: There are no unanswered prayers. Remember you will always get
what you need when you need it, NOT necessarily what you want.
Therefore at times the answer is NO.

IMM: Thank you for this wonderful chat. I think I understand now and
I will try to be less fearful.

GOD: Keep the faith and drop the fear. Life is a mystery to solve,
not a problem to resolve. Life is wonderful if you know how to
live.And remember my Child, I am always with you! Call me anytime

Composting

Tanzania, Africa

Moses went back to the village this past weekend. I am anxiously to talk to him. It had been over 7 weeks since last time. We lost touch with the villagers for a few weeks due to communications issues but finally heard back from the group leader the week before this visit. She said much progress had been made. We were thrilled.



Moses finished the training on composting during the last visit. Composting usually takes 2 months to prepare. As the farming season kicked off this month in the village, we were both eager to learn more about their progress. Composting uses natural materials, such as leaves, manure etc, from their farms and surrounding areas to create organic fertilizer. This will not only help improve their soil and increase yield but also maintain their tradition of not using any chemical materials for their farms. It costs the impoverished farmers nothing! On top of that, composting piles expand the arable land because you can plant more crops on a half-dome surface than a flat land.



This is a critical milestone for us. If the Tanzanian farmers have shown success and proactiveness through the composting project, we would begin to expand our program and possibly provide additional assistance for farming materials.



We usually have our meeting around 1 or 2 a.m. California time to review the results and observations from the visit as soon as Moses comes back from the village but delay was common. The mini bus was always late. I waited up until 4 a.m. and finally had to go to bed. During the week, Moses works for a small NGO in Arusah whose founder does not approve of the participation in this project so Moses always has to play hide and seek on Friday afternoons when he has to take off early to go to the village to work on my project. I am glad that he has stuck with the project.



For now, I have to wait to hear from him.

Twiga

I ran into Twiga on the street a few weeks ago. She is Tanzanian and runs a high-end African antique store in Presidio Heights. Behind the exotic looks, there is always a thread of arrogance feel to her, but I would go to her store once in a while anyway as I really enjoyed the nice collections in her store.

As we walked towards her store, I told her about the volunteer experience I had recently in Tanzania. She mentioned that she just had a fund-raising party and asked me what I did in Africa. As I was giving her the background of my project, she interrupted me several time,

“What did you teach the farmers?” She asked repeatedly and wanted to get to the bottom of it before I finished giving her the background of the project and challenges of the villagers.

“Well, the first thing we taught them was composting to improve the soil and increase yield.” I finally told her.

“You know…. I am very angry with my government for letting just anyone go to Tanzania.” She said.

I sensed what she was getting at.

“People shouldn’t be going to Tanzania like going to the toilets.” She said.

I was aware that Arusha is swamped with NGOs and young and old volunteers through volunteer vacations.

“Tanzanians are nice, and they open their houses to these people who take advantage of them. Most people don’t even understand the culture or what’s going on in the village.” She continued.

I was a bit confused and was debating if I should point out the many frauds by the locals against volunteers that I have experienced or witnessed personally.

“People shouldn’t be going to Tanzania like going to the toilets.” She repeated.

“Strong choice of words” I thought.

I was curious about her experience with the foreign-aid agencies and volunteers but our conversation was cut short as several customers came in.

I walked out of her store thinking how ironic it was that she feels as strongly about the NGOs and volunteers as I feel about the locals who have taken advantage of the foreigners who went there to provide assistance to Tanzanians. This is just another example of the complexity of the charity work in Africa.

I didn’t have a chance to tell her that I am working on a book about my experience in Tanzania in order to raise additional fund for the project. After a big chunk of the donation money was embezzled by a local, I decided to fund the project on my own. It’s already disheartening to have the money stolen that I couldn’t bear the guilt of letting the donors down again. In spite of several disappointments, I intend to keep my promise to the farmers to help them achieve food sufficiency.

So I am dedicating my book to those who have opened my eyes through their dedication, kindness, greed and their suffering.