Food for thought

"At the heart of every human experience is the desire to survive and prosper. To live without fear, hunger or suffering. To imagine how your life could be better and then have the means yourself to change it. Yet, every day, 1.2 billion people – one fifth of the world’s inhabitants – cannot fulfil their most basic needs, let alone attain their dreams or desires"

Before I left Maun I was faced with probably the biggest lesson of my life thus far. I didn’t write about it sooner because I was so shifted by the experience that I needed time for it to really reach the depths of my being.

While shopping for the road trip ahead of us I ran into our temporary camp hand that was suspicious of taking some things that were not his. On his wrist was my bracelet. He greeted me like he was innocent and I quickly and calmly told him how disappointed I was that we had brought him into our home and he had taken from us. He denied of course that the bracelet was even mine, let alone having taken anything else.

To be fair and equitable I told him he had a choice. He could give me my things back or I could call the police. It was up to him. After some wrangling back and forth, and Graham now at my side we hoped in the car to go to his home to collect our things.

As we drove out of town a bit, and turned down the 1st road where the tar turned to dirt, then left again. This appeared to be a road but there were no tire tracks, no one who lives here has a car. We curved and turned around shanty style shacks, some with roofs, most without. Children naked, and women sweating carrying water on their heads, likely from kilometers away and the only clean water they can get. Eventually we came to his house. A one room mud hut. He has very little. He lives in this house with several family members, with mud walls and mud floor, with no running water, and no electricity.

I couldn’t stand myself in this moment. I was fighting back the tears. I was looking extreme poverty in the eye, deep into the soul of it, breathing in it’s dust, filling my being with it. How could I ask for my things back from someone who has so little. Who has next to nothing. A few items of clothing, my american cell phone that I would never use again. Things. Just things.

While he is gathering our things, Graham sees my eyes watering over and I tell him this is wrong. He is merely trying to provide and survive. Let’s leave. Graham assures me that it is wrong for him to have stolen from us. There is aid, and he could have asked and should have asked. We can't leave now, we can't condone theft. He didn't feel good about it either.

He comes out of the mud hut with four items. Two are mine and two are Grahams. There is a lot more than that missing and Graham sternly tells him to get the rest. At this point I am looking him in the eye and I notice how yellow his eyes are. There is puss in the corners and it occurs to me that he is more than likely very very ill. Aids without doubt.

Eventually he returns with my cell phone. Again knowing this isn’t all Graham tells him he has until friday and he will meet Brad at a said location with the rest of the items or they will call the police. I still don’t know if Brad got our things or if he even showed up. But I don’t care.

I was so put off by the entire experience, I was so shaken. Many assured me that we did the right thing, that he can not get away with stealing and by reprimanding him we are actually helping him. While I understand this, stealing is wrong no matter how poor you are. I still feel guilt. Here we get bored of an old couch and want to replace it and just do. We are never really happy or content with what we have. We should be so lucky. We should be so grateful. We should appreciate what we have and need for nothing.

People are more important than things. Relationships are more important than any material goods that I have acquired on the road to success. Without the love and support of family and friends in life, material goods are useless.

In this time of uncertainty for me, of not knowing what is next on my journey, weather it’s here or coming home, what I know is that I am homesick. And it’s my friends and my family that I miss and need for that support network. I am overwhelmingly rich in this. And am more than grateful for what I have in my support network.

I’ve also had difficulty with the labor here. It’s cheap so everyone has a nanny, or a maid, and a gardner. Often the maid is also the nanny. And it’s the blacks. It took me a long to to say “blacks”, as a Canadian this isn’t something we see the difference in. We don’t say blacks. There is just people. Anyway, everywhere we go and whomever we stay with there is a maid. It’s affordable. So everyone has one. I was so off by my laundry being done and ironed everywhere we went. My bed made. Dinner dishes done in the morning. It’s no wonder south africans are so laid back and seemingly stress free. Aside from work they have someone to take care of all those admin type things that often stress us out and take up our weekends or nights. Though one has to understand that they are providing work for them. Employing one maid actually eventually feeds about 20-30 more family members. It’s true. I get it, but I am still adjusting to it. It's just different for me.

As we drive out to the airport in Johannesburg we travel through beautiful white neighborhoods with every convenience of modern life. The business areas with neat brick buildings, trimmed lawns. Overhead, the sky blue and the birds sing. As we make our way out of these areas, along the side of the highway is the “informal township” (south African for squatter camp) where 43 water faucets serve 45,000 inhabitants. Race seems to determine the supply of all necessities. Though apartheid ended years ago, economically it still seems to breath it’s hot breath. I have seen with my own eyes the appalling conditions that millions live under.

Africa has taught me that poverty cannot be learned from books. Until now I had never really understood all those articles, books and movies about poverty. Until now, whilst staring it in the eye, tasting its sourness, until now I didn’t know or understand poverty. And I can not, even while it shakes hands with me, ever completely know their poverty. The next time you think you are having a bad day, or your leaking roof makes you so mad and frustrated, be thankful you have a roof to fix and a job to go to and a car to sit in in rush hour traffic. Ironically I am writing this on thanksgiving weekend.

Be thankful. I am.

"The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson." 
Tom Bodett

We are the first generation that can look poverty in
the eye and say this and mean it: we have the cash;
we have the drugs; we have the science. Do we have
the will to make poverty history?”
- Bono, U2