Working in Sao Tome & Principe, Africa
Good fortune gave us the chance to work in the western African gulf area. Long, difficult tasks involving tower and building construction, equipment installation, and training for the local agencies. Great opportunity for important work. Collaterally, local folks welcomed us and let us be part of their world. That was the best part of it, not surprisingly. It was life-changing for us all. Most of the photos here were taken in the between times when we were not eyebrow deep in our work.
African Children
As I made my way along the path, these
fine young men (pictured above, left) met me with smiles and polite
conversation. We were working in São Tomé and Principe, a small African
country in the Gulf of Guinea. After almost a dozen work trips to the
region, and after making friends in the community, I begin to grasp the
world these fellows live in. It bears little resemblance to mine except
for its magnificent humanity.
This brother and
sister
(pictured right) are carrying laundry to the river which
you
can see in the
rainy-day background. I gave them a ride the
last
couple of miles, something
that they appreciated; it's a
long
walk from their home. Bright, engaging, we chatted about kid things
, as much as my rudimentary Portuguese would allow.
Public schooling is mandatory through the 6th grade, but the path is a
difficult one for the children and their families. São Tomé and
Principe is a young country, independent since the '70's and struggling
economically, having recently emerged from the influence of the
Communist bloc. Funding for public education (teachers) is just now
beginning to stabilize. Schools are crowded. Most if not all hold two
sessions from early morning to late afternoon. A school that seats
around 300 has 540 enrolled. Teachers work long days and the children
receive only the basics.
In an informal meeting with IMF team members ('08), funding for public
school was described as 'not yet adequately addressed' by the
government's budget process. Children had few supplies and fewer books,
perhaps none for their grade level through '09. Workbooks have
appeared this year (2010) for the classes and teachers to use.
Seen here on Children's Day
'08 (left), students from Almas Elementary School celebrate with their
teachers and families; it's a special day in most African countries,
they tell me. Folks were surprised that we don't do the same in the
U.S.
The children seem well balanced, confident, family oriented, and
community aware. The country's small size keeps relatives in close
proximity, and family ties are naturally strong. Everyone in a
community will know pretty much everyone else by name and family and
history.
The
social climate reminds me of my childhood years in a small town. People
are involved in each other's lives, they know their neighbors and seem
to care about them. Children seem to recognize adults as overseers of
their lives. A former Portuguese colony, the folks are generally
Christian, with both Catholic and Protestant churches in evidence in the
communities and in the culture. There is little violence and little
crime. Everybody works hard.
Laundry at the river is a day-long event. I struck up a
conversation with this lady (right) and her young children as they took a
lunch break; I asked her what she was eating. “It's fish and vegetables
and mangoes; want some?” It wasn't bad.
I arrived in Africa for the first time in June '07; the picture (right)
is from my second or third day in country. I was surprised to have my
world view challenged so dramatically. My wife and daughter and I were
fortunate enough to live overseas as part of my first career; Spain and
Europe, Japan and the western Pacific, Cuba,
all shaped our thinking to some degree. In Africa for the first time,
though, and I'm woefully ignorant. Narratives that follow (listed in the history sidebars) are each encounters with folks in
Africa along with our changing understanding.
So what are we going to do with what we know?
Tell
the
rich folks to quit being so full of themselves
and so impressed with their own possessions, which are here today and
gone tomorrow. It's not their merit that made them wealthy and others
less so. Tell
them to go after God who is generous to us all -
and tell them to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be
extravagantly
generous. If they do that, they'll build a treasure that will last,
gaining life that is truly life.
1 Timothy 6:17-19
