There was a meeting this morning in the sub-district for community leaders, religious leaders and HIV/AIDS service providers. It was about an hour walk from our office, and RWEYOWA was invited. As we had a lot going on today, the guys decided that Christina and I should go to the meeting, while they dealt with stuff at the office. So - off we went on a boda boda (motorcycle taxi) to the meeting. Took about 30 minutes. Got there, and there were only 2 people there.... and we were 45 minutes late! They were still waiting for the participants. You could tell that our arrival was not expected, and that we threw a little hitch in the plans.
Unfortunately, we don't really understand Luganda (the local language here), and they were discussing what to do with us in Luganda. We asked to confirm that the meeting would be held in English, and they confirmed. Then they asked for our invitation to the meeting. Unfortunately, we had left it at the office. They didn't believe us that we had been invited. I'm sorry, but how else would we have known that there was going to be a meeting in the middle of no where, about HIV/AIDS service in the district at this exact place and time, if we weren't invited?
It caused a lot of problems. Eventually, one woman came to us, and said that there must be another meeting, because this meeting was for local leaders only. We explained about our invitation, the organization that we represent, etc... Well - they weren't having any of it! They said, can't you go and get the invitation and come back!!!! WHAT? And then they said, aren't there others in your office? Can't you go and bring someone with you who is black, then you can stay! WHAT? She repeated it a few times. Can't you bring someone black?
Our response - if you don't want us here, we will leave! and so we walked the hour back to our office.
Once there we confirmed that we were invited, found the invitation, and it did not say anything about a requirement being black! It was a bit frustrating, and interesting. We asked a lot of questions, and made them aware that all the information would be shared with the whole organization. She wouldn't have it. If anyone else (that wasn't white) would have shown up, it wouldn't have been a problem.
So - the lesson? There are a lot of problems that come up when you are a white person working in 'development' of any kind in Africa. just another thing to think about.
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Wow! Thank you for sharing this snippet! Definitely eye-opening! It's interesting to see/hear such things as this going on even while in the realm of bringing health and awareness and GOOD to people of all races, colors, etc... We need to find a way to all recognize the common goal in mind here and work toward that! Look beyond the color of the skin, listen beyond the accent and the language! How can we support change when we continue to try to fit it in the 'container' of the past? Thanks for sharing sis!
ReplyDeleteSide note - Have you heard or will you be going anywhere near Bududa, northeast of you? There was a massive mudslide killing at least 100 people. Very devastating!
hey rhys -
ReplyDeleteprobably won't be going to the area with the mudslides anytime soon. it's a few hours from us. we work mostly around the area surrounding kampala.
and - with the meeting...
it is understandable why they wanted someone local. they are trying to increase the presence of local organizations, and they feel that the white people, like christina and i, are often not here for very long, so we really can't do much.
that being said, it is still frustrating that we couldn't share our knowledge and experience and learn from them as well, and bring that knowledge back to the organization.
thanks for the post. being white means a whole lot more than skin color-as it does being black here in the u.s. it is more than skin=it is the cultural, economic and political realities of the 'different' person, as you stated. being white in africa is being the transient, the adventurer, the "i am here to save you from yourself" aid worker/ngo rep, the different one, the giver of candy, pennies or a smile, the doctor, the colonialist...it is hard, and i can appreciate your struggle. experiences like this can push you towards a wisdom not ready or willing to accept because it asks us to change something fundamental about our character or way of thinking. i liked your initial purpose: to listen and learn from others...
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