It's not you, it's me!

Dear Africa,

I want to apologize for complaining about your inefficiencies and turning into such a micro-managers always breathing down your neck (yet still not achieving as much as I'd like).  This week, I realized -- the problem is not you, it's me.  I have failed to understand how you think, how you work, and how you are motivated so that I communicate in the manner you can relate/understand.  Specifically, 

• I show you the big picture and then immediately demand that you aggressively work towards achieving visible results; however, I did not take into consideration that what may seem like a small step based on my experience may actually be a big, scary leap for you. To feel confident to take action, you need to be shown the stepping stones to get to the other side, receive reassurance that it will be OK, and time to get comfortable; otherwise, you will feel overwhelmed and paralyzed.
• I expect you to connect the dots, think critically, and question existing conditions; however, I did not realize that it's not something you are accustomed to doing growing up.  I need to create opportunities where you can take leadership roles and be encouraged to do more than taking orders; only through actual experiences can you build confidence, become empowered, and appreciate your ability to influence your environment.
• I have been impatient and want to do everything NOW; however, time is what's required for new thoughts and habits to set in, and no amount of extra effort and push can substitute for time.  As Warren Buffet famously put, you can't have a baby in 1 month if you get 9 women pregnant.
• I get frustrated when you can't understand what I'm saying, without realizing the issue may actually be that I've failed to communicate clearly and simply.  It is not fair to expect you to have perfect English comprehension (or always think with logic), after all, I'm in your country, not the other way around.
• I did not understand that the solution to the problem may not always be a straight path with a clearly defined timeline, sometimes, it's important to put the players in their right position to help shape the situation into a favorable environment, wait for the perfect moment, then strike.
• I am quick to "tell you" the solution rather than allowing time, seeding ideas, and allowing you the time to think through the problem yourself.  I am so eager to tell you what I know that I forget what I know is irrelevant until it becomes what you know as well.  You deserve the time and this is the only way you can understand and truly absorb the knowledge.
• I expected focus to come intrinsically and have not taken the time to put down tight management routines and align the incentives.  These things are critical so you can be effective and be held accountable.
• I have not keep my radar up and look for patterns and irregularities so I can figure out a way to handle bad behaviors appropriately; this encourages continued corrupt practices, and I actually become a culprit (even if unknowingly)

We're going to interact a bit differently from now on so that hopefully thing will not be as frustrating for the both of us anymore.  Let's make the continent to a better place together.

Sincerely yours...

Lost In Translation

10 months later, I finally understood why I got a room of Nigerians balling uncontrollably during a training in Enugu after I shared a very serious (and hopefully inspiring) story about a farmer in Kano being able to improve his productivity with d.light lantern... No one told me the truth, but apparently "productivity" means "sexual productivity" around here.   At the time, my colleague just told me that they think I have a funny accent, but now the truth came out after I met a Taiwanese couple who have lived in Nigeria for a long time who broke it down for me!

While English is a common language in Nigeria, common people usually speak pidgin English, which despite of its English origin, it might as well be a different language.  I am constantly confused when I am dealing with blue collar Nigerians.  For example, if you ask someone "have you eaten?"...they'll answer "I don chop"...which, actually does not mean "I don't eat" (chop = eat), but means I have eaten (I guess maybe it came from I done chop)...SO, if I don't chop = I have eaten, then what's I have not eaten?  I have not eaten = "I never chop"...confused?  So am I!  Usually I'm pretty good with picking up languages, even Swahili is going OK...however, sadly, I don't really see the light at the end of the tunnel for this pidgin English business...I don't quite get the logic...yet...

Here are some examples of useful and some funny pidgin English, some courtesy of a post from matador network:

• How Bodi? / How You Dey? – How are you doing today?
• Wetin? – What?
• Abi Na Wetin - What is it this time?
• Na You Biko - You the man!
• Aba Made - Fake
• Abeg – Please, but usually not a repentant plea. Example – Abeg! No waste my time!; Which means Please! Don’t waste my time!
• Abi? – Isn’t it?
• Na so? – Is that so?
• Shak - drink
• Chop - eat 
• Bodi dey inside clothe - I'm surviving
• Eh eh - no
• Ah ah - for Goodness sake
• Dey go - keep going
• E - it is
• Fit - can
• Dey - is/am/are
• I no no – I don’t know
• I no sabi – I don’t understand
• I dey fine – I’m fine. I’m doing well.
• Wetin dey happen? – What’s going on? What’s happening?
• Wahala – Problem/Trouble. Example – Why you dey give me wahala? Which means why are you giving me so many problems?
• Comot! – Get out of here!
• Gi mi – Give it to me.
• I Wan Chop – I want to eat
• Come chop – Come and eat
• I no agree – I don’t agree, I disagree
• Vex – Upset. Example – Make you no vex me! ; Which means “Don’t upset me!”
• Dem send you? – Have you been sent to torment me? (I will likely be using this one frequently)
• Wayo – Trickery. Example – That man be wayo; which means “that man is a fraud!”
• Butta my bread – Answered prayers. Example – “God don butta my bread” which means God has answered my prayers
• Listen well well – Pay attention 
• Go slow – Traffic jam
• Enta voicemail - Stolen/Cannot be found (Enta = enter)
• Grammar - something confusing and just don't want to have any more of.  "e.g. that one you dey talk na grammar, I go still do wetin I wan do"

...and 2 of my favorites!

• Airforce 1 - flying witch (e.g. e girlfriend mama na airforce 1 = my girlfriend's mom is a flying witch)
• I go land you slap – I will slap you!

Other Resources:

• BabaWilly’s Dictionary of Pidgin English Words and Phrases
• Naija Lingo
• Naija Dictionary

Poverty is the Biggest Violation of Human Rights

They said children are the future, and for marketers, children are easier to mold and more open to new ideas.  Consequently for d.light, we're trying out something so that we can educate kids about our solar lanterns, in the hope that they will convince their parents through this early exposure and adopt it themselves when then get older.  As part of my effort to find out more about schools in Nigeria, I learned about the saddest social/religious practice during my recent trip to Nigeria - the Almajiri School.

The word ALMAJIRI emanated from the Arabic word “AL- MUHAJIRIN”, a concept that came as a result of Prophet Muhammed’s migration from Mecca to Medina, meaning the emigrant. An Almajiri is a person, who is sent out early in life in search of knowledge.  He become a pupil of a Quranic school under a teacher known as Mallam, and engages in daily begging for food in order to survive. Under this practice, poor families from rural areas across the 19 northern states and beyond send their children when they reach the age of 6 to Islamic boarding schools in the cities of northern Nigeria. Today, the word Almajiri has become nearly synonymous with child beggar, and is increasingly looked upon as a menace to society as many of these children become vagabonds or terrorists.

 

While I don't find the tradition of Almajiri problematic, similar idea exist in the Buddhist tradition where young monks will go around begging for alms, it's a way to feed these monks but also an opportunity for the community lay people to practice the virtue of generosity; however, what I find troublesome is how as times change, this tradition is becoming an easy place for abuse and exploitation.  In an ideal situation, the Almajiri schools and the community should provide enough emotional and material support for these children, but unfortunately, the level of support the Islamic tradition called for hasn't been there in most cases.  As a result, these children end up begging on the streets with no one to turn to.  Furthermore, with the high level of poverty, many of these kids did not leave home to become Allah's servant in their own will, they are sent away by their parents at an age as little as 3 because the parents cannot afford to feed them.

I don't know about others, but I was pretty useless when I was 6.  I cannot possibly imagine how scared, confused, and betrayed I would feel if all of a sudden I'm told that I need to go on the street and survive on my own!  In many cases, the so-called "Mallam" exploit the children and take the money they begged, and leave the children with very little.  THAT is child abuse or even child slavery in my book!  They are destined to live a life of poverty and destitute in this system.  


How can any child not feel abandoned and develop a sense of hatred towards society under these conditions?  With those deep rooted feeling of lost and betrayal, these children become the perfect candidates for terrorist groups like Boko Harem, who is spreading terror and paralyzing Nigeria as a nation at the moment.  When a child never experienced love and a sense of connection with another human being in life, picking up a gun or knife become quite an easy task and could potentially be the fastest way to feel "powerful" after a whole life on the street living without much dignity. This well explains why the young men in Boko Harem don't care about the fact that they are bombing/killing innocent people who follow the same Quranic verse as they do...why they don't care about the fact that they are paralyzing the agricultural sector that produce food that feeds the rest of the country, causing food price to skyrocket and more people to suffer in other parts of the country...Boko Harem doesn't seem to actually want anything besides creating chaos potentially in retribution to such an unfair lives they have been living this whole time!  


So there you can see a whole lifecycle of a potential terrorist (or child soldier in other parts of the world).  The outdated Almajiri system, which meant well, is totally abused due to extreme poverty and horrifying ignorance of the Northern communities.  There are very little things that make me feel sad, since I'm quite a hopeful person.  Usually I could find a tiny glimpse at the light at the end of a very long, dark tunnel, and let that carry me through.  However, with these Almajiri, I feel nothing but sadness since I can't see a way out.  The entire system is so open for exploitation as the ones with power want to perpetuate it to their advantage and the poor either are too ignorant to see the problem or so dis-empowered to do anything.  There is no hope!  


In the mean time, the poor are popping more and more children out, which will only make the situation worse.  They don't understand family planning, and for many of them, their religion gives them an attitude that getting pregnant is God (or Allah)'s will so they shouldn't interfere.  So, do we tell them to stop having sex?  That's most definitely not going to happen...when you have so little, sex is their only way to experience a tiny bit of pleasure in life, how can one take that away from them?


To me, poverty is the biggest violation of human rights...there is no talk of "rights" or "dignity" when you are trapped in the poverty cycle.  You are forced to do whatever it takes to survive, and it's especially sad when vulnerable children is being forced into this type of situation every minute and second of the day.  


They said children are the future, but when I look at the children in Nigeria, I cannot help but feel hopeless.  Every time I visit a school in Nigeria, I am greeted by (literally) hundreds of innocent smile, each can lead the nation to a brighter future if they are given the opportunity.  However, after each fun school visits, I can't help but be reminded that each of these bright laughter at the end of the day, will really just represent another missed opportunity, another wasted soul, and another try at the game of life that leads to nothing.  Nigeria is growing to be the world's 3rd largest economy...it is scary to see that this is the future of the world's third largest economy.  Will my lantern really help these kids if they really just can't afford it?  For those who are at the bottom of the bottom, would a hand out be the hand up they need to get out of poverty? or would it really just further stripe away their dignity and perpetuate a system of dependency to foreign aid?  

It's official!

Nairobi has proven to be the quicksand that people said it is, and I am officially signed on to stay here for another few months until end of March, 2013!

This also mean that I had to officially resign from General Mills since the longest sabbatical I could take is 1 year.  The thought of leaving a safe, stable, enviable job in the US and officially jump off the corporate ladder was a bit nerve-wrecking.  What I am doing is completely against the "ideal career" I was taught to pursue growing up, but so far, no regrets!  :)

To be completely honest, when I saw the compensation package from d.light, my left brain screamed "this is a no brainer, go back to your 6 figure job, how can u live on this?"...for a while, I was sure that I will go back to Minneapolis and finally "settle down".  The gig in Africa was good while it lasted, but shifting from what I had to this new life would be too scary from a financial security stand point, regardless of how much I loved the work.

However, the morning I was suppose to announce my "I'm going back to the US after my fellowship" decision to d.light, I came across some notes I made from reading Mark Albion's book.  There was a quote that read "don't get really good at what you don't want to do"...and it really hit me.  Sure, I liked my old job and was learning a lot, but I love my new job and the new direction it will take me.  So, which job will give me the skills that's more relevant to what I'll want to dedicate my life doing?  The answer was pretty clear.  Once I figured that out, I spent the next few hours to work out a budget that is required for me to save money for retirement, meet my financial obligations back home, while still be able to live relatively comfortably in Nairobi.  To my surprise, while the paycut seemed drastic, it wasn't as impossible/scary as it seemed! After looking into the details and really try to find a way to make it work, the extra sum amount of money that I felt I "needed" turned out to be not so indispensable.  I guess the fear is rooted in the mind vs. in the reality after all!


This realization also reminded me of one of the most insightful advice I've been given. It was from an exiting marketing manager at General Mills for whom I have a lot of respect and admiration.  He was leaving GM to pursue his own start up in Asia. Just before he left, we had a nice chat, and I asked him, "what you're about to do is very risky, aren't you scared?" He answered "earning a paycheck is no less 'risky' than starting your own business, employers create a false sense of stability by giving you a paycheck every 2 weeks, but that paycheck can go away anytime, you could be fired or laid off at moment's notice, how 'secure' is that? It's not that different from losing your own business.  Moreover, the seemingly 'predictable' corporate career path also creates the illusion that you'll become more established and secure as you climb up the ladder; however, the reality is, the higher up you are, the more scared you become as the stake gets higher...so there is no end to this chase, think very carefully about what you want in life and don't get stuck in the system"  What he said made a big impact on me and his words stuck with me for a long time.  With the recent massive laid off at General Mills where some of my very intelligent, hardworking friends were impacted, it only proved his points more.  There's no such thing as job security in the corporate world, and life is truly too short to be doing something we don't love only because of our fear of the unknown.  If we set our minds to do something, and go about it in a smart way, I believe that we can achieve whatever it is that we want to do.  I have met many people here in Nairobi who has successfully done exactly that, and I pray that I can be as lucky as them one day as I begin this pursuit of my own.


So just as I've set some objectives at the beginning of my fellowship, I thought it would be appropriate to set some goals for the 2nd phase of my African adventure as well:

• Basics
• Stay alive, healthy & safe...  (I think this one will stay on the list for a while, heehee)
• Career
• Try and find a balanced pace and approach to move things forward without frustrating myself and the people I lead: coming from the American culture and organizations with highly competent teams, I often have high expectations and vision for rapid progress that my African colleagues may have trouble keeping up with.  I hope to use the next few month to find a balance between my own expectation and my approach in pushing people to be their best so that things get done while maintaining a harmonious relationship in the team
• Figure out where I would like to be after this post in d.light: now I'm officially off the corporate bandwagon, it'll take quite a bit of networking and soul-searching to figure out exactly where in this complicated international development/social entrepreneurship space that I will find most interesting and be able to make the most contribution
• Personal
• Be Able to converse in basic Swahili 
• Do more "artsy" things in Nairobi: Nairobi has a vibrant art scene that I'm just beginning to discover, with my new roommate being the creative type, I hope to explore this part of Kenya much more
• Community
• Get Kianda Vision Computer Center to a self-sustaining stage: this is one of few things I am so proud to have the opportunity to be a part of.  It seems to be on track and growing, and I'd love to help it get to a self-sustaining stage so we will be in a good shape to scale