Gaining a perspective on the thinking in other cultures continues to surprise me. As usual, I came back to Serge and Olivia’s for lunch. While enjoying a hamburger (which, because it was cooked well done, tasted more like a meatloaf sandwich), I was asking for Serge’s perspective on the IT department. Omonge is out on paternity leave for a while and his wife just checked into the hospital. (They have been married for 11 years and this is their first child.) He was the prime mover on all the projects I’m here to work on and I’m wondering about organizational (spelled “organisational” in Kenya) dynamics.
If I were doing the same work in the US, there would have already been informational meetings with key senior people in each area of the BTL center, communicating what the goals were, the timelines, the impact and the benefits. None of that seems to have happened. Larry and I have been discussing some soon-to-happen changes that the users may be quite confused about and, when I suggested a meeting or email or something, just kind of got a blank stare.
In asking Serge for his perspective on how things work here at the center, I mentioned that I hadn’t known Omonge was going to have a baby within days and that several people he works around daily hadn’t known either until after he’d left.
Serge and Olivia were not surprised at all. It seems that Omonge is from a minority Kenyan tribe and, at the office, is surrounded by others of another tribe. Because Africans are so conscious of tribal differences, Omonge would not have felt free to express his joy to those of another tribe and, at least subconsciously, those in the office would not have shared his joy and celebrated with him. Can you imagine that ever happening in the US???
Good news, bad news. The bad news: the former server that had been hosting the accounting system had essentially died Tuesday. The good news: though it was shut down, the accounting department reports that everything on the new server (set up last week) is running great. The good news: the accounting manager has approved us taking the hard drives out of the old server and using them for another purpose. The bad news: we opened the machine the drives are intended for and they just won’t fit. Square peg, round hole.
Omonge is the one who had put together this plan and he’s out for the baby. We can’t reach him to find out what he was thinking of and what backup plan he might have. This problem is stopping us from moving forward on three projects, each important and at the top of the list. We sure could use some prayer about this and that a good solution will be found soon.
More good news! I’m no longer broke. After dinner, Serge took me to an ATM and my new PIN for the credit card worked. I now have enough to buy groceries for the next week or two. (Serge and Olivia are leaving for South Africa and won’t be back until after I leave. They’re graciously allowing me to continue to use their apartment.)
What an environment they live in. As we got to the bank at the end of the dark, almost deserted street, we saw a car blocking the entrance to the bank, apparently stalled and needing a jump. Another car was just nosing in and there were four people standing there. Rather than letting me get out and walk by the cars to get to the ATM, he decided to drive further to a small strip mall with an ATM outside the grocery store. Even there, he escorted me to and from the ATM, despite a security person standing nearby in the parking area.
I look forward so much to being back in the States where the default attitude is to assume you’re safe. I don’t like always having to look over my shoulder. Still, it reminds me to “always be alert with your full attention, because the devil, who is your enemy, is going around, looking for people to destroy. He is like a lion who roars as it prowls around, seeking someone to kill and devour. You must resist him by continuing to firmly trust in Christ and his message, remembering that your fellow believers all over the world are experiencing similar sufferings that the devil is bringing to them. God is the one who in his kindness helps us in every situation…” I Peter 5:8-10a (from A Translators's Translation of the New Testament)
If I were doing the same work in the US, there would have already been informational meetings with key senior people in each area of the BTL center, communicating what the goals were, the timelines, the impact and the benefits. None of that seems to have happened. Larry and I have been discussing some soon-to-happen changes that the users may be quite confused about and, when I suggested a meeting or email or something, just kind of got a blank stare.
In asking Serge for his perspective on how things work here at the center, I mentioned that I hadn’t known Omonge was going to have a baby within days and that several people he works around daily hadn’t known either until after he’d left.
Serge and Olivia were not surprised at all. It seems that Omonge is from a minority Kenyan tribe and, at the office, is surrounded by others of another tribe. Because Africans are so conscious of tribal differences, Omonge would not have felt free to express his joy to those of another tribe and, at least subconsciously, those in the office would not have shared his joy and celebrated with him. Can you imagine that ever happening in the US???
Good news, bad news. The bad news: the former server that had been hosting the accounting system had essentially died Tuesday. The good news: though it was shut down, the accounting department reports that everything on the new server (set up last week) is running great. The good news: the accounting manager has approved us taking the hard drives out of the old server and using them for another purpose. The bad news: we opened the machine the drives are intended for and they just won’t fit. Square peg, round hole.
Omonge is the one who had put together this plan and he’s out for the baby. We can’t reach him to find out what he was thinking of and what backup plan he might have. This problem is stopping us from moving forward on three projects, each important and at the top of the list. We sure could use some prayer about this and that a good solution will be found soon.
More good news! I’m no longer broke. After dinner, Serge took me to an ATM and my new PIN for the credit card worked. I now have enough to buy groceries for the next week or two. (Serge and Olivia are leaving for South Africa and won’t be back until after I leave. They’re graciously allowing me to continue to use their apartment.)
What an environment they live in. As we got to the bank at the end of the dark, almost deserted street, we saw a car blocking the entrance to the bank, apparently stalled and needing a jump. Another car was just nosing in and there were four people standing there. Rather than letting me get out and walk by the cars to get to the ATM, he decided to drive further to a small strip mall with an ATM outside the grocery store. Even there, he escorted me to and from the ATM, despite a security person standing nearby in the parking area.
I look forward so much to being back in the States where the default attitude is to assume you’re safe. I don’t like always having to look over my shoulder. Still, it reminds me to “always be alert with your full attention, because the devil, who is your enemy, is going around, looking for people to destroy. He is like a lion who roars as it prowls around, seeking someone to kill and devour. You must resist him by continuing to firmly trust in Christ and his message, remembering that your fellow believers all over the world are experiencing similar sufferings that the devil is bringing to them. God is the one who in his kindness helps us in every situation…” I Peter 5:8-10a (from A Translators's Translation of the New Testament)
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