I think I’ve mentioned before that things here go a bit differently than our fast-paced American lifestyle. Pole pole is a Swahili expression that means “slowly slowly,” and it quite accurately describes the general mentality I’ve witnessed here so far. I’ve deduced some general principles of time keeping and business doing:
-Deadlines are actually just suggested timelines (This principle I take straight from a prominent politician’s mouth when he was talking about why Kenya had failed to meet the ICC’s deadline for implementing a local tribunal following the post-election violence of 2007)
-When you agree to meet someone at a specific time, just try to be within the general period of the day. For example, if we agree to meet at 9am, it would be courteous for you to arrive at some time before noon.
-If you’re late in arriving somewhere and the person waiting for you calls to see where you are, lie and tell them you are almost there (making up a specific landmark isn’t beyond protocol) so as to not hurt his/her feelings.
-It is better to engage in a long process of negotiation when agreeing on a price for a service or good than being upfront about the actual terms of trade. It’s like socializing!
-Why expedite a necessary communication with a particular contact by placing a phone call if you can wait for an email reply, or better yet, arrive unannounced in person and wait until said contact has time to meet with you?
-Release information to interested parties only if it is vital, and only at the last possible moment. You shouldn’t bother wasting someone’s limited memory space just in order to keep him/her in the loop as details arise.
The following anecdote will perhaps validate some of these brash claims and perhaps enlighten you to what it is like to work with a Kenyan NGO that lives whole-heartedly by these principles:
IFP (in conjunction with some other organizations) is planning East Africa’s regional celebration of World Fisheries Day 2009. The event is set for November 21st, and we are just now planning crucial details like venue, media, fundraising, and budget. Unlike most years, the Ministry of Fisheries Development expressed interest in participating in funding and planning of this year’s event. At the last planning meeting (which the Ministry’s representative was unapologetically absent from), it was decided that a delegation of planers must be sent to Bondo, the district where the event is to be held. Among things like actually picking a venue to host the workshops and visiting the beach where main activities will be held, the Ministry required that we make a visit to the district commissioner (DC) to let him know we would be hosting the event in Bondo and that another government organization would be involved in the hosting. The meeting was on Friday. We tentatively agreed to go on the next Wednesday, and somehow I ended up a member of the delegation.
By the next Tuesday afternoon, I had heard nothing of our plans to go to Bondo, so I figured the mission was postponed. Au contrare. As I said my goodbyes to our small staff, my fellow delegation member casually mentioned as I was making my way out the door that he’d see me tomorrow for the trip to Bondo. Did he have details regarding this trip—departure time, etc? Not a chance. By 9pm, I finally called Agia to see if he knew details yet. We agreed to meet at 9am and leave in the Ministry’s vehicle by 10am.
I foolishly arrived to the office on time. I was informed by the other intern (btw, not a member of the delegation) that our departure had been stalled due to negotiations with the Ministry. Just when we had given up on going with the Ministry and arranged alternative transport, the Ministry called back and agreed to go. Finally, something was agreed, and the Ministry rep was on his way over to pick us up. By the time he arrived it was well past noon. Of course, the negotiations had not been concluded. The Ministry had supplied the vehicle, IFP should provide the fuel. IFP had 2000 shillings (about $25) to contribute. The rep wasn’t sure. That would definitely get us to Bondo, but we might not make it back…duh duh duh (of course my preliminary calculations proved that 2000 would be plenty). My completely logical suggestion was entirely dismissed by anyone who mattered: the Ministry should fill up its own tank before we left and IFP would fill it when we returned, thereby knowing EXACTLY how much fuel we used on the journey. As they say here, the Ministry guys just wanted to “eat" the extra money, but they eventually agreed to 2000…or so we thought.
1:00pm (3 hours past planned departure time). Five of us including the MFD rep leave the office crammed into a double cab truck. We were crammed because instead of driving himself, the rep had brought a driver. Obviously we couldn’t ride all the way to Bondo with 4 grown men in the back seat, so we stopped off at the Ministry headquarters to pick up a Nissan van. Here, negotiations started once again because due to the fact we needed to take a larger, older vehicle (a “gas guzzler”), we would need more fuel money. All the while time was ticking away. Another team member and I suggested we abort the mission because we wouldn’t be able to accomplish all the things we needed to get done this late in the day. Once again, logical suggestions were ignored--“don’t worry, this is Kenya!” exclaimed someone from the Ministry.
Off like a heard of turtles, the motley crew rolled out no earlier than 2:30pm (after a prolonged stop at the gas station to fill up and get some snacks). So we drove the hour and a half up to Bondo. We met with the DC. He had received the letter announcing our visit a whole 24 hours previous to our arrival. Although being a bit skeptical at first of the legitimacy of IFP and the purpose of WFD, he was ultimately quite supportive. My presence at the meeting, however, was completely irrelevant.
And then we left. No, we did not visit any hotels to get an idea of pricing—we’ve got months weeks to make those decisions. Nope, no beach visit—that would have required more fuel. Yep, we’re gonna have to go back.
I noticed you stole Clay's gas plan and are using it in Kenya- well done.
ReplyDeleteYour stories are funny and interesting! Keep them coming! Oh, and I think that the deadline/guideline thing is pretty common- that's how my Ecuadorian NGO operated too. I was the loca exception. My favorite included planning meetings at the local school at 3pm, even though EVERYONE had to take the ranchera to the school, and the rancher arrived at 3:25. I would say, why don't we have the meeting at 3:30 because everyone can take the ranchera and we can start on time? And they would be like, well, 3:00 is a rounder time. aghh!
inquiring minds want to know how pole pole is pronounced?
ReplyDeleteIf it makes you feel any better, I had a conference call with a blue-blood, blue-chip American corporation today, at which we made yet another slight increment forward in making contacts to weigh in on an issue for which there will be an important meeting on Nov 18 and a very important government announcement around Dec 31 (the increments have been coming over the past year). In this case it's hard to get anything done because everyone involved is so busy keeping meeting, phone conference, and other appointments somewhat on time, but the effect is the same.
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