September 5, 2014 - Clark

Friday, September 05, 2014

I know I sound like a broken record, but the days are so long and the weeks are so short, I seem to lose all track of time.  I still have not adjusted to the 15 second sunset that occurs around 6:30.  As soon as the sun goes down, darkness sets in and we are restricted to our guarded razor wire enclosed compound.  We have enjoyed welcoming the new senior couple, Neil and Glenda Draper from Calgary, Canada.  We just returned from a neighborhood walk and are having them over for a game of 5 crowns this evening.

This week has had highs and lows.  I’ll share the good news and hold on to the low points.  We received word just yesterday that our final two projects have been approved.  They are construction of a pedestrian bridge located near one of the local chapels and the other is purchasing cooking lab equipment for an all-girls school.  That means that every project we have submitted for approval has now been approved.  In all that makes 7, with one emergency response proposal and one water project and 5 local area initiatives.  We are at our limit until we complete and close some.  We’re now finding out the reporting requirements, and I thought it was unnecessarily complex dealing with the IRS.  

The low point of the week occurred when we returned to visit Immaculee, the director of the small village water program for the Ministry of Health.  We have invested nearly $2,000 of our own money trying to determine the estimated cost per well to repair existing wells.  Armed with that information we returned to present a proposal to the villages.  If they would set aside $150 of their own money for each well in a bank account for future repairs, we would repair the well without a cap on the total repair cost.  I thought it was a total no-brainer, but I don’t think like the Congolese.  

Rather than express gratitude for the 4 wells we had restored to working condition at an average cost of $308 per well, her first  response was, “I have had several complaints from  your work”:

1. Two village technicians had volunteered to help us repair wells in their villages because they had already been trained by the Ministry of Health.  The supervisor from the MOH who accompanied us told us not to pay them because their village was receiving the benefit of new water.  These technicians were paid $20 after 2 days work (average salary here is $1-2 per hour).  Both technicians complained to the MOH that they had not been paid  and Immaculee was more concerned about their complaining than about the newly restored water.
2. The supervisor who accompanied us was not paid anything by us because we assumed he was on the MOH government payroll.  Apparently he was only part-time and he complained that he had been required to work a full day each of two days and he wanted additional money.  Immaculee wanted us to pay him.
3. The village chiefs who received restored wells didn’t express gratitude for the restored well but complained that the visitors had brought the chief no commodities such as sugar or salt as a token of respect for the chief.  

I was so deflated because I felt we had a perfect solution to the multitude of boreholes that had been abandoned in this single health zone. (32) But the response we received told me the people were not yet prepared for my proposal and I would simply follow those who had gone before by making an investment of time and money that was not their own.  The people need to see this as their problem and take ownership which will include a commitment to future maintenance of any investment.  

We had a fun experience on Monday at Bukanda School.  They are a poor village without desks for their elementary school.  We are in the process of providing  125 desks and repainting all the classrooms.  The room have latex on the wall and enamel on a bottom strip of about one foot.  We had Elder Atkinson deliver the painting supplies we had purchased for about $1,000 on Friday and returned on Monday to observe the painting.  They asked what time we would be there to supervise the project.  We told them it was their project and we would be there to take pictures and thank the volunteers who showed up.  They did take charge and about 15 volunteers did show up to paint.  It wasn’t the way I would have done it but the paint did get on the walls (the floors, the windows and everywhere else), but at least it was their project.  I was disappointed when we arrived, they didn’t say thanks for delivering the painting supplies but said we had forgotten some paint thinner for the enamel paint.  Flavien stepped in and said after all we had done, they could come up with the $10 for paint thinner and take care of it themselves.  They agreed but it’s unfortunate it had to be discussed.

I recently received an email from Elder Wright that was a response President McMullin had written to his daughter-in-law about charitable giving in Africa.  It offers great insight from someone who has lived and served in DRCongo for 2 years as mission president.  

We have enjoyed seeing the landscape for the first time through the eyes of the Drapers.  After a while you become calloused to the shock and awe of your first impressions.  As we have hosted them and introduced them to church meetings, downtown shopping, neighborhood walks, driving, grocery stores and a multitude of other firsts, it is fun to see the world all over again through their eyes.  It almost feels like watching your child experience things for the first time; the zoo, a mountain hike, Disneyland, ice cream.  They are going to be a great addition to the mission.  Elder Draper will serve as the executive secretary to the mission president and Sister Draper is an outstanding musician with great keyboarding skills.  I imagine she will be Sister Clawson’s replacement with scheduling traveling and transfers and tracking logistics.

This week has been crazy.  There are 13 Elders who have been stranded in Mbuji-Mayi for over a week and 14 new Elders arriving from Ghana.  All of the flights change by the hour with cancellations and changed routes and times.  Last night we had to make a midnight run.  Four sisters and one Elder came from Kinshasa.  They arrived after 23:00, took an hour plus for processing and then President Thomas had to conduct interviews in the parking lot.  We arrived home at 2:00 in the morning.   The four sisters all had to leave at 4:30 the next morning; 2 to Mbjui-Mayi and 2 to Burundi.  We’re leaving again in 10 minutes to pick up 16 Elders from the airport.  I thought I’d never remember how to get there and now I’m almost on automatic pilot.

We had a shopping spree this past week in preparation for the new missionaries arriving. We volunteered to be in charge of buying for the new missionaries.  We provide them a blanket, pillow, mosquito net, water purification bottle, LED lights for when the electricity fails, an umbrella, colored pencils, sheets for their bed and a large carryall bag.  We have different locations to buy everything.  Elder Clawson had taken us last transfer and we had to remember all of the stores locations; not an easy task.  We did and spent $1,500 in resupplying the depot where the inventory is stored.  

This coming week we have a new medical advisor coming to replace Sister Clawson.  His name is Dr. Mikesell from St. George; he is a retired dentist who is 75 years old and has just had double knee replacement surgery.  No Dr. Keller, you are not too old.  We also have two other senior couples changing locations on Friday with the shuffle that seems almost constant.  We will soon be considered the veterans as we will have been here longer than the president and two other couples.  

Our day starts off with a visit from the DTA assistant (Director of Temporal Affairs) from Johannesburg first thing tomorrow, so we’re off to bed.  We love you and love hearing from each of you.  Have a great week.

Dad (Elder Davis)