Week 2 Pictures: Pendo means Love

What do you see?

Trees as green as wild grass on a spring morning; earth as raw and red as if it was the lifeblood of the earth itself; people as passionate and personable as if they were your own brothers and sisters; metal roofs and sun-scorched bricks weathered and worn by years of use-- forget the big five and all those roadside souvenirs - this is Africa. This boundless nature is what makes Africa so special, and was in this world of vibrant life and color that I began my second week of work in Tanzania (check out some pictures below).

The week kicked off, as a week often does, at a local church on a Sunday morning.  As Jennifer and I were waiting for the service to begin she and I became the center of attention for a large group of local children. Before any songs had been sung or testimonies had been tested, the two of us came to attention for the rest of the congregation as the children called out “muzungu! muzungu!”

Fortunately this was not the first time I had heard this term used, and as my handy-dandy Swahili-to-English dictionary describes, “muzungu” literally means people who walk in circles, referring to the way in which non-Africans appear to struggle in circles as they drive aimlessly through Africa.

a herd of real-life muzungus in their natural habitat

Although we were not doing any driving in the church that day, by the time the congregation rose to sing a half-dozen Swahili songs, I certainly found myself struggling with a few new extra friends attached to my arms and legs – the little kids were clinging to my clothes like muzungu magnets!

As the service proceeded, the children hardly abated – in fact, after the preacher had summed up his stirring Swahili sermon on Paul’s chiding the Corinthians toward righteousness (Romans 3), Jennifer and I were both overwhelmed with this mass of small children, most of whom were visibly parent-less, and many of whom wanted to learn our names (and wanted us to learn their names as well). This game of name-learning and name-sharing broke out in full force once the service was dismissed, and my conversation with this score of Tanzanian kids turned into a full-blown cultural exchange of words and phrases when I busted out my trusty sketchbook and pens.

handy dandy Swahili-to-English dictionary and trusty
sketchbook. I wouldn't have gotten far without the dictionary
and I wouldn't have remembered much without the sketchbook.
both were great assets. pens not included.

Unlike Jennifer I am a visual, not an auditory learner. While she assimilated easily with the spoken Luo and Swahili, I was confronted with so much input that I turned to my good old sketchbook and handy dandy dictionary to learn the children’s names and phrases by drawing them out in my book and letting the kids write their own stories to go along with the sketches. What follows are the results of several hours of intense cross-cultural sketchbooking:

musilaba means cross

dogi means lips

rangi means red, blue, orange, and yellow?

oh wait... rangi means paint

and of course "ninja" is the same in all languages

The only thing more inspiring than the fact these kids were sketching and visualizing their culture in my sketchbook was that they were sketching and visualizing their culture in my sketchbook in a church – and in Tanzania of all places. It was an unbelievable experience to witness this after also witnessing God’s cross-cultural presence in the same building just a few hours earlier.

Back during the service as I sat listening to the head pastor's sermon, I felt God’s love in the words he was speaking… even though I couldn’t understand a single one of them! Simply listening to the passion of the testimonies, the joy of the singers, and the shouts of the performers brought me close to tears at one point. I felt God saying, “Look at all this love. How can you possibly doubt my presence in your own life when I am clearly present in the lives of these people a world away from Cincinnati.” What a revelation – and what love that God pours out on people to bring them into such a state of joy. I was blown away by this togetherness.  By seeing these Tanzanians growing together and striving to be more like Christ. Even as I write this I’m still trying to process the whole experience and come to grips with how an experience like this can be so simultaneously foreign, and yet also so incredibly relatable!

Needless to say, this church experience was the high-point of my week - maybe even the entire trip. The rest of our second week was spent much the same as the first; while working with other University of Cincinnati students, I continued taking measurements and sketches of the Roche Health Center.  I love sketching and mapping, and being able to draw and measure on site and away from the confines of studio was a nice break from typical desk-based architecture work.

hard at work at the RHC...
...Stanley Black and Decker style

the not-so-glamorous side of architecture:
as-built drawings!

Later in the week the men from our UC team got to play futbol with some of the locals (sorry, no girls allowed!) It was one of the special instances during the trip when, paradoxically, while we were fiercely competing in sports we muzungu foreigners felt more like we were on the same team with the native Tanzanians while competing together with them than if we were simply there.  Outright competition seemed more relevant and relateable than simply being there and culturally competing against them through inaction.

This brings me to a central point of my blog, which I haven’t spoken about enough, but which is crucial to life here in Africa. I haven't found a good word for the quality I'm trying to describe here, but something about the people in Tanzania (and in South Africa too, to a degree) speaks to an uncanny sense of optimism, positivity, and full-blooded life. I don’t know if there’s a word for it other than the African “CAN-do” spirit that I’ve named this blog after. Playing soccer with the local kids and experiencing the love of the local church church community brought on this feeling of hope more than just about anything I’ve experienced here so far – although in our soccer game we competed against each others, we competed together by working in teams to accomplish a goal.

futbol in Shirati

I guess I’m just a sucker for that team spirit, and I’m sure that I will revisit this un-named theme plenty more as the summer progresses.  But for now, let me leave you with one last image.

It may be idealistic, as it is something I've been thinking and dreaming about for quite some time, but I'm dreaming big for Africa.  I'm dreaming of an Africa in which every person has hope for life, a means to live their life fully, and a physical place to call home. Is that too much to hope for?  Like Abram believed God's covenant in Genesis, I want to believe that God has a great legacy in store for the people here, and great plans for all of Africa. It's a big world but it is full of hope.

And that is what I see.

-quote of the day-
"'Do not be afraid Abram.
I am your shield, your very great reward...
...Look up at the heavens and count the stars - if indeed you can count them... so shall your offspring be.'
...Abram believed the Lord and it was credited to him as righteousness"
Genesis 15: 1, 5-6

Humanitarian Design

Good morning Perspective, how was your first weekend in Cape Town? Surfing in Muizenberg and a three-hour tour at Noero Wolff Architects? You don’t say! Tell you what, I’ll order us two cups of Rooibos and then you can get started with your stories... Waiter!

Muizenberg, a fine place to learn how to surf

Say, I meant to ask last time, but you don't mind if I share your thoughts and stories with some of my friends do you? No, no, it won’t be a big show, just some close friends on the internet... What’s that? Sure, I promise not to tell people that you’ve started wearing your shirts a third time since you can’t seem to find a good laundry place nearby. Would you mind if I use your Macbook… just for a bit… OK, I’ll just be taking a few notes as you go through your stories…

So, now that we’re sorted, how about we get started with your first topic – Humanitarian Design, wasn’t it? Ah yes, it looks like our Rooibos is ready, so let me just add a bit of milk and honey here and you can go right ahead with your first story.

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Perspective: Humanitarian Design

As broadly defined, Humanitarianism is an ethic of kindness, benevolence, and sympathy extended universally and impartially to all humans, with no distinction made on grounds of gender, tribal, caste, religious, or national divisions.

As a branch of Humanitarianism, Humanitarian Design seeks first to meet the needs of specific demographics by providing goods and services that are unique to the means of the users (such people who may otherwise be discriminated against through generic design services).

rising Humanitarian Designers

Humanitarian Design is almost always conducted with significant restraints – cultural, material, financial, or otherwise – and calls for unique (and often unorthodox) methods of problem solving.

This past spring I participated in a course at the University of Cincinnati that dealt specifically with the needs and constraints of such Humanitarian Design in action. Our professor, in partnership with local architecture students and medical professionals in Cincinnati and a local non-profit organization in Tanzania, led fifteen students to conduct a series of studies on a Health Center he helped design in the village of Roche.

While in the Tanzanian Village, I conducted a post-occupancy analysis of the Health Center, recording the building through a series of as-built drawings and conducting a series of similar drawings and measurements. In honesty, my work was but a small part of the class’s larger goal to discern the various needs of four proximal villages and make proposals for future Humanitarian opportunities in each.

A large part of the analytical study was technical. We spent a good amount of time discerning measurable results and variables from quantifiable elements of the Health Center in Roche, but much of the study was also subjective. For every quantifiable aspect of my study I had to also be aware of many unquantifiable cultural and social constraints.

Maintaining awareness of these factors was at times both cumbersome and enthralling. Obstacles ranged from the purely technical (returning to the metric system, which I have rarely used since moving to the States in 2000) to linguistic (learning Luo and Swahili phrases in order to accurately obtain post-occupancy information) to team-dynamic (operating as part of a team of cross-cultural workers and responding to the team’s diversity as we conducted our studies).

All of these factors play into the role of a Humanitarian Designer. It was an incredible blessing to work with local Tanzanians and experience their spirit of positive energy and optimism. I would have only accomplished a fraction of the work if it had not been for their help and willingness, as well as a great deal of assistance from other UC students who took part in the post-occupancy report and lengthy process of obtaining as-built measurements.

As I’m sure you can imagine, Humanitarian Design is a swiftly evolving field. I remember beginning my studies simply with a passion for Africa, as well as the people and circumstances I knew existed “over there”. However, I came to realize over the course of the project that it is less important where work is being done as why the work is being done. Several neighborhoods in Cincinnati need as much, if not more, Humanitarian attention as we gave to Roche and surrounding Tanzanian villages. What is most important is that Humanitarian Designers, wherever they are, be passionate about the work they do for others.

One last piece of advice I have for aspiring Humanitarians Designers is this – if you are genuine in your approach, you will surely find a means to make the work you do beneficial to your chosen cause. As for me, I am trying to keep the words of Matthew 25 close to heard as I work, treating all people as if they were my own brother or sister. Check it out. Matthew 25: 37-40, it’s good stuff. I would venture to say it's Jesus' own guidance to us aspiring Humanitarian Designers.

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Thanks for your insight, Perspective. And sadly it seems we’ve each finished our cups of Rooibos - I’ll have to get us a full kettle next time!

You say our next chat will focus more on your day-to-day adventures in Tanzania and Kenya? Maybe you can bring some photos instead of just talking the whole time. Ah, sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.

And yes, in fact I wish I could stay for another cup of tea but I really must get back to my apartment, we have a Fourth of July party scheduled with some other students. Take care on your way back home! Oh, and if you need an extra set of clothes, please let me know, I think we wear about the same size. Totsiens! See you on Wednesday!

Rooibos Tea, proudly South African

-quote of the day-
"Then the righteous will answer him 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothing and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'"
Matthew 25: 37-40

-listening to: Twenty-Four by Switchfoot-