Soul or Efficiency

I had, of all things, a pedicure on our last day in Rau. One of the housekeepers in our home base, Mama Judith-who essentially adopted our kids as her own grandchildren (she actually cleaned their shoes when I wasn’t looking one day)—has a granddaughter, Lulu, who does massages, manicures and pedicures and comes to town periodically to provide these services to the volunteers. Given the level of ground in dirt that had been residing in my feet for the past four weeks, the $8 seemed like a worthy investment despite the incongruousness of it all. Of course, I could rationalize it by saying that I was helping to support this young woman, particularly because her grandmother has been so kind to us, but let’s be real. It felt great, I enjoyed every moment and she did a fabulous job. Lulu is an extraordinary young woman. She is twenty one, the eldest sister of a family of 11 kids. Her father is a former Maasai who is now a Muslim (a rather unique combination) with a moderately successful car service business, but likely not successful enough to comfortably support a family of 13. She is an industrious woman who is determined to be independent and successful and not a burden to her family. She also speaks impeccable English and was fascinating to talk to about Tanzanian life and her view of how it compares to life elsewhere. She expressed what I have come to believe is pretty standard among the Tanzanian people—a matter-of-factness about the way things are—they have little, we (Americans/Europeans) have a lot, life in Tanzania is very challenging, but while they wish they were not so poor they are ambivalent about changing the character of their lives. She reiterated the common theme that family, respect for elders and close relationships with friends and members of the community are paramount above all else in Tanzania.

In talking to Lulu, and in considering my time in Rau (the village in which we are living) and Tanzania, I am constantly contemplating the question of soul vs. efficiency. I have frequently had the thought that if I only had the time and resources, I could inject efficiency into the system; help increase productivity, and perhaps, prosperity. That’s not to say that efficiency would cure all ills here. Corruption is widespread. Healthcare is inadequate. Education is spotty. HIV/AIDS is widespread. Nonetheless, you don’t have to participate in many transactions in Tanzania before it becomes painfully obvious that a little efficiency and process could go a long way. Really—give me an hour to organize a store, or train employees or set up a logical process to allow business to operate more effectively, and you would see profits increase. It’s all I can do to walk into a store and refrain from offering to just organize the shelves for them.

At other moments, I wonder what near perfect efficiency has done to the soul of our country. For all of our effectiveness in business, agriculture and information technology, we fundamentally lack the kindness, warmth, generosity and genuine sense of community that permeates everything here. It is incredibly difficult for me, as an American (an anal one at that) to grasp that people would not have a more burning desire to improve their economic circumstances. At the same time, I have no doubt that most of our Tanzanian friends would be horrified to observe the fever pitch in which we (I, in particular) generally operate and how much of our lives are dedicated to planning for the future, often to the complete exclusion of appreciating the present. As we have described in our blogs previously, during the amount of time that Tanzanians spend greeting each other, an industrious person could have solved some number of the world’s problems. The question, of course, is at what cost? The Tanzanian people are true examples of how to live in the moment. There is a sense among Tanzanians that if someone needs something—that they give it, regardless of how little they actually have and whether doing so will hinder their ability to even feed their own family. I have had many debates over the years with people over why mega rich people, like the Bill Gates’ of the world, continue to work so hard to increase their wealth—when they already have enough for themselves and their family to live the most lavish and extravagant of lives into perpetuity. The opposite principle is at work here. While there is certainly a desire to succeed and improve their lot through education, the pervasive drive to maximize wealth and plan for the future is simply not the motivating force of their lives.

Perhaps, it is somewhere betwixt and between that lies the answer. Clearly, enhanced efficiency could increase the financial performance and well being of Tanzanians. It is equally clear that deemphasizing efficiency, in favor of community, patience and kindness would be a welcome contribution to American society. But really, could I just organize a few shelves before I leave??