Blog #18 – A Day to Remember

Monday morning bright and early! An eight o’clock start to my day! I was going to bring my laptop into work, so I got picked up by Lesley just to be safe. It isn’t that I am really afraid of it getting stolen, its just that the potential is there and why task the risk – especially if it means you can bum a ride, haha!

We had two school visits scheduled for the afternoon. So I spent my morning going over the presentation in my head and starting to think of how it was going to work out in my presentation style! I really had no idea what to expect…so I was a little anxious to say the least! I also had to write a press release announcing the return, expansion and development of our program. Considering it was my first day at work, it was a challenging task. Luckily the tasks ate up most of my morning…but B’man, our local partner, hadn’t shown up yet and it was 11:30am! We had to leave by 12noon to make it to the schools on time! I was getting worried? This was much more than just ‘Africa Time’!

B’man sidled into the office at 11:45 and sat down with Lesley. He told her that he was leaving this afternoon for a one-month safari in the bush. He was basically quitting right on the very first day of his full time work! Needless to say we cancelled the school visits and the majority of the afternoon I spent witnessing a very intense, passionate and emotional discussion between Lesley and B’man.

B’man said his reason was that he was making more money on the safari job. He said that he had a dream for his kid to go to school and for him to be able to build a good house out of bricks for his family. He needed the extra money! Lesley told him that he could have asked to negotiate his salary. She also explained that they had agreed to him working for three months fulltime, which was guaranteed work, where as after this safari he didn’t know if there would be any other job?

Lesley was really distraught! She had spent the last three years working with B’man, having him trained and developed as a coach. Her idea was to have him be the local fulltime coach when the program would get launched as a year-round activity. He didn’t see that him leaving at this critical time was letting us all down. All of the effort that Lesley had put in with him and the relationships they had built with the communities would go when B’man left – they would need to be reestablished with someone new. What was most shocking was that B’man would take this one month job for an extra thousand pula (like $200) over working for a little bit less, but doing something really meaningful for the community. That was the killer – that if the one local person we worked with didn’t even see the value in what was being done, how could anything beneficial get passed onto the kids?

The two main lessons that I learnt from this were the following. First, that money is the largest motivator here. Money is what feeds you and your family. It is what puts a roof over your head and provides comfort and security. It is sad to say, but money here is almost more important than it is back in North America! The second is that people see work as work and nothing more. If they get paid that is all that matters. They do not do something because they necessarily enjoy it, or are good at it, or want to better themselves. They do it because work is just another part of life. The whole message we tote back home of finding your dream job and pursuing your passions, really hasn’t caught on here.

After a lot of discussion, it was clear that no matter what was said, B’man’s mind was made up and he was going. And off he went. We spent the rest of the afternoon determining whether someone that B’man had suggested was a suitable replacement or not. His name was Kenny. He could translate, but didn’t have great English. He didn’t play or really even like football. He also had a license, but no driving experience, so that aspect was going to be challenging as well. I spent the rest of the afternoon briefing him and orienting him to the program. This was the program that I was really introduced thoroughly to on Saturday, so I got a kick out of all of this! I also sent him home with some reading so hopefully he will be on-the-ball tomorrow with things :)

Needless to say, my first day was eventful!
I ended up staying late helping Lesley with some work and trying to get myself ready fro tomorrow. Now I was taking lead on the project as Lesley didn’t have time and Bman was gone. It may sound a little crazy, but I love it! It is really exciting and so completing not boring. It is challenging and I couldn’t ask for anything more fulfilling. I really feel like I am learning – my biggest fear is not having an appreciable impact on the kids. I still want them to learn and to get the experience they would have – so that is what I feel asleep at night thinking. My brain in overdrive and tomorrow my actual first school visits!