Work Ethic

Many times, assumptions are made by others about the type of work ethic held by people living in countries such as this, where it is hot and not much seems to get done- according to our western standards. But here I see that many people must live day by day. Work here also includes the gardening, the carrying of water, the picking of fruit, walking to get food from the market, pounding the ginger or ugali etc., starting the fire after gathering the firewood, maybe this includes carrying firewood up 300 ft to where your small house sits atop the rocky hill… Doing things that would generally not even be thought of take up time here. Even feeding cows means going almost everyday to find a field of grass, cutting it, and bringing it back, maybe on a bike, to where the cows are held in stalls. Filling in a wall with cement and sand doesn’t mean something easy- I saw a young girl yesterday filling up a sack the size of a big sack of flour with sand (from the bottom of the hill of rocks which I live at the bottom of, on which there are many small houses- it is very steep to climb). She was preparing to carry it up the hill to where she lives. I would hardly be able to lift it up, let alone put it on my head. I also watched as another young girl carried about a 10 foot log on her head, with her arms straight up and bent at the elbows to balance the log with her forearms behind her head. Climbing the rocks! I do not think there is such thing as a poor work ethic here, but rather the essentials of daily living take priority; they take much longer and require more attention than our daily needs (which technology has helped with, sometimes good, maybe sometimes bad).

Life here is very based on relationships and spending time with others. As mentioned before, greetings take up a lot of time, but it is important to ensure the wellness of others and their families. Time takes on a different meaning and only the essentials are done- taking on the meaning of living day by day. Is not living similarly to this what we are called to do as Christians? Jesus said not to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow has enough worries of its own. “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” (Matt. 6:34, MSG). Of course I’m not saying that we must live how people do here, and observations made are generalized, but I believe there are lessons to learn.
I hope things are well for anyone reading this! Please keep in touch