“Take the first step and start, the rest will follow suit…” It sounds very cliché, but I didn’t believe in this statement until I was in a situation that required me to believe it. By the way, this statement works for anything; business, and any other initiative you can think of. 

I am Justine Musiime, a Corps Africa/Uganda Volunteer currently serving in Kabale, a district in Western Uganda, in a humble village known as Kigarama. This village is blessed with water, and fertile land on which the majority of the people grow pineapples, matooke (green bananas), sorghum, and beans, name it. There is a dam as well! The irony though, is that only a small part of the village is supplied with electricity. But we’ll dive into that some other time.

When I came into the community, I thought to myself;

“These people might not be very willing to participate in my initiatives at first, but with a little more empathy, they will surely come around.”

 I wasn’t wrong, but I was wrong too- get it? Let me explain; I thought that maybe, if I listened to them more, engaged them more, and associated with them more, they would gladly be involved in initiatives geared towards their development. Well, reality begged to differ.

A small background on what I mean by “their development”. 

CorpsAfrica is a Non-governmental Organization that sends young volunteers into rural communities to facilitate community-led development. Community-led development involves people combining efforts and taking action on what matters to them the most. It could be issues related to health, education, unemployment, and so on. We use approaches such as Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) where community members can bring about their development by utilizing existing but unrecognized resources and Human Centered Design (HCD) which in short is an approach to problem solving that places the Human at the core of the process. 

It did not take me time to realize that nope! They couldn’t care less! I cannot count how many times I mobilized for community meetings door to door, announcements at church, local leaders, name it. If all people appeared, there would be as many as 25. And here I was thinking, that they would show up in large numbers, “They know me now, they will show up. Plus, this is for their good, right?” 

We come to communities with strategies that we think will work. But this is what I am beginning to understand; 

• The community itself will direct your strategy. Yes, it will. You got plans, best believe, they have their own. Good luck if you believe in rigidity. 
• Mindset change takes time. It is not as simple as I assumed. It is a process. I should know, that there are a couple of habits, beliefs, and patterns, even I am still unable to let go of, even with a lot of exposure. (Don’t judge!).
• PATIENCE! If there is one thing I have developed, it is patience and a thick skin. Honestly, there are some instances where I felt quite triggered.

For instance; their lack of timekeeping. My community members would agree for us to meet at 4 pm, for example, only to show up at 6 pm! If you think about it, there isn’t much that can be discussed at that time as everyone is trying to get home to prepare a meal for their family. Are there times I almost gave up? Yes. Was there a time I felt like I should probably just not keep time either? (When in Rome). Hundred percent! I didn’t though. It is easier to take the simpler path actually- which is giving up and blaming whoever you can. But then again, what kind of leader would that make me? So even when they did not come in time, I took it upon myself to always show up in time. And then one day, I heard some of the ladies in my community saying, 

“Eh but we have truly ashamed ourselves. How can we make our teacher wait?” (Yes, they call me teacher ‘mushomesa’). 

It was at that moment, that I knew, I had made the right choice not to go with the flow. I could have easily decided to be just like them. But I am getting to understand that there are times when you need to go with the flow and times when you don’t. And yes, their timekeeping skills improved greatly after that.

A community member sharing during one of the community meetings in Kigarama village

• You and the community members are in some sort of relationship. Compromise might have to step in. But then again, don’t do it too much that your boundaries end up being disrespected. Balance!
• Appreciation of their efforts, as small as they might be. Appreciating those who participate in some activities begrudgingly. I have come to realize that it motivates the community members and they end up doing a little more next time. Who doesn’t want to be appreciated anyway?
• I had to learn to ask myself the tough questions. “What am I not doing right? How can I make it right? Am I the problem? And if I am, how do I stop being one?” Accountability in other words- is a very tough pill to swallow but worth it in the long run. It is so much easier to blame everybody else but you. But where would that leave me, you, or the community members you’re serving?
• It is a little easier to get someone on board who is already on the path to change. Don’t get me wrong, eventually, people will get on board, but I have come to realize that it is people who are not satisfied with their situation, who feel like there must be more to life than what they are settling for, that will be more open to such initiatives. Which reaffirms the statement “If someone does not need your help, let them be.”

Let me back up the last point with an incident that happened in my community. Just a few days ago, some community members and I decided to lend a hand in constructing a kitchen garden (backyard garden), for one of the ladies who has been actively involved in our initiatives. The following day, the woman approached me, clearly very distressed, and told me that the husband had destroyed the entire garden. Indeed, on inspection, he had. I decided to probe further, and the lady told me, “Ibanye nayanga ebyentunguka, nikwali.” which translates to “My husband hates developmental things, that is how is.” Of course, I am yet to get the husband’s side of things- it would be unfair not to. Their case goes beyond just the kitchen garden, but that is an entire story of its own. (I will write about it as soon as the issues are resolved). However, it is such incidences that kind of prove my point.

You can’t get everyone on board there and then. Some people will start out being on board and then disappear, never to return. Others might not be on board initially but then surprise you with consistent presence and participation, some will be on board from the beginning to the end. It is never a straight path and as such, I have learned not to be hard on myself. You shouldn’t too! I mean do not give up on anyone unless you feel like you have exhausted all options. I know I won’t. At the end of the day, start any initiatives anyway! I always tell myself, that there will be people to back me (you) up, people who will be happy with the small differences I am making in their lives, and whether they are few or many, the rest will eventually fall in line. I guess sometimes, people need to see something “shifting” before they can invest their time.