African vs Western Culture
If I may share about the African culture side by side compared with the western culture. I’d like to zoom in on the two sides, especially the mentally. I think it’s good for us to understand both aspects, so we get a better understanding of how people think and why they think as they do. For me, it was a transformational key that revolutionized my perspective.
Let’s begin with the mind, how Africans think. Just recently we had a driver that was scheduled to pick up our team from the hotel at 2 pm. Believe it or not, he called me 15 minutes till 2 pm and said that he’s going to fix the air conditioning in his car. I got really mad, being the good Christian that I am. I was absolutely frustrated because we had a 5-hour drive ahead of us and he went to fix his AC when he was supposed to pick us up.
I called this man named Kalvin and asked him why he didn’t do it earlier. He gave me an explanation and said he’ll pick us up in an hour. Two hours passed, no Kalvin. Kalvin was still at the shop fixing his vehicle. We called in again a few times, and at one point he said he’ll be done in 10 minutes. Then 2 more hours passed. It was 6 pm and he sent us pictures that his car was totally disassembled. You may laugh, but this was no joke to us because we had to leave that night. He still was trying to convince us that he was coming. And we believed him because he worked with our other team before.
Long story short, we found another driver to transport us to our destination, and at 8 pm, 6 hours later, we finally left the city on our way. During the ride, I asked a gentleman who is was born in Africa but now lives in Canada why this man did this to us. He explained it this way…
In Africa, they value the work more than they value time. In the African culture, what they set out to accomplish they do in all possible means to get the job finished, no matter how long it takes. In our case, Kalvin knew that without AC we would have to drive on dirt roads with the windows open. That would be very uncomfortable, so to help us enjoy our trip he wanted to fix the AC before we left the city. Very thoughtful of him, yes? Kalvin wanted the best for us but the time it took was not convenient for our team.
In the western world, we value our time so much, and we set priorities ahead of everything else. We make sure that everything gets completed right away without delay. In Africa, the locals care that it gets completed, no matter how long it takes.
The other part which I learned myself is relationships are huge. Everything hangs on the balance of relationships. So if I get mad at a person for being late, and express my frustration on the person he will not understand me because of the fact that HE SHOWED UP. Being late is okay, as long as you make it there. It’s not disrespect for a man to show up late, because it’s part of the culture. So with all your might, try to keep the relationship with the person and don’t get mad at them, don’t disrespect them, and just be patient, for they don’t mean to offend you.
You may ask, “how do you work with someone who is constantly late?” The answer is to set the expectations as soon as you meet the person. Tell him that for you being on time is important. Then I would explain what being on time means. For us it might mean to be there at 2 pm sharp, for him being on time could mean to leave the house at 2 pm.
Here in Africa people are very kind and want to help, but sometimes being helpful goes against what we consider help. For example with Kalvin, he wanted to help, but his priority was to have the AC working for us, while our priority was to leave the hotel by 2 pm. Was he being helpful? Absolutely. In his own way, how he knew to help. This is why it’s a good idea to communicate the expectations beforehand, and to not get angry or frustrated. When we understand his point of view then we are more happy and content, and the other person does his best to comply with your expectations.
I was in Zanzibar, Tanzania, and an island designed for tourists. People from all over the world visit this place, but for me, it was a whole different world than any other vacation spot. As I arrived in the city I sat down to fix my internet connection on my phone. A man sat next to me showing me a map of the city, and trying to convince me to take his taxi. He was an older gentleman, and it seemed like he was drunk. He sat next to me for 5 minutes, and I was dabbling in my phone. He didn’t mean to be rude, but he was persistent. I finally had to make a choice to keep on walking rather than sitting there and listening to him explain how I can go to the beach on the other side of the city.
Then as I was walking down many were trying to sell me their items. Some tried to offer me sandals, others bracelets, and they would come up to me and try to push their items on me. So I thought. But someone explained to me that it’s the mentality in Africa because some of them are desperate for money. They may be lacking, and that is why they are trying their best to sell you something. There’s nothing wrong with that because they might have no other options.
I would like to explain that in the USA and in other countries we are blessed compared to Tanzania. We have some much that we pay extra for storage and place our items in these warehouses. Often we have too much! In Africa it’s not the case, some hardly can put food on their table. When we come to realize that some of these people are in total lack we tend to look at them differently. In fact, we begin to love them as Christ loved us. We begin to have compassion for these poor people who have no hope, and this is the main reason I came here. To give them something worth more than money can buy. Salvation. It is the free grace of God, better than gold, silver, US dollars, or Tanzania Shillings. The price Christ paid for us is unmeasurable. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
We offer them the goodness of God that leads to repentance and show them the only way to life, that no amount of Tanzanian shillings can buy. The price of Jesus Christ on the cross. The one who died and rose from the dead, and paid the highest price for that African child, and the richest man in the states.
My friend, next time you see someone pushing you into buying an item, look further than his words of action, see their lack, and offer them, Christ. If God leads you to it, give them money. You can also buy food, or help in any way possible. Open your heart towards the poor in Jesus’ name.
Jesus taught us to love. He walked among the poor, and he handled people in a way that He didn’t get offended if they took much of his time. Jesus built strong relationships and loved those who wanted to help him, even if took longer than expected. Let us learn from Jesus’ patience and kindness, and let’s bind them around our hearts towards others. After all, we are brothers and sisters through Jesus who saved us.
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