Trash Talk

About 2 years ago, the officials who do that kind of thing, decided that there would be various new groups in charge of collecting trash and disposing of it. The big man of Etablissment Ame came to our house and told us that we, as “preferred customers”, would pay 4,000cfa per month (that's about $8) for them to come around twice a week to collect our trash. We realized right away that 4,000 was way more than others pay (“preferred” is just another way to say, “pay more”) so Roger negotiated and we got them down to 3,000cfa per month. No problem, right? They were to come by with their little mini tractor and high-sided trailer on Mondays and Thursdays. Apart from taking 2 months longer to get started than they said, it all went well for the first bit.

For the last year, at least, they wouldn't come at all for 2 weeks. Our trash sat outside the gate on the road all the time. It smelled, collected various trash from anyone else who wanted to add to it and was scrounged thru by anyone or anything who went by. The money collector was very prompt to come by on the first of the month and I finally got to where I would tell him what I thought of his ability to collect money each month, but not trash. One time I even told him I'd pay as soon as the trash was collected, since it had been there for 2 ½ weeks. The tractor came by within the same morning.

Then, I began calling them when the trash sat for longer than the allotted time. The man on the other end was always very patronizing and sometimes even this didn't get results very quickly. (If you want to REALLY get on my nerves, be patronizing to me!) Anyway, I got tired of spending my money to call them 4-5 times a month and decided to just let the trash sit.

Then our war entered a new phase (or whatever wars enter). At the end of October, our trash sat there nearly 2 weeks. The first of November came and the guy hadn't come by to collect his money—very irregular. I realized he was only coming when the trash had been collected. Sure enough, they picked the trash late on the 3rd and, like clockwork, there he was at 8am the next morning. I told him I knew he'd finally come that morning because the trash had finally been collected. He denied it until I said that I knew I was right. He just shrugged and gave a goofy smile. I said that since the trash was to be collected 2 times a week for 3000cfa, but was only collected, on average, once a week—half the service—I'd only pay half the money. You pay for the service you get, right? We argued a while and he said his boss would come that night. He never came—wasn't in town, apparently. Finally, just before then end of the month, we agreed to give him 2000cfa since they had collected trash just more than half the time. I called the boss and he hasn't come round, except once, late and we couldn't talk to him by then. I still haven't paid this month and don't plan to until the boss comes round and talks about it. If it's that big of a deal to him, surely he'll show up some day.

I realize this is a pitiful battle to fight. Afterall, what is $6 a month? However, I get tired of being taken advantage of. When we arrive at the market, prices usually go up. That's just the way it is. Fine, I argue prices just like the rest of them, but these people wouldn't argue properly. They didn't “play by the rules” and used the fact that they are the only business doing this in our area to get more money out of us. I seriously doubt I'll win the battle. Only if the contract actually says they come 2 times a week—which I think it does—will I have any grounds. Oh well, I just chose to fight this time and we'll see how it turns out. I'll let you know.

What's in the Bottle

That was a cheap way to try and get comments on a blog post and I thank Jennifer and Rebecca for commenting. To the rest of you who I know wanted to comment, but just didn't get the time, I'll go ahead and tell what you might find in used bottles here in Togo.

Around here, people buy empty bottles that have screw on lids so they can use them for various things. You can buy roasted peanuts, sugared peanuts, roasted coconut, cookie things, whatever little snack-type things fit into a whiskey bottle. Also, people buy gasoline and sell it in these bottles on the side of the road. Personally, I'd be afraid to use them, not knowing exactly how much is gasoline and how much is something else. You could buy kerosene as well. The plastic ones are typically used to sell homemade liquid soap. Sometimes, people sell juices in them as well, or maybe even stronger than juice. I have personally not tasted them so cannot say for sure what exactly they hold. Maybe Saharabecks has some other known uses of the bottles we sell to little girls like the one who periodically comes to our door.

Next week, I'll post about my ongoing battle with the people who collect (sometimes) our trash. Watch this space. (I always wanted to say that.)

Some thoughts (rather a long read, sorry)

There is a girl who comes by our house periodically. She is somewhere between 10-13 years old—I would guess. She comes at various times during the day so I know she doesn't go to school. She doesn't speak more than a few words of French, so I know she hasn't ever gone to school, where kids normally learn French. She works really hard as well. This girl comes by our house, and any other house she feels like knocking on the door of, to buy bottles. She carries a very large aluminum basin on her head with glass whiskey and schnapps bottles and on that is a huge woven bag full of plastic bottles. I've helped her get it off her head, so I know it's heavy. When I have bottles to sell, I help her get her load off her head and set it in the sand before our front gate. Then I go get all the bottles I've collected. We then debate over the price.

Now here in Africa, one never accepts the first price. That's just the way it goes. Even if you end up paying about the same amount, you have to debate about it first. I have had times where I was willing to pay their asking price but debate anyway, 'cause that's just what you do—and I usually end up paying less.

Anyway, somehow, with this girl, I don't have much desire to try to get more money out of her. I always feel sorry for her. (Besides, she doesn't understand French and I don't understand Ewe—her language—so it's pretty useless to argue.) She usually pays me 75cfa for 3 big, 1.5 l, plastic water bottles and 50cfa for 2 smaller, 1 l , plastic water bottles. That equals around 15-20 cents USA. She will then sell these bottles to other people.

Sometimes I think about things I'd like to have but don't. Then people like this little girl come by and make me feel like a millionaire. This little girl works really hard walking miles each day from house to house buying bottles that she won't sell for a whole lot more than she bought them. It's hot here and her load gets pretty heavy. She, however, is trying to make a living. I don't know her circumstances. I have no idea where she lives and who she lives with. Most likely, she does this for her family, whoever that consists of. I'd like to take a photo of her, but haven't yet decide to ask her. I'd need a translator.

Now that I finally write this down, I find I don't have all the words to express what it is exactly that I feel. It isn't just pity, but I also feel proud of her for trying to do something about her poverty, not just beg. There are 2 words and neither are totally adequate. Life is hard here, not for all Togolese, but certainly for most of them.

One last thing, if you'd like to know what they sell in the bottles this girl collects, write a comment to this blog entry and I'll tell you. ~kathy

A graduation on Saturday

Jonathan graduated today. Jonathan is one of Roger's colleagues. He is also a missionary—works in Togo but is from Guinea Conakry/Sierra Leone. He just finished his Master's in Missiology with most high honors! It was a privilege to be there to watch him graduate and we were glad to have been invited to be a part of it all. However, we had no idea just what this graduation ceremony involved. We got there at 7:30am so that we could be sure to get a seat under a fan—they were already almost gone—and the thing started pretty much on-time at 8am. Roger (I don't know if he was thinking positively or if he really wasn't thinking) said we'd be home by 10am. We got home a little after 1pm.

The girls were actually pretty good thru the whole thing but that was only because their new friends were there also and they could sit and chat the whole time (all 4 ½ hours of the ceremony). Since the only thing we had to tell them was to be quiet a couple of times, we didn't mind.

Afterward, we assembled in groups of students with the people they had invited and had snacks and drinks. This was interesting as the groups were organized according to country that the graduates came from and each group was in some sort of shady spot on the campus. Those happened to be pretty close to each other and some groups were REALLY loud. We had a loudspeaker just behind us and couldn't tell what was going on in our group (Jonathan's). Oh well. This part only lasted about an hour so we didn't have to endure it so long.

Even though it was long and not our favorite way to spend a Saturday morning, it was a real privilege to be a part of Jonathan's celebration.


LtoR: Adrienne and Adama (the cook and other trainer at mediAfrique), Jonathan and his wife Rose (with their two daughters, Maggi and Blessing), and Roger and I. (Our girls had disappeared as far away as they could get by the time we began taking photos.)
By the way, I have no idea who the little boy is.

update

Here we go again. It's been a along time since anyone wrote on here. It's not that there's nothing going on, it's just that we don't seem to get round to writing any of it down. Also, I prefer to have photos but haven' learned to edit them on this computer. So, how's that for some excuses?

Yes, we've had a number of things going on here. We met a family with 3 girls who are here temporarily. Unfortunately, it's just temporary, because we really enjoy them. The girls are good friends with Fiona and Sydney and then they have a younger one.

We've also celebrated 2 birthdays. Elena turned 13 on 23 Sept, and Fiona turned 11 on 1 Nov. We now have a teenager in the house!!! Sydney will turn 8 on 23 Dec. Fiona has really shot up this year. She's nearly as tall as Elena, who is only about an inch shorter than I. (Not that that is saying too much, but I guess for them, it's tall.)

One last bit of news is that Roger finished his 3rd year of teaching at mediAfrique, the training center we're here to help get started. There are a lot of questions about the future of the center. Like, do they want to grow? Where can they relocate with bigger facilities? What about more trainers? And so on... Roger, his 2 colleagues and their wives and I went on a little retreat to pray and try to find answers to these questions. There was a definite desire to branch out and offer more courses, maybe in TV, etc, but no solution as to where. God knows the answers and we just need the faith to wait and trust Him to show us those answers.
~kathy

Please pray

We just heard that the son of a family we know died of cerebral malaria. Please pray for the Cherry family at the loss of their son, Christopher, who was 10 years old. Please pray for us as well. This kind of thing scares me. I find it hard to trust that God is in control in cases like this.

You know you're back in Africa when...

...the African airline you're on bumps you off their overbooked flight and doesn't tell you until you are halfway thru your trip.

...you finally arrive at your destination, and the flight is 2 hours earlier than stated on your ticket. Wouldn't normally be such a big deal but when the time is 3am as opposed to 5am, and your ride is therefore, still in bed, it is a bit of a big deal.

...you get home and everything is covered in mold from the overabundance of rain this year. Meaning that everything has to be cleaned and de-moldified. And, that all the clothes need to be washed because they STINK.

...the new pump that pushes water into the house, doesn't work and therefore the washing machine doesn't work either, just when there are literally mountains of laundry. (I've washed at least 10 loads, when we've had laundry, and still have about that many to go.)

...the washing machine doesn't run properly because of the sporadic water, making it necessary to restart the thing every 20 minutes or so.

...various small appliances, that ran fine before we left, suddenly don't work.

...because of the rain, the temperatures are pleasant. (A good thing since we could only take cold bucket baths for the first 5 days.)

We arrived a day late and 2 hours early from our trip to Germany. We had a wonderful time with family and friends. I think this has made it harder to adjust to life again here, that and the fact that things are in a sort of state of disrepair. It's hard not to compare "there" with "here".