Visit to Adama Village

Our next needs assessment was in Adama, one of the villages in Madogo division, Tana River district. There are 80-100 households in the area. The village is about 40 km (1 hour drive on rugged roads) from Garissa town.
When we got there, we talked to the village chief who introduced us to the villagers and explained the purpose of our visit. The people were very welcoming and were excited to have us there. Since I speak Swahili, I was the liaison between my American friends and the villagers. I translated back and forth and sometimes attempted translating Somali but this prompted lots of laughter. It wasn’t really mean; it was actually amusing—even to me.

Mostly it was the men who articulated the village needs. The women looked afraid, almost timid. I talked to the village chief and explained that since women take care of the children, they are likely to know their needs better. The chief then encouraged the women to speak up. They hesitated but after some time, one of them raised her hand and said. “Watoto hawajapewa chanjo” (Our children have not been immunized). Encouraged by her bravery, the other women began to share their views. In the end it was a successful meeting and I felt that there was genuine participation by community members.

Our organization did not want to treat the people as victims, rather as people with rights, abilities and skills. Treating recipients of aid as victims strips them of their dignity.  Corbett & Fikkert (2009) argue that this dynamic confirms that agencies are superior and that recipients are inferior. Denying affected people genuine participation fails to recognize their capacities and contradicts the Biblical view that God has bestowed different gifts and abilities in all. I do not claim that we are perfect, but I think this is a good start.