Ulaya: a Swahili word that I learned while in a conversation with the waiter and supervisor at Mwiba Tented Camp. It technically means Europe, but in Tanzania people will use it to mean anything outside of Africa. There is something romantic about the notion of “other worlds”…Africa as another world to Westerners and the West as another world to Africans. I find myself in what I consider an extremely lucky position, as I get to experience both of these worlds. Although magical, to generalize about both the West and Africa is a mistake (even in our forever homogenizing world). However, stereotypes are usually made based on truths and when Africans ask me about the American dream, there is truth to that romantic side of America. When Americans ask me about wild Africa and living in tents lit by candles amongst lions and elephants, there is also truth to that romantic notion of Africa…however, we all know that both places have very harsh realities and many layers of complex markets and politics. I am not one for avoiding those realities, but maybe it is not such a bad thing to focus on the good stereotypes. So…while living in Africa, I am making a concerted effort to focus on the good and not let the negative realities get me down….recently, I was in the UK and America for an amazing vacation, and it was very easy to get caught in the American dream. Many of my close friends are living what a Tanzanian (and myself) would consider the American dream. They never cease to amaze me and I could not be more proud or miss them anymore than I do. Here is a list of some websites/companies/interesting sectors that they are involved with or have created:
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| NYC Times Square |
Living Social (www.livingsocial.com)
Toms Shoes (www.tomsshoes.com)
Roarke NYC (www.roarkenyc.com)
Rachel Halvorson Design (www.nestegg.typepad.com)
Big Bang Strategy (www.bigbangstrategy.com )
IRI: (www.iri.org)
Social Work: although I do not have a direct link that you should check out, this is a sector that is under appreciated, in my opinion, and the people involved are truly amazing.
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| Dar Es Salaam |
The above list is a testament to American education. However, despite many Westerners notions, there are also Tanzanians who are involved in an equally diverse array of professions. The difference is in the opportunity. Education and employment is not as easily obtained in places like Makao as it is in Middleburg. At Mwiba we are trying to jump start community development, based on expanding markets that the village (Makao) is interested in. These are things such as vegetables and chickens, as well as early childhood development opportunities and environmental education (through a community center which will hopefully become a place to host computer education and micro-finance courses), all to increase the opportunity of creating the American dream in Africa.
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| Wildebeest Migration in Serengeti |
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| Bison in Wyoming |
In the same conversation where I learned about Ulaya, I attempted (in my broken Swahili) to explain that people in the Western world believe that what people in Africa have is also special. That their unique spectrum of global markets, diverse culture, wilderness and wildlife, must not be thrown away to try and emulate Western ways, because that uniqueness will be and already is, hugely beneficial in regards to monetary as well as earthly value. The same goes for the West. We should also honor our cultural diversity, wilderness and wildlife, but not give up any of our easily accessible (in comparison to Africa) educational, employment and market opportunities. Having lived in the West as well as in Africa, there are huge differences, which is where a lot of our generalizations come from BUT there are also similarities.
