Small lessons
Life is truly about small things and lessons.
A couple of months ago we together with two US Army engineers and a doctor went to Gagauzia within the framework of BAO Water and Sanitation Project. Gagauz Yeri is a small autonomy within Moldova - a small Eastern European country. Both Moldova in general and Gagauzia in particular have problems with water supply - both in terms of quality and quantity. BAO is working on small-scale projects in the region, like building indoors toilets in rural schools instead of traditional outdoors ones, or refurbishing school kitchens - unlike for example the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation which is focused on big-scale stuff like building water supply systems for whole villages etc.
So, we went to schools in Komrat which is the capital of Gagauzia, Kazaklia, Kongaz and Beshalma. Last time I was in Komrat it was ten years ago and it was really nice to see that the town has improved considerably, is well-lit and has a lot of new apartment buildings, supermarkets and other modern city comforts. But - and here comes the first small lesson - water supply in the city is cut off from about 10 am till about 4 pm. Daily. When I imagine living in this kind of conditions, I can't help shuddering. I am a water creature, I tend to use it excessively during the day for all kinds of purposes. Not having access to water for the better part of the day would have made me feel totally wretched - but, probably, not for long? People do get used to any conditions, and those who have enough of human dignity in them learn to organize their life around those conditions. Everyone I saw was clean and tidy, kids were well-dressed, and I felt really happy for them.
Kazaklia, Kongaz and Beshalma left a much blearier impression, especially Kazaklia with its horrible roads and plastic bottles floating in the public well that the army engineers are planning to reconstruct. Btw Moldovan wells all have roofs above them, here is how a traditional Moldovan water well looks. So here comes the second small lesson. The Americans were specifically asking whether the roof is a key element of the well that must be preserved as homage to local architectural patterns, and insisting on reconstructing it if it is. That was really thoughtful and considerate. What's more - when we were examining the bathroom at the Kazaklia school, the principal told us that they needed 10 more wash sinks in addition to the 5 sinks they already had, and proudly announced that the school was raising funds locally and the existing sinks had been bought and installed not long before that. Our boss looked at those porcelain sinks which were nowhere near the high-tech style he generally preferred, and said - Let's remove these old ones and have 15 new stainless steel sinks installed here. At that Aby, one of the engineers, told him that it's wrong to devaluate the school's efforts like that, and that it's better to leave the sinks bought by the school in place and just add 10 more sinks as the principal was asking. This consideration - both towards the water well architecture and local school's efforts - really made me stop and think. I absolutely loved the balance between assistance and respect that was created in this situation. I will definitely try to use this approach - not to overdo good - in future!
A couple of months ago we together with two US Army engineers and a doctor went to Gagauzia within the framework of BAO Water and Sanitation Project. Gagauz Yeri is a small autonomy within Moldova - a small Eastern European country. Both Moldova in general and Gagauzia in particular have problems with water supply - both in terms of quality and quantity. BAO is working on small-scale projects in the region, like building indoors toilets in rural schools instead of traditional outdoors ones, or refurbishing school kitchens - unlike for example the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation which is focused on big-scale stuff like building water supply systems for whole villages etc.
So, we went to schools in Komrat which is the capital of Gagauzia, Kazaklia, Kongaz and Beshalma. Last time I was in Komrat it was ten years ago and it was really nice to see that the town has improved considerably, is well-lit and has a lot of new apartment buildings, supermarkets and other modern city comforts. But - and here comes the first small lesson - water supply in the city is cut off from about 10 am till about 4 pm. Daily. When I imagine living in this kind of conditions, I can't help shuddering. I am a water creature, I tend to use it excessively during the day for all kinds of purposes. Not having access to water for the better part of the day would have made me feel totally wretched - but, probably, not for long? People do get used to any conditions, and those who have enough of human dignity in them learn to organize their life around those conditions. Everyone I saw was clean and tidy, kids were well-dressed, and I felt really happy for them.
Kazaklia, Kongaz and Beshalma left a much blearier impression, especially Kazaklia with its horrible roads and plastic bottles floating in the public well that the army engineers are planning to reconstruct. Btw Moldovan wells all have roofs above them, here is how a traditional Moldovan water well looks. So here comes the second small lesson. The Americans were specifically asking whether the roof is a key element of the well that must be preserved as homage to local architectural patterns, and insisting on reconstructing it if it is. That was really thoughtful and considerate. What's more - when we were examining the bathroom at the Kazaklia school, the principal told us that they needed 10 more wash sinks in addition to the 5 sinks they already had, and proudly announced that the school was raising funds locally and the existing sinks had been bought and installed not long before that. Our boss looked at those porcelain sinks which were nowhere near the high-tech style he generally preferred, and said - Let's remove these old ones and have 15 new stainless steel sinks installed here. At that Aby, one of the engineers, told him that it's wrong to devaluate the school's efforts like that, and that it's better to leave the sinks bought by the school in place and just add 10 more sinks as the principal was asking. This consideration - both towards the water well architecture and local school's efforts - really made me stop and think. I absolutely loved the balance between assistance and respect that was created in this situation. I will definitely try to use this approach - not to overdo good - in future!