Posts have been a little thin recently; we’ve been working hard on year-end accounting and a recap video for the past 6 months at Paradigm Shift and we are very close to posting it on this site through You Tube. So, we’re excited about sharing that with you and getting your feedback. Check back with us in the next couple days and you will see the video.
What is it with developing countries and their propensity to operate any societal institution or structure corruptly with a myopic view of future development and without a clear understanding that corruption both large and small continues to challenge the trust of their people, cities, counties, businesses, churches, etc.
Corruption is nothing new to human existence, but the pervasive acceptance among developing world nations continues to astound us on this trip, whether the corruption comes from a high ranking government official in hopes of hidden compensation to supplement his growing thirst for wealth or the local police officer wrongly accusing someone in order to augment his meager salary.
We took a taxi home one night in Kenya when a police barricade impeded our progress. The well dressed officer approached the passenger window, oblivious to the two of us sitting behind the tinted glass backseat. “Good evening”, exclaimed the officer as he asked for the driver’s license and registration and simultaneously looking for any leverage for a bribe such as an expired taxi registration and vehicle insurance. The driver was operating within the law, but that didn’t exonerate him from further scrutiny. Questions continued until the officer noticed us in the back seat. “Friends!!! How are you tonight”, asked the officer while clutching his M16. A little nervous, we continued an awkward conversation for a few minutes before the officer implored the driver to continue on his way and take his new friends to our destination.
As you know, we’ve been reading, writing, serving, exploring, teaching, learning, developing, and well probably a plethora other action verbs that could encapsulate these last 5 months that we’ve been overseas.
A fantastic way to get the bite-size yet comprehensive idea of what is happening at Paradigm Shift is through our Country Briefs. Click on one of the first two country’s below to download a one-page PDF and get a greater understanding of what is going on.
In many African countries, such as Kenya, culture places an incredible emphasis on community, which is a major contrast to the Western world, which highly values individuality and self-sufficiency. For example, in Kenya, if someone has a tool, let’s say a wrench – and he isn’t currently using it, his friends and family will consider it "available" to be used without asking. The reason for this is that there are so little resources in the community, that they believe all resources should be used as much of the time as possible. If you refuse to let people borrow from you, you are considered to not have a generous spirit, which is a problem, because in African culture, being stingy is very much shunned.
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As you know, we’ve been reading, writing, serving, exploring, teaching, learning, developing, and well probably a plethora other action verbs that could encapsulate these last 5 months that we’ve been overseas.
A fantastic way to get the bite-size yet comprehensive idea of what is happening at Paradigm Shift is through our Country Briefs. Click on one of the last three country’s below to download a one-page PDF and get a greater understanding of what is going on.
