The price of development

Rwanda is far from being considered a developed country, but it is making strides in that direction. Ever since the genocide of 1994, it has viewed economic development as going hand in hand with social recovery.

But that development has come at a price. It is the same price that the Western world has paid, wanted or not.

In the wealthier neighborhoods of Kigali, for example, behind the façades of the large houses you find the same issues that exist in the developed world. Family members operate more independently of each other. Their property is fiercely protected with gates, barbed wire, and guards. People have to work harder and longer hours to maintain their economic status. So when you preach door-to-door in these areas, no one is home during the week. Or, for that matter, during the weekends. If people are home on the weekend, they are sleeping late because they spend late nights watching TV or surfing the internet.

In the poorer areas of Kigali, which are generally the low-lying portions of the city, life is closer to what it is in the villages. It's true that in the rurals, there is water, usually from a public tap. There is electricity, most of the time (else how would people charge their cell phones?). But after the sun sets, there is no TV. There is no internet. So what do you do? You go to bed. At 6:30 to 7:00 every evening. Then you wake up when the sun rises in the morning. The only excuse for staying up late on occasion is when there is an important soccer match taking place in one of the European leagues, but that is about the only justifiable reason. And even then, you have to go out to find someplace it is being televised.

Kigali does have a nightlife, so there are always things to do after dark, even until late at night. But in Malawi, for example, everything completely shuts down at sunset. There are no bars, no restaurants open. If you happen to be out somewhere after dark without a ride, you have missed the bus, literally and figuratively.

For Westerners, especially those who live in big cities where life goes on day and night and there is always something to do at any hour with whomever you wish, it is hard to fathom how people in rural Africa could live this way, but you know what? The Africans are not sleep-deprived. They are not stressed out due to trying to cram way too much activity into 24 hours of existence. They can spend more time at home with their families. OK, they don't have the latest gadgets or, in many cases, any gadgets at all. But they seem to be just as happy, or happier even.

My experience in Malawi was that after being there for awhile, I didn't know what was going on in the world, and basically didn't care. That included local and international news, sporting events, how the stock market was doing, etc. It was an incredibly liberating feeling. I could check my e-mail once every two weeks at a cafe and that was enough.

Most significantly, when people have less materially, they can devote more of their time and attention to spiritual things. This is why the poorer countries have such a great response to the truth, as evidenced by the excellent yearly increases reported in the Yearbook.

So...for anyone who has not ever experienced living in a developing country, I highly recommend it!