Un Bon Hôte.

I was prepared to be an outsider to a new culture...
What I didn’t expect, was to be hosting a guest after only two days of settling into my new picturesque home. My Swiss guest was a visiting consultant and an impressively humble humanitarian. He’d spent his life devoted to the “darkest” places on the donor’s map, that had “failed” to recover from emergency phases such as the bush in Congo and deserts in Chad.

Bon appétit: My Roomie & Guest

Through his fascinating stories of unlocked potential and impact that had been made with locals, he quickly tipped the hopeless views of these dark nations on their head. He was not one of those  "development tourists" but one of the few who stayed overnight in the villages he was assisting. Having lived and been in so many conflict and situations he was deeply convicted of the importance of making others around you a priority. In feeling welcomed, appreciated, listened too and “in life your happiness will be rooted from being a good host.” At the time, this wise insight flew right over my head. 

After one week in a French speaking office, with a French keyboard and computer, I have been utterly confused and frustrated to put it lightly. Let alone reading about the challenges in Malaria control which has never been a “sexy” topic. Unlike other diseases in emergency contexts, malaria control has inexpensive straightforward prevention tactics and is 100% preventable and treatable... so just hurry up and give the people nets and sprays right? Sounds simple enough. 

View from town to our house among trees.

But why are there a growing number of organizations devoted to malaria prevention and treatment all duplicating interventions of blanketing Africa with mosquito nets, medicine and sprays? Malaria must be more complex an issue if 50% of the world is STILL at risk of being infected with malaria.

I had forgotten a crucial spanner in the works, relief organizations working in refugee camps, communities in emergences are dealing with people! These challenges are not scientific. Attempting to change people’s behavior is difficult, especially in humanitarian crises having to work with different cultural habits, priorities, values behind choices and lifestyles. 

It is easy to jump in as an outsider and proclaim other cultures as weird and strange when they do not fit our “norms.” For instance this week I’ve noticed a few things about the French culture...When you go grocery shopping in France, unless you bring bags with you, you’d better find some strong help to carry out all your shopping in their hands- as they don’t provide bags. The French plumbing system disturbs me. I ran the tap for the first time and dirty water vomited out in powerful bursts of the bathtub, apparently this is perfectly normal. The French have snail pizza! If you are wondering, snails taste like squashy rubbery mushrooms. 

La ville de Villasavary

Gypsies are a local fear here, and like a naive child unless I had been told this, I was blissfully unaware of their vicious criminal reputation when the circus is in town. On sunday, I was completely clueless as to when to move or speak at the local french catholic church. It is fair to say I understood about 3% of the service. However, I was quick to catch onto the fantastic wine and champagne selection offered with olives and nuts at the end of every service. (French catholics got something right there!) As an outsider I’ve been utterly lost... quite literally, even riding a bike into town we took the wrong path into the endless fields.


My lovely roommate Harriet (a brit) and I, spent quality time with our guest sharing meals, washing up and walking to our beautiful authentic French village Villasavary, situated on top of the nearest hill 30 minutes away. 

The top of Villasavary!

After making it to the top, he kindly introduced us to each local shopkeeper telling them to look after us. Every French stereotype made us chuckle from the bikes with baguettes, the many burreys, the open colored shutters, narrow cobbled roads, gushing pastry and fresh bread scents, to the benches of old chattering ladies and relaxed pipe smoking old men all leisurely enjoying time pass with one another. 

Unexpectedly, whilst we were trying to accommodate and make a stranger feel comfortable in an unfamiliar place, I had pushed myself to into feeling less like an outside myself. This even included bold episodes of driving “Noddy” our absent coworker’s obnoxious yellow two seater manual car, through the beautiful windy country roads. (Interrupted by roundabouts every 15ft!) 

Noddy's Voiture!

The timely and risky business of integrating yourself into a new culture, are the same challenges faced by Malaria control organizations trying to work alongside local communities. Even in emergency situations, the only way of making sustainable impact is to take the time to understand and listen to the cultural misconceptions and difficulties. Such as their dislikes of sleeping with nets and using sprays that are disrupting their lives, their fears of malaria drugs not being real, their conflicting notions that expose them to malaria as well as it being seen as a "normal" sickness and low priority. 

Organizations that disregard the people side of things by simplifying the malaria control to just net and spray distribution, often result in tragic cases of life saving resources being left unopened in its packaging in local homes. I've learnt that deciding to be a "good host" even if you are a stranger to the culture can save lives on the field. 

Here, at the GÎte the door is never closed, with an London accountant staying with us now and hosting a canadian at the weekend. I wonder what stories will be shared...

FACT: Annual economic loss in Africa due to malaria is estimated to be $12 billion, representing a crippling 1.3 percent annual loss in GDP growth in endemic countries.