Meeting an African Chief
Do you ever have a made-up image in your head of what someone is going to look like?
On my most recent trip to DRC, the Chief of the area surrounding Bolingo Village called and asked to meet with me while I was in town. I had never met him before or any other village chief, for that matter. Honestly, I was a little nervous because it's such an honor to meet with the Chief!
GOF Board Member, Shelly, and DRC Director, Ety, meet with the Village Chief, Democratic Republic of Congo
Our DRC Director, Ety, is a Congolese native and is always dressed in business casual attire that would fit in anywhere. However, I couldn't help but conjure up images in my head of an older man dressed in traditional African clothing. No matter how much Ety told me the Chief would look similar to him, I couldn't get this picture out of my head.
Meeting day arrived, and Ety and I made our way to the Chief's home. As per usual, Ety played the role of translator, given that I don't speak Lingala. He also had two other crucial tasks: introducing me to the Chief and ensuring that I didn't violate any cultural norms. The last person I would want to accidentally offend is the Village Chief!
Though the Chief did not have the appearance that I had envisioned, he was still very intimidating! He had bodyguards pillared on each side of him and multiple cell phones - a much more modern Village Chief than I expected. Without a doubt, I will remember him for years to come.
The meeting itself was very successful. Before anything else, we presented him with his gift, as is customary in Congolese culture. He was pleased. Following that, we began discussing a life-giving project that will benefit his entire community. GOF has committed to digging a well in a centrally located area for the whole village to access readily. We're very excited to continue working with the Chief to get this well up and running as soon as possible.
My favorite part of this meeting was the realization that it gave me about GOF. I love that we’re not only caring for orphaned children and widowed women, but we are reaching into the community to love our neighbors. As we grow, we will continue to provide more jobs, increased clinic services, clean drinking water, tasty crops and livestock, and prayerfully, much, much more!