The Trouble With Money

The trouble with money is that if you have enough money to get by, you don’t want everything you do or every choice that you make to be “about the money”. If however, like many Zambians, you are living in poverty, it is hard not to think about money. As a result, many Zambians appear to be constantly on the look out for ways to improve the financial status of themselves or their projects.

This difference in perspective has caused me some challenges both personally and professionally. Personally I am often asked for money by people I know and by people I meet on the street. Even though I am a volunteer and am not earning a wage, my expenses are covered at a rate that is better than the wages many Zambians earn. So I have a few times given money to people I know when requested. However, the contribution goes along with an explanation of how this is an unusual event, and that my pockets aren’t that deep. With the people I meet on the street, I usually don’t give them money just as I wouldn’t in the U.S. I figure it’s better for them to find an agency that can assess their needs and give them the appropriate help. This can be a hard stance to take, however, when those asking are children or are visibly ill.

Money has also caused some troubles with the fact-finding I have been doing. I have been going around to various institutions offering IT education and learning about their programs. Although I don’t have a car and am not a fancy dresser, the fact that I am a foreigner and the fact that I have a sponsor has lead most institutions to believe that I can help them out. So our conversations often turn towards their requests for partnership or a donation. The needs are real, but the best I can do is tell them I will make a note of their needs and tell my sponsor.

So, while I wish that things in Zambia were less often “about the money”, I need to remember that it is a luxury for me to not have things be “about the money” and that life is different here. I think I will be most successful here if I can acknowledge the importance of money in all projects and lives and just choose amongst the requests for financial contributions towards those that make the most sense for other reasons in addition to the monetary needs.