Cultural understanding
Working with rural people for development activities in Ethiopia you may soon realize that punctuality is often not considered to be a virtue as much as you think. From experience, people hardly show up in time whether it is a case that they are not used to set their moves in accordance with the clock needle, or that they simply have more urgent things to do. Frankly speaking, you do not necessarily have to be angry or frustrated with people being late for a meeting, rather you can take it as an opportunity to learn how their ways of keeping time is different from yours.
Regional development begins to come into a being when a relationship based on trust is established in the process of interaction with people to whom they are directed. You can carry out a program successfully only when perspectives between different cultures are respected and accepted, and thereby you walk your steps along side with the way that comes natural to the beneficiaries.
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In discovery that few local people have watch to refer to a time, you may think that they would keep punctual themselves given the possession of watch, so you buy them watch. But this kind of approach is based on a belief that your way is superior and the beneficiaries of development program should be subject to it. Surely this should not be an attitude you take in practice. Even though you buy all of them watch, local people would not be able to make any sense out of it if they keep their time in comply with the work of sun in the sky, not watch in the first place.
In this respect, a good intention will bring a desired result only when it is contextualized. If you happen to discover, for example, that local people enjoy a particular type of traditional or religious music, you could propose a promise among local people that they are asked to come to a place of appointment to discuss on community matters in hearing of that special music through electric speaker system. For this, you do not have to waste your time waiting people for discussion. Let people come at their own pace and you do your work until enough number of attendants is met.
Things will be more organized as time goes by as local people would begin to respect your way as you yourself considered their ways to be respected.
