For two weeks at the cluster office, we're halting (most) all usual work and having two weeks of training for all the translators (and the lone literacy worker, partnership officer, and head guard). The training is called "National Orientation Program" and it's a very fun and valuable mix of exploring cross-cultural issues, biblical teaching, looking at different worldviews, team-building games (have YOU ever built a pyramid of plastic cups using four strings and a rubber band?!), understanding more about the SIL and Wycliffe organizations, and other related topics like funding and conflict resolution.
Yesterday I co-taught a session on "Why Language Development and Bible Translation in Uganda and Tanzania" (see picture above - and no, we did not intentionally dress alike!). People have legitimate questions like, "These languages are just little local languages used at home; what practical value can come of bothering to learn to read and write in them?" and "Won't promoting local languages cause tribalism and disunity?" and "Aren't there bigger needs out there, like clean water and good health care, where this money could be better spent?" My co-teacher Alison and I helped the group come up with responses to these sorts of questions and I think people not only learned a bit, but had an enjoyable time doing so.
Tomorrow I'm teaching again, this time all by myself, and the topic is "Money Matters". Yikes! Yes, most Tanzanians view money differently than folks from North America, Australia, and other such places do, and it'll be a challenge to present how and why both sides have these different opinions of what is "normal" and "right"!
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