Analogies: pregnant wives and unpaid loans

One of my field staff made a great analogy the other day.

Many of the farmers are asking whether they will be able to get a new loan for the next season. Unfortunately, due to the bad start (although it’s getting better), it would not be possible, or desirable, for us to give out new loans until the two current ones are repaid in full. It’s not possible because the Bank is still freaking out about how to recover their loan and refusing to listen to what’s actually happening on the ground with a calm, problem solving-based attitude. It’s not desirable because it sends the wrong message to our farmers – oh, you made some bad business decisions? Here, have some more free stuff, just like how all the other NGOs and government programs have spoiled you.

In response to one of the farmers asking if they can get new loans, my field staff said: “You can’t try to get your wife pregnant again before she delivers her current baby.”

I haven’t been here long enough to say for sure, but it seems like Ugandan/Tanzanians (and one of the Zimbabweans I know) love making analogies to get their points across. I’ve heard of some real prize-winning ones before. Sometimes I’m not sure if they qualify as an analogy, but they sure get their point across in a memorable way. I love listening to them because they always make me think differently. Plus, it makes me laugh.

Sometimes when cross culture communication is hard, I wonder how much of it is actually because we talk in such different ways. When I try to make a point memorable, I would be concise with my main message and use body language and tone of voice to add emphasis. Then I would ask if there’re any questions. I suspect that when Ugandans/Tanzanians try to make a point memorable, it would be a different approach. It’s a shame I can’t really understand the language.