Testing the Quality of Life

Do you notice a difference between Save-A-Lot groceries and Publix fare? How about filling up with generic fuel from 7-11 instead of Exxon? What about purchasing toys that are “Made in China” as opposed to “Made in the U.K.”? This is the dilemma that we face daily as we shop for household items, food, and most recently, building supplies in northern Nigeria. The passage of time teaches us much about how the quality of the materials with which we invest but also the context in which the choices are made.

When the idea was expressed that our farm needed a water reservoir, we immediately thought that a believer serving as an architect could do the job. Between the first estimate until the last dime was spent on the reservoir, the amount of money to be spent had doubled. This caused us little concern if the quality of the materials for the reservoir would stand the test of time. Therefore, after eight months, when Jen wrote in an e-mail that our reservoir had sustained a leak, we questioned the value of the supplies used in construction. The intensity of the desert heat, the ferocity of desert thunderstorms, and the cool desert dry season nights had offered a test that this cistern could not pass.

Unfortunately, this is not surprising in northern Nigeria where the average person lives on $1 a day. Therefore, when faced with a choice of purchasing building supplies that is imported or local, cheap or expensive, and non-guaranteed or guaranteed, the decision is an easy one to make. It’s a bit like asking someone in Nigeria to choose between buying infant formula for their baby or saving for their infant’s college fund. They can’t do both. Tough choices played out in these real life scenarios put one’s decision about the purchase of building materials into perspective.

When INTERCEP needed an office in Maiduguri, we rented a small storefront with no existing electrical apparatus. We had to start from scratch with the power company in purchasing a meter, registering the meter, and paying out first installment. The brother who made the arrangement was given the option of waiting through a 6 month process or getting a meter on the “fast-track” (off the books). We asked what our options were and we were told that practically everybody has to take the “fast-track” to get anything done with the power company. After being in this office for over a year, the power company threatened to cut our light if we didn’t produce a registered meter.

All of this illustrates the need for people to see a quality of life through a series of decisions made based on integrity. The INTERCEP drip irrigation site offers local farmers the opportunity to work through means that are affordable, practical, simple, and sustainable. The upcoming INTERCEP food preservation workshop offers the women of Borno State honest ways of keeping excess vegetable produce reducing waste. The 2008 INTERCEP agricultural addition of poultry, rabbits, and rams will train farmers in upright methods of small-scale livestock expansion of drip irrigation farms. As people envision a work ethic that produces a quality means of livelihood, they will be drawn to the One who gives meaning to all of life.