I'm here visiting the Olive Branch for a long week, and am immediately welcomed into the activity of the place. Playing ball with the kids, eating dinner with the whole family, participating in the communal clean-up under the stars - it's an energized, happy atmosphere. The productive momentum- which still leaves space for kids to play and be kids- is led by matriarch Deb McCracken, her husband Puteyi, and their assistant Allison. I'm catching Deb and Puteyi just a few days before they leave on their annual fundraising trip, so I'm determined to make of the most of the moments of time we have together.
Through a series of conversations with each of them - spread over icing spice cakes for the children, driving dusty roads to the Peace Home, and pouring steaming cups of sunlit tea at breakfast, they catch me up on TOBFC's ongoing and planned projects. There's plenty for me to do during my days in Uyole, and they guide me into the rhythm of productivity worked around the schedule of raising 60 children. I get to flex my hand-sketching muscles at a refreshingly energetic pace as we map the future development for the Kubuni Centre and other exciting community projects. The kids are interested in what we're working on, and it's great to build off each other's enthusiasm for drawing and creativity.
The projects that I see developing left and right - robotics, furniture, adaptive ambulances, bamboo weaving - and the rising creativity and capabilities of the children of TOBFC is inspiring. Things are moving and growing as fast as possible, and still there seems to be a backlog of opportunity.
People say timing is everything. They also say there is no time like the present. With such a short visit here in Uyole, I feel my time is measured in patience and efficiency, and I hope I have the grace to navigate between the two.
Patience for the right moment is an important exercise in village life here: in waiting for the rain to stop (which never takes long), in listening for the midnight roosters to stop crowing (which takes hours), in finding the right time to pose a deep question to a busy parent, in anticipating the the completion of the Peace Home for the kids (coming soon!) and in listening to storied replies which might not quite answer the yes/no question you'd asked, but give insights to circumstances you hadn't known to question.
Working with Deb and the Olive Branch is a great lesson in efficient decisiveness (something I'll admit has been on my resolution list for about a decade of new years now.) These habits of efficiency don't always come easily. As a designer I can be guilty of lingering in dreamy indecision, creating more options while seeking the elusive perfect solution. With TOBFC, if a proposal is appropriate and adequate, it's sufficient and will be implemented asap. Their efficacy is contagious. This frees momentum and energy to be spent elsewhere, such as raising dozens of children and raising the funds to support them, as well as many other community-empowering initiatives.
My time here in Uyole is already winding down, yet the energy and momentum that has spurred our work this visit promises exciting collaboration in the future. While driving me to the airport, a friend Patrick explained a Tanzanian saying which resonated with me and my time with The Olive Branch: you can meet people in a minute, and get to know them over days and days, but you keep them in your heart for much, much longer.