Labda Hata Mimi

Labda Hata Mimi, Three simple words: Maybe Even Me. I thought about switching my title to Labda, Hata Mimi, that is where the name arose. Hata Mimi is a common saying which crosses over into the secondary school Tanzanian English vocabulary as “Even Me”. I went to my shadow visit in the Mountains of Tanga region and heard the volunteers there habitually using it, it stuck. (Also: “Somehow!” as an exclamation or cure-all post-fix to an arhythmic sentence; Oh, joys of your first language being tickled by foreigners)

The other side of the name is of course the typical American usage (”Kiamerikani”), maybe even I can do some meaningful work abroad, specifically in East Africa. Windows, Mac, Linux, x86, the whole world runs the same gear, right? Generators can, at some expense, bring computers to even deep backwaters if there are economic reasons. Millions of those old but capable 500mhz desktops are going somewhere, right? Digital cellphone towers touch all but 20% of the global population.

Somehow, during high school and college this possibility was not a given. I reflect on Peace Corps as a fantastic chance for the 33% of Americans who have completed college, especially those who have robust skillsets like IT, water & environment, health, leadership, teaching, or science, regardless of their personality, age, or temperament. I really do hope the coming US administration expands the program and renovates a bit.

The Peace Corps country staff are true professionals in helping Americans stewed in our slightly inward facing culture to step out for a few short years. Within a couple months after landing you’re readied for two solid years of meaningful engagement with your host country at fiscal and almost lingual parity with local workers–not a small achievement.

And last, requisite blogmark: The contents of this site are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps. Any photos posted are in the public domain since they were taken by an active PCV.