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health
In the area of health locals are often bound not to take practical measures to make improvements by a set of beliefs which are holding them back.
For example, people may refuse to boil dirty water to make it safe for drinking, not because of a lack of practical knowledge but because of a certain belief that fire upsets the spirits. This is evidenced by the production of a visible spirit (steam) as the water boils.
As a result of this belief, poor hygiene and a sense of hopelessness against disease prevail - even in the face of practical advice.
For this reason our staff are trained not just in the practical measures that can be taken to combat poverty (e.g. teaching people how to distill water) but to identify the root causes of these physical problems, which are often predicated on a system of false beliefs about the environment (e.g. that the water can not be boiled) and the value and potential of people living in it (e.g. that they are helpless to change the status quo.)
A woman from Maisha Bora waits by the river's bank to collect water.
Just as anywhere else, beliefs dictate a whole range of other issues in Maisha Bora too. Beliefs determine the role of women in society, the value of children, the ability and need to work and peoples view of the value they have as individuals and a collective.
By taking these belief systems seriously the needs of the community are met in culturally sensitive and relevant ways - specific to the people of Maisha Bora, and specific to addressing the root causes of physical, spiritual and emotional grief within the community.
