Life in Chad

While I was in Africa recently, I was asked in an email to describe the lifestyle of people in southern Chad. Of course, there is still much I don't know about Africa, since I'm still very inexperienced, but I tried to summarize some of what I've learned so far. I thought you might be interested to read what I wrote while sitting in a missionary home in Balimba (near Sarh):

The people in Chad are very poor - Chad is one of the poorest countries in the world. Here in Sarh, only the major town-center roads are paved, though work is being done even now to pave more roads. Typical houses are small, round huts made of mud brick, with a roof of dried grass. Tin roofing is also available and is more durable, but more expensive, and gets really hot. Families tend to be larger than in the US (partly because polygamy is still common, partly because children are considered a blessing here). When new members join the family, new huts are built, so that a family's home is actually a collection of several huts. In Chad and throughout much of Africa, people really spend most of their time outside - the huts are mainly for sleeping and sheltering from the rain, heat, or sun.

Traditional clothing is very colorful. People (especially men) do wear western-style clothing as well, and Muslim men wear long, whitish robes. As a rule, women do not wear pants here, except for prostitutes.

The staple food is called boule - it is a sort of paste made of some kind of grain - millet, manioc, corn, or rice. It is served in a dish, in a dome shape like an upside-down bowl. They will usually also make a sauce with meat and vegetables. Traditionally, you eat it with your right hand, but sometimes they will provide spoons or forks. You break off a chunk of the boule and dip it in the sauce, and then put it in your mouth. But Chadians do like variety, and I have been served various pasta dishes, nuts, rice, and fruit. For meat, I've so far been served beef, chicken, and goat. People also keep pigs and sheep, and I've heard there are people who eat cats and dogs. Mostly though, cats and dogs are kept as pets and not as food. Soda is popular - you can get Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, and some other fruity sodas. Tea is also popular (I was never a tea-drinker, but I've actually learned to like it here, because it is served so much and would be rude to refuse).

Transportation is quite different here. The missionaries use Toyota 4x4 Land Cruisers, because the roads are so rough. Most Chadians can't afford those, but motorcycles, mopeds, and bicycles are common, also motorcycle taxis called clandos. Many people just walk, or hitch rides on trucks for long trips. If they have a load to carry, they will usually carry it on their heads, which is actually a very practical method and allows people to carry amazingly heavy loads without ruining their backs or shoulders. Very large loads will be carried in carts pulled by oxen or donkeys, or in a sort of wheelbarrow called a pousse-pousse (that's "push-push" in English). Horses are used here as well, mainly by Muslims.

As I've said before, poverty does not equal misery. The missionary I'm staying with has confirmed what I have noticed myself - you have never met such joyful people. Of course, there are exceptions: people who have made money and possessions their goal in life, and are miserable as a result. But in Chad (and much of Africa), people find most of their happiness in this world through relationships, not through entertainment or success (of course, true joy comes only from the Lord). On the other hand, I don't want to paint a false picture; life in Africa is certainly tough. Just read the headlines - famine, drought, disease, wars, etc. But I've met many Americans who know only the headlines, so I wanted to try to show that there is more to Africa than that.