In 2010, Lifewater Canada co-founder Jim Gehrels was having an increasingly frustrating overseas trip. Time was ticking down to his return flight home, and his efforts to bring about change for good increasingly felt like trying to push a rope!
At the end of his wits, Jim phoned a local friend who had pastored churches through difficult times. Anthony came and patiently listened as Jim poured out his frustrations. When Jim finally ran out of words, it was time for Anthony to respond. After reflecting for a while, he said “Brother Jim, you don’t roast a dog quickly.” That was all Anthony said!
Puzzling advice indeed! Cultural differences were highlighted as Anthony explained that everyone knows cat meat is sweet to eat, but dog meet is oily and tough. If you try to roast the dog quickly, the outside burns and the inside remains oily and unpalatable. To do it right, you put the dog on a spit over a low-heat coal fire for an entire day. Then the oil drains out, the meat cooks all the way through, and it makes a good stew over rice.
Anthony said most community leaders know this, and so they watch in dismay as aid groups come in with aggressive timelines trying to effect profound change in societies that have evolved over hundreds of years. Relationships that gradually build trust are the ones most likely to achieve effective partnerships and cooperative projects.
You don’t roast a dog quickly. It’s an insightful image for sustainable development that has helped guide the work of Lifewater for many years now!
