Tad's Life

I grew up in a small town in rural Pennsylvania. As far as I can remember, we didn’t have a taxi in town. Maybe there was someone you could call up and arrange to take you somewhere. I don’t know. My family never did. Nor did any of our friends. Later, in Canton, a small city, I know that there was such a service. I remember looking into it when as a one-car family I had to travel, or perhaps the car was in the shop. Canton also actually had (and still does) a minimal bus service. We ended up that time using Rent-a Wreck and getting a used car for $10 a day, or something. In neither town of my former life were there taxis circulating in the streets available to take you wherever you needed to go.

Dakar has taught me a different way of life.

Though it took a while. We've been here for over 13 years, but I really didn’t get comfortable with taxis until the last 3 or 4, I’d say. I think that I finally eased into the practice when parking downtown became impossible and I started to take taxis to the bank and the car insurance place regularly. Now, without hesitation, we go out and hail a taxi and discuss the price and off we go.

The clutch died on the car on Saturday. I got it to the mechanic fairly quickly, but when I talked to him at the end of the afternoon, he informed me he had just discovered a bent fork that needed replaced and he’d have to try on Sunday. Of course, in the end, on Sunday the used parts places were not open. So we’re still without a car on Monday. That meant a taxi ride to church yesterday and later one to play basketball.

I survived the game, once again, returning home tired and dehydrated, but well-exercised! But as Jonathan and I came home in that taxi, I suddenly calculated the price of my workout. I wish I hadn’t. Taxis are ubiquitous here, but they aren’t cheap. Buses and "car rapides" are cheap: great for things along the bus route. For going across town, they are not a fast option. Taxis, on the other hand, are direct and quick. But they are not inexpensive. And since I am a terrible bargainer, it cost me $10 for the round trip to play ball. Ouch! That may slow me down next time I’m without a car on a Sunday!

Looking at things from another point of view, though, taxis are a huge opportunity.

Patrice, the handyman for the Phare, came in to see me the other day. He is a smart young man and a hard worker. I’m not sure what the right word is to describe his nature, but he is the opposite of irresponsible and lazy. "Serious" is how the French say it. "Sober" might be what Dickens would have said.

Patrice doesn’t want to work as a gardener / fix-it guy for a career. He really wants to get to a place where he is making a decent wage: $300 per month instead of $100. He’s been considering various plans. That day he came to share with me his dream. He wants to be the owner / operator of a taxi.

He’s got a driver’s license. He’s got good health. He has a good personality for it. All he needs is $6,000-$7,000. That’s all.

This tears me up. I’d love to help him. Personally. As a mission team. In any capacity. It is the young man’s eternal problem. Without money, you can’t make money. Without capital, you can’t produce profits.

But I can’t help him. I don’t have $6,000 that I could risk on a business venture. Nor does our team. And if we did, would we choose Patrice? Aren’t there others in the churches who are in the same boat? Fodé, for instance, who has been calling me lately with his desperate situation, needs a job or capital to start a small business. And Vivate, our runner, who is beyond young now and still unemployed. He could probably drive a taxi... Well, maybe not. He probably needs a place with supervision. He’s honest, but unfocused!

Anyway, taxis in Dakar are everywhere. And in my life these past few days, they are in my thoughts as well.

// posted by Tad @ 9:32 AM