In rural Botswana, the custom was at one time the standard one in rural settings when there was a fire: all the neighbors would run and help put the fire out.
As development proceeded, village fire brigades were hired, part time of course (they were full time storekeepers, petty government employees, schoolteachers, and such, on a small salary) (like our volunteer firemen, only paid a monthly stipend).
Once this happened, there was a change in the response if the thatch on someone's rondovel or some other structure caught fire. People sat around and watched it burn. If the fire brigade was slow, which it often was, too bad. The neighbors weren't getting paid to do the work, the fire brigade was.
There are some lessons in that, I'm sure. |
