There's a hole in the boat

A few days ago, I was on a boat with Ignatius, Solange and Vincent our captain. As we made our way across the lake, the boat rose and fell not so gently with the waves. Every few minutes, Vincent would lean over, scoop a container into the bottom of the boat and throw a little water back into the lake. I watched him do it a few times before curiosity got the better of me.

"The boat is leaking?" I asked. He smiled, almost as though I had just discovered something every boat owner already knew. "A little," he replied, and calmly went back to bailing. Many boats leak.

For the rest of the journey, I couldn't stop thinking about that. The boat was not in danger, of sinking, no, but it hit me that if the leak ever became serious, removing the water with a cup would no longer be what was important. Finding the hole would be the most important thing.

Imagine with me... there are several people in that same boat. Halfway across the lake, someone notices that the water is rising in the boat. There is a hole somewhere. If nothing is done, sooner or later, we are all going to sink.

The obvious response seems simple find the hole and plug it. Except that is rarely what happens when many people are involved. Someone immediately grabs a bucket and begins bailing. Another gets a bigger bucket. Someone suggests buying an electric pump. Someone starts calculating exactly how many litres the boat can hold before it becomes a real problem. A committee is formed to study historical boat leaks. An expert explains that every boat leaks a little. Another warns that trying to repair the hole could make it bigger. One passenger complains that all this talk about leaks is creating unnecessary panic. Another insists the leak only affects the people sitting on that side of the boat. Someone proposes waiting until the next docking because this isn't a convenient time for repairs.Meanwhile, the water keeps rising.

People are amusing. We rarely disagree that there is water in the boat. We disagree about whether we should pay attention to the hole. This is also true of families, organisations and even countries.

In Uganda, many of our conversations are spent discussing the water. We debate the consequences, measure the damage, argue about who should have brought the buckets and celebrate whoever can bail the fastest. We become good at managing symptoms.

Finding the hole is much harder. Finding the hole asks uncomfortable questions. It asks where systems are failing instead of who to blame. It asks why a problem keeps returning after years of projects, meetings, workshops, etc. It asks whether the institutions meant to keep the boat afloat are doing their job and, if they are not, what needs to change.

Building or strengthening institutions is not exciting. Nobody applauds a well-maintained hull. Strong systems are almost invisible because they prevent crises instead of reacting to them. We celebrate rescues far more than prevention. This is probably why fixing holes is such "lonely" work, yet every lasting improvement begins there. Better schools and healthcare, cleaner towns, stronger local governments, better conservation, more accountability. These are not bigger buckets. They are attempts, however imperfect, to repair the boat itself.

Of course, before you begin the repairs, you involve everyone. Some will say there is no leak. Some will say every boat leaks. Some will say they have lived with wet feet for years and don't mind. Some will worry that repairing one hole will create three more. Some will prefer another bucket because that's what they've always known.

Listening matters. Collective action matters as does public trust. People deserve to be heard, especially when everyone shares the same boat. But hearing every opinion does not change the location of the hole. Eventually someone has to kneel down, find it and begin the repair because there comes a point when the choice is no longer between fixing the hole and bailing water. It is between fixing the hole and sinking efficiently.

From where my feet are, Uganda doesn't lack people willing to carry buckets. We have never lacked hard work, generosity or resilience. Our greatest challenge has often been agreeing to stop, find the hole and repair the boat together.