Sawu Bona and Sickhona
Sawu Bona and Sickona are the two zulu words used when people greet one another. Sawu Bona means “We see you”. Sickona means “I am here”.
When saying Sawu Bona, the person is acknowledging the other person. The use of the “we” is because through that person, the community he represents and his “ancestors” are also acknowledging the person. It is not just “hello”, without further thoughts. It is recognition.
The counterpart says “I am here”, in the sense that “I can be validated”. “I am available to contribute”. I am also here with my needs, with my community and my history (ancestors).
During a project, how many times do stakeholders really acknowledge and respect each other? How many times there is this sense of recognition and respect of the person, and of awareness of his/her “ancestors” (professional past life, experiences and best practices learnt). In the rush of the project times, very often we place little importance on the context a certain person comes from, only to be seen as a resource and at best a project role.
The first lesson learnt from Ubuntu would be that of acknowledgment. If our project team is like a tribe then any newcomer should be acknowledged, sharing with rest of our Project Team his own value and that of his ancestors (experience he has and community he comes from).
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