Questions from Guelph Chapter Members

A while back Guelph Chapter members had the opportunity to write down a question that they had about our time (myself and Madavine) in Africa this summer. There are many questions, and I intend on getting to them all, but here are some basic ones to get it started.

What are you the most apprehensive about your placement?

The thing that I am most worried about for my placement is not being able to do a good job. I am going with the hope of being useful and helping the REP become better at helping the rural poor. I am also worried about big picture development issues. For example, am I actually doing good development work, or am I merely having good intentions with a terrible impact? I am worried about getting sick, and not being able to run to the doctor to check it out whenever I feel compelled. Finally, I am worried I am going to cry a lot. I am very emotional, and I feel like I am going to be confronted by a lot of things that will really frustrate me and there won’t be anything I can do about it, and in situations like that, I cry. Not because I am a big baby, but just because I am super emotional. Finally, I am worried about finding a family to live with, and the inevitable language barriers. HOWEVER, I am excited for all the same things I am worried about because of the challenges I will have to overcome and how much I will learn.

Will you be part of a variety of communities during your placement?

There is a chance that I will travel around with a field officer to different communities to evaluate and implement projects related to the REP. However, right now, I am still lacking enough details to know for sure. Even if my work doesn’t require it, I am going to make an effort to travel to different communities by visiting other volunteers on weekends. I want to be able to see as much of the country as I can. Also, we are encouraged to stay in a village for a couple weeks to better understand rural livelihoods and the people we are working for. (For details on my placement, check the previous post)

During, After, Before going: what impact did you have or expect to have in your placement?
There are many areas in which I have thought on my impact, my friends and family in Canada, my friends and family overseas, my workplace, the Guelph Chapter, myself and of course Dorothy. Dorothy is someone I have not formally introduced yet, and it is definitely important that I do. Dorothy is a concept based off of a real person. She is person for whom we are all working. She helps us at EWB have a focus on impact. For example:

What is the difference between digging a well, access to clean water and improved health?

What is the difference between building a school and ensuring that children get an education?

What is the difference between having a public display and making Canadians aware of the challenges faced by the world’s poor?

The difference is a shift from thinking about what we want to do, to thinking about what we want to achieve. More specifically, it’s thinking about what we want to help Dorothy achieve.
Dorothy is the mother pounding fufu in Cameroon. She is selling oranges on the street of Accra. She is tending to her kids in Tanzania. She is trying to sell some crops in Senegal. She is the bright school boy who dreams of being a doctor, who is working through high school as a subsistence farmer.
She is our boss. The one to whom we ultimately report. I want to better understand who Dorothy is, and find my own Dorothy. Every volunteer comes back with a story of their Dorothy. The person who inspires them to keep on trying to make the world a better place…to keep on caring when it is so easy to ignore the realities of the billions of people living in extreme poverty and to continue exploiting them with our casual and consumptive lifestyles. I want to have that person, or those many people whom I am working for. For whom I can inspire those yet to find their Dorothy’s to work for in the mean time.

So that is who Dorothy is. In my placement, I will be working to improve Dorothy’s life, therefore, my impact plan for my placement will be slanted towards her.

Before: Learn as much as I can and humble myself as much as possible with how little I really do know about the world. Care. It is so important to care about her even though we have never met. Be open-minded. Clear my head of what I expect from her and her situation.
During: I want to meet her. I want to learn her motivations and her aspirations. I want to understand what is suppressing her into poverty, and what I can do about it. I want all my actions to be guided by how it will impact her. I want her to understand that there are people who are trying to improve her world, that there are people who care about her, all the way in a small village in Africa.
After: I want to share with as many people as will listen, and even some who will not, who she is, and how anybody can have an impact on her life. People cannot relate to figures in the billions. Not even figures in the tens. But one person has the more power to move and motivate change in the masses in our world. I hope that I can share her story and cause more people to care about her and do something about her situation.