The people of Africa face enormous challenges in their daily lives, and the roots of their problems are certainly complicated. Now living in Mali, it is amazing for me to realize that this country has only had it’s independence from France for 50 years, as the days of empirical conquest had seemed to be ancient history.
The causes of Africa’s lack of development have frequently been debated, but there is little doubt that the period of invasion and exploitation from the west was the most damning. And unfortunately, this exploitation continues today, with foreign companies gobbling up the continent’s vast natural resources whilst its’ people see not a dime of it. The widespread political upheaval we continue to see in the region today is also of grave concern and many of the region’s leaders are corrupted by the money from foreign entities, as their people, seemingly centuries apart, continue to suffer.
So where does this all leave us today, as development workers in Africa? It is well regarded that most of the development work taking place today is heavily flawed and counter-productive. The emphasis continues to be on providing for the people of Africa, as opposed to helping the people of Africa learn the skills to provide for themselves.
Many of the NGOs of today spend all kinds of money to build schools, pumps, health care facilities – but where will the education on how to utilize these facilities come from? Who will train the future generations of educators and doctors? When a pump breaks, will it simply sit unused, as a play-thing for the local children? When the funding runs out, who will feed the hungry or build the new wells required for a growing population?
I subscribe wholeheartedly to the theory that only through educating the African population to provide these facilities and services for themselves can we ever manage to reverse the continued trend of dependency.
I bring all of this up because of my recent experiences in village. During the fourteen Water and Sanitation Committee meetings we’ve held the past couple of months, I have found myself facing the decision of what direction my two years of service will go.
I have been facilitating PHAST (Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation) with the group, which is a series of activities designed to empower the community to identify vexing issues within their community and select and plan projects to solve these problems.
During an activity entitled ‘Selecting Options: Choosing sanitation improvements,’ the group developed a list of projects they would like to tackle in the next couple of years. At the start of the activity, I emphasized to the group that I would not provide any funding, so they must consider how to raise the money within their community.
The first project that was mentioned was building a doctor’s office by Lassana, my homologue.
I told them that it would be a difficult project to complete properly, even if we could raise the money required, because the government would have to select Makili as a site to send a doctor. This is a tricky proposition, since our village is small and a doctor’s office is currently located 4 kilometers away in our market town, to which most of the village travels anyways every Sunday.
Lassana then answered saying it would not be a difficult project. ‘Peace Corps will build us a doctor’s office and we will find a doctor.’ I raised my voice and exclaimed ‘Corps de la Paix tɛna foyi kɛ! (Peace Corps will not do anything!)’ I then explained my role is as a facilitator to assist them in developing projects, and to help develop the infrastructure required within their village to follow through on their plans, by raising money, seeking materials, and implementation/construction. It is only through this role can I ensure that they can plan and execute projects in the future. This outcome cannot be achieved by handing out money.
Our next activity was ‘Selecting Options: Choosing improved hygiene behaviors,’ during which the group identified which current behaviors in the community they would like to work to change. Nearly all of the villagers do not wash their hands with soap after using the bathroom or prior to eating. This was the first behavior identified.
I asked the question ‘how will you respond when someone confronts you by ‘saying soap is too expensive, we cannot afford it.’’ One of the men then said, in all seriousness, ‘we will tell them Maliki will give us soap.’
So again, I calmly explained my philosophy of development to them. ‘What will you do when I return to America next year?’
The same man then looked me directly in the eyes, and asked ‘how will you help us if you won’t buy us anything?’
I took a deep breath and gathered my thoughts. I wanted to make sure I give the right response to this question. I proceeded to again in detail the concept of sustainability, and I told them that there are only certain projects that I am willing to assist in procuring outside funds.
These projects include the Pump Replacement project, where the funds will not only procure two pumps for the village, but also education for three villagers to maintain and repair pumps and the tools to do so. Or another example – the fish pond previously started by the former volunteers. This project will provide the villagers with an annual source of income, by selling fish, to be used not only for the maintenance of the pond, but also for additional projects within the village in the future.
After my speech, I looked around to the sullen faces around me, all looking down towards the ground. I asked them if they understood me, and reiterated that I want to help them into the future, not just during these two years.
Unfortunately, this attitude that I have constantly encountered in my village is the attitude which international development aid instills throughout the African community. It is an attitude which looks internationally not for a partner, but for a provider. I am working to change this perception in my village, and slowly, I hope to do so by example. In working with our Water and Sanitation Committee during the weeks since, I believe they now understand.
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