During the first weekend of July, I left my village for what seemed to be ages. I traveled from North to South to join all the other EWB volunteers in Zambia for our mid-summer retreat. A total of 40 hours on a bus plus something like 15 hours of waiting. A trip without any delay or mechanical problems on the way is not a real trip.
Siavonga, the place of our retreat is located in the South and it shares a man-made lake (Lake Kariba) with its neighbour Zimbabwe and there is a pretty impressive dam down there.
Being away from Kaseka Village (my village) for so long (one week!) made me feel as if the retreat was somewhat unreal. Not being a minority in a group and not having problems communicating felt weird. While many of us were coming from places where there is hardly any electricity, Internet and tap water, the sudden access to all these commodities was a bit overwhelming.
I had the opportunity to choose between living in a place with or without electricity, near or far away from a borehole. It was my choice.
My host family does not have that opportunity. They cannot afford the same choices. But that does not mean that they are not seeking for opportunities. They are working hard to improve their living conditions. There are times when they are discouraged and it seems like they want to give up, but then the next day I see them planting tomato, rape and onion seeds to start a small garden at their house.
You cannot expect one to be motivated all the time. I came to realize that the idea of Dorothy that I had before coming here is hard to find. The stories that people told me about Dorothy, this figure that is supposed to represent the people that we are working for and that guide all our decisions, were all inspiring. Desperate people living in hard conditions that were entrepreneurs. And to tell you the truth, I felt a bit pressured to find my Dorothy over the course of the summer, because everyone who comes back from a JF placement always have a Dorothy. But then I stopped looking around, seeking for one. All this idealization of Dorothy came to disillusion me, like the image of a desperate child to sponsor sold by other NGOs. I understand that the concept of Dorothy is there to help us keeping the big picture in mind and I cannot paste one face on Dorothy. There are things that inspire me in many people that I meet here and these are my motivations, my reasons to work here and back in Canada.
Mr. Omba (a very committed volunteer leader with DAPP) and my father Patrick
Siavonga, the place of our retreat is located in the South and it shares a man-made lake (Lake Kariba) with its neighbour Zimbabwe and there is a pretty impressive dam down there.
Being away from Kaseka Village (my village) for so long (one week!) made me feel as if the retreat was somewhat unreal. Not being a minority in a group and not having problems communicating felt weird. While many of us were coming from places where there is hardly any electricity, Internet and tap water, the sudden access to all these commodities was a bit overwhelming.
I had the opportunity to choose between living in a place with or without electricity, near or far away from a borehole. It was my choice.
My host family does not have that opportunity. They cannot afford the same choices. But that does not mean that they are not seeking for opportunities. They are working hard to improve their living conditions. There are times when they are discouraged and it seems like they want to give up, but then the next day I see them planting tomato, rape and onion seeds to start a small garden at their house.
You cannot expect one to be motivated all the time. I came to realize that the idea of Dorothy that I had before coming here is hard to find. The stories that people told me about Dorothy, this figure that is supposed to represent the people that we are working for and that guide all our decisions, were all inspiring. Desperate people living in hard conditions that were entrepreneurs. And to tell you the truth, I felt a bit pressured to find my Dorothy over the course of the summer, because everyone who comes back from a JF placement always have a Dorothy. But then I stopped looking around, seeking for one. All this idealization of Dorothy came to disillusion me, like the image of a desperate child to sponsor sold by other NGOs. I understand that the concept of Dorothy is there to help us keeping the big picture in mind and I cannot paste one face on Dorothy. There are things that inspire me in many people that I meet here and these are my motivations, my reasons to work here and back in Canada.
Mr. Omba (a very committed volunteer leader with DAPP) and my father Patrick at the small house garden
2 commentaires:
So big question. How have your view on "development work" changed since you left Canada? What surprised you the most?
How do you feel about the "Dorothy concept". I be honest, when i got back I couldn't stand it. People are just people.
Enregistrer un commentaire