Well, we’ve passed the one-year mark here in Togo. After writing our first several blogs as, in essence, a work report, I thought I’d start this one with some reflections about our service here. First of all, we’ve learned that it’s not true that you don’t do any “real” work your first year in Peace Corps, because just living here and adjusting to the people and the environment is itself work. We’ve learned that while the phrase “development work” sounds pretty great on paper and even in theory, it’s a lot harder to explain it to the people you’re trying to work with than you might think. Even after more than a year in Togo, we still regularly get people asking us for money for things ranging from huge construction projects to eyeglasses to a lunch of rice and beans. Development work as a concept sounds good to us, but it’s a little too abstract for people who don’t have a latrine at their school or whose kids are given chicken heads to eat.
Although we’re here to teach health and business practices and are trying to convey that, they’re looking for resources and money, and after fifty years of having those things handed to them, it’s no wonder that they’re having a hard time getting up the motivation and confidence to try to organize those things themselves. With so many people like missionaries and development workers handing out resources, it seems like it’s partially our own fault that people can’t seem to take the initiative and do things without those outside people doing it for them; that practice has ultimately succeeded in instilling an attitude of learned helplessness and lethargy that have been difficult for us to try to diminish. Coming from a background that focuses so strongly on work ethic and self reliance, it’s frustrating to be faced with such a lack of self confidence and all-encompassing feelings of futility and impotence. After thinking about things like this, the inevitable question becomes “what exactly are we doing here?” We’ve established that we’re working (if the concept is loosely defined), but what are the effects of that work?
We’re certainly learning about another culture and giving that culture a chance to see what Americans are like, two outcomes that essentially qualify as official Peace Corps goals number two and three. As far as that elusive concept of development goes, though…well, I guess it depends on the specific project. If we’re not sure where we rate on that last, I guess two out of three isn’t so bad.
So far, we’ve done some teaching projects on health-related issues and accounting practices. If those things add to the educational experience of those involved and potentially increase their knowledge, I guess those are good things, and even better if those people go out and share that information with others (which I’m in the process of doing with those peer educators).
We’ve created a catalog of products for an association that makes and stamps fabric, although in retrospect I’m wondering if it will ultimately help them in the long run. We did get them to send one of the catalogs to an artisan center several hours west of here and are trying to get them to do some sales calls in Lomé, and if those things work, maybe that will become a sustainable form of income for them. That association is still trying to finish an artisan center that they started building with the volunteer before us, and the money going into that project has been hard to track, making us leery about donating any of our time to that project. Again, the potential is there for creating a sustainable income, if they could just clean up their books and make the project more transparent.
Two chicken farms are working on expanding their business, and it remains to be seen whether we’ve helped solidify good bookkeeping and accounting practices with those groups. We facilitated a loan from the local microfinance to help the expansion process for one and have worked on advertising and facilitated the purchase of an egg incubator for the other, but only time will tell if increased output or efficiency is a feasible end product.
The latrine project with our local village development committee and the creation of the health clinic, both of which are making minimal progress with regard to getting the paperwork together and trying to secure materials and funding both fall under the category of infrastructure, and if we could get those two things going sometime before we leave next summer to give us a chance to evaluate the impact, that would be ideal, but I’m not sure if we’re going to have enough time to really assess those projects. In theory, both seem like they would benefit the community, but it remains to be seen whether the management of those resources will be good.
One of our most recent projects, the community garden, is one where we’re also waiting to see how the management of the harvest goes. We’ve helped with the preparation of the soil, installation of a fence, and the planting of seeds (which are growing, yay!), but once harvest time comes, we kind of want our Togolese neighbors to take the lead on the selling of the produce to see how that goes.
The latest project that we’ve started with the CVD is one that I’m particularly happy about, probably because it involves no search for funds (how refreshing) and volunteers donating their time. The CVD is calling this a “self-help” project, essentially because the population itself is helping clean up various areas around the village. A couple of weeks ago, Joe and I took machetes in hand (which was cause for much amusement, you can be sure!) and helped about 30 Togolese volunteers clear the brush around the hospital and down the road to the prefet’s house to help minimize the mosquito and rat problem. We’re supposed to schedule some other clean-up spots around the village in the coming weeks, and we hope that this will help instill feelings of accomplishment and ownership of this project in the participants. Ultimately, we’d like to be able to say, “see, you don’t need money to take small steps to improve your community!,” which always seems to be the reason why it’s difficult start or finish a project.
Along with the blog, I’ve posted some pictures of our first clean-up project with the CVD. With these pictures, I feel like it’s possible to end on a positive note, because it demonstrates that there are people who are willing to donate their time and effort to projects without immediately asking where the money is going to come from first. The local volunteers in these pictures are inspiring, if only in a small way, and I’m hoping that the spectacle we made of ourselves (we drew lots of curious onlookers, especially with Joe and I taking our turns with those machetes) will stick in people’s minds as an illustration of ways locals can contribute to their own development.
On another happy note, Joe had his mid-service health exam recently, and you’ll be pleased to hear that he’s put on four pounds. Must be all those cookies you guys are sending from home. Keep ‘em coming! ;-)
