On a fairly frequent basis I am reminded of a response that
one of the staff in PC Ecuador gave to a volunteer ‘group’ asking for
additional monies to fund their stay in Quito. The volunteer group met on an
either monthly or quarterly basis to plan a yearly camp for girls in the
country and wanted PC to fund them for an additional day (with lodging and per
diem). The volunteers were denied after being pretty persistent and the staff
member felt compelled to write an explanation in the volunteer-run newsletter.
He sent a strong message and reminder to all volunteers when he said “it’s not
about you”. In other words, remember why you are here. You are a volunteer and
you came to help others without asking for yourself. At least this is my
interpretation. As ‘westerners’ I think we are pretty used to sticking up for
ourselves, demanding the best, and being persistent. We can justify the need
for anything. And sometimes, even though you are aware of the poverty and need
around you, it is easy to slip into that mentality. Yes, you are doing a great
thing by helping someone else and sacrificing your time and money. But you
still feel entitled. Really, volunteerism is necessary. But sometimes we lose
our awareness as to what is really important and worth fighting for and why we
want to help in the first place. Is it ever truly selfless? Do we ever do
anything without expecting something in return, as if it is a right and not a
privilege?
The ‘it’s not about you’ speech was echoed recently in a
conversation I had with a man who frequently works with volunteers and manages
an CBO (Community-Based Organization managed by people from Burma, working on
the grassroots level, and usually funded by an international NGO) here. “They
want what they want.” He said. “We try to help but we can’t always accommodate
the wants of others, which are not necessarily the highest priorities of the
organization.” Once again I was brought back to the initial ‘Peace Corps’
lesson.
Now that I have been here for seven months I have a
totally different view of volunteers. I still believe that volunteers can make
an impact but they must be willing to work with an organization to meet the
organization’s needs. After receiving many requests from various parties to
volunteer on a short-term basis and knowing how this actually creates more of a
burden than a help, I find myself feeling extremely protective of the
organization. I don’t believe that short-term volunteers with no skills help
the organization more than they burden it. Many don't understand the context (Big Picture) and even try and implement drastic changes that they think are great but in reality are detrimental to efforts for systematic change that has been in progress for years.
A friend recently shared an excellent example. An instance was cited where a short-term volunteer went to teach English at a migrant school. Several larger and long-term organizations have been trying to standardize the curriculum of of the migrant schools for years to improve the education the students receive. The short-term volunteer found an English textbook he or she really liked and purchased many copies for the school. He or she convinced the school that this was the best option. ***Side note, western English speaking volunteers are all considered to be superior English teachers even if they have no teaching experience***The school abandoned all previous efforts for standardized curriculum (which had probably taken months or years even) and went with the books the short-term volunteer provided. I'm sure this is not the only example out there of a short-term volunteer gone 'innovative'. Good intentions without considering the Big Picture could have been more effective if directed in the right way.
CBOs here (in-line with
culture in Burma) are very accommodating and if help is offered they will acquiesce
even if the help may not be needed and is actually just a time-suck. Yes, it sounds very
harsh! I still believe in short-term volunteering as a tool for education but
think that the theory of ‘Do No Harm’ could be applied here. We all have good
intentions (most of us anyway) they just need to be applied in the most effective manner. Volunteers and anyone working with a grassroots
organization (myself included) need to be aware of how we impact the ‘Big
Picture’ of these organizations (big and small) with our presence and actions.
