From ‘The Little White Girl.’
I recently read an article entitled ‘The Problem With Little White Girls (and Boys).’ The writer was questioning the effectiveness of
western teams heading out to the developing world to work with and help local
communities.
I currently live in Uganda, volunteering with a charity. I am
‘a little white girl.’ The article was saying that sending teams out can
actually be detrimental to development efforts. I completely agree! The notion
of wealthy young people going out to the developing world to ‘save it’ is, to
be honest, a lie. The author of the article refers to an experience she had
building a library, where the local community had to ‘undo’ the work their team
had done. And that highlights a hugely important point about overseas
volunteering. It’s not us coming to do it for
them. It’s us doing it with them. Learning
when we’re doing wrong, and sharing skills, resources and experiences. We are a
global community, a family. And we have to do this together. Working alongside
sustainable projects based in-country for the long haul.
This point is concluded with the phrase ‘we failed at the
sole purpose of our trip.’ For me, the sole purpose of my trip here isn’t to
leave a physical legacy, have been a fantastic teacher or have built something.
That’s great, but it’s deeper than that; it’s to be changed. To see poverty
with fresh eyes. To have made poverty personal. To be transformed and broken on
a level so much for the poor that I will never be the same again…and so I will
consequently commit my life to passionately pursuing justice, whatever it
takes. And I would argue that anyone going on a trip to the developing world
will have that. And if that doesn't happen, that is failure.
So what about the success of the work I’m doing out here?
Well I never intended on coming to Uganda and becoming a child’s hero. As the
article says, I want her hero to be someone of her culture, her race, someone
who can continue to help and inspire her when my flight leaves. But
perhaps by my coming out here and running a children’s club for two hours so
the mother has a break, when the child goes home again she can relate to her
rested, restored mother, who then can be her hero. I’m no one’s hero, but
perhaps by the small actions I can do, I can enable someone else to become a
hero.
I never came out to reform the education system. Who am to
presume I could do that?! I have no qualifications, no training and I cannot pretend
I have a strong desire to be a teacher. But I go into a school twice and week
to work with local teachers and teach children English, Maths, RE and other
subjects. I am not a builder and yet I have helped build a church, and on a separate
occasion, a water-tank for a local community.
But I know I am doing the right thing. Why? Because our
English team and the Ugandan team are working in tandem. We do things together,
we share experiences, challenges, ideas and struggles. And yes, I struggle with
my lack of qualifications! But I have to remember something, I was blessed with
a good education, enthusiastic teachers and a great school life. So I can bring
experience from my own childhood when teaching these kids. I went to church and
grew up going to children’s clubs. So although I’m not children’s worker, I have
memories of great holiday clubs. I was blessed so I can bless others. I am no builder,
but I can carry bricks and lay them. I just need to be humble enough to listen,
to remember that I am not here to solve every problem. I’m here to help and we’re
here working together.
I’m a Christian. I believe in a God who uses the nobodies,
the unqualified, those who, on the outside, look like they can’t do anything. And
he uses us to change the world. He did it with 12 men, tax collectors and
fishermen. Jesus doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called. If we all
waited until we were totally qualified for a task nothing would ever get done!
The important thing is to work
with an organisation that are in the field, in-country for the long haul. The author of the article to which I refer uses some brilliant examples of work in the Dominican Republic, and of
employing local people to run projects out there. And that is exactly what is
needed. Using local volunteers with a much better knowledge of the culture and
language. However, I can still be here helping, bringing what I do know, what I
have learnt, and ultimately, being challenged by what I see.
I would encourage you if you’re
thinking about volunteering to question your attitude. Why do you want to do
this? You are not the answer to all the problems faced by developing countries,
I hate to break it to you! But you can go serve, alongside the community. And as
you do, you will be changed in ways you can’t even imagine. You will be
refined. You will be challenged. You will be equipped to begin to change the
world.
So in the words of Mother Teresa:
‘Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; give the world
the best you've got anyway.’
