The situation:
I just had an interesting conversation with an accountant who is going over to Africa to buy children out of fishing slavery. The fisherman buy the kids for 5 year contracts and then when the 5 year contract is up, they go back to thier families. The accountant is going to go over there and buy the kids back and send them to school for 3 years instead. And, the group the accountant goes with tries to teach the parents that no amount is money is worth thier kids life.
My initial thought:
I think that sounds very good. But, in some ways isn't the "slavery" more like how apprentices worked in the Middle Ages? The families get about $25 for a 5 year contract. It seems that if the families are selling the kids for that amount, the greater problem is that the families cannot support the childern and so they are getting rid of them by putting them to work in some sort of industry. These people are in survival mode, maybe they are just making the best decision out of many poor choices.
The real question:
What is the best way for an NGO (non government orginization) to interact with the people they are trying to help? If a group is going to another country to help people, what is the best way to do it?
2 comments:
I think hands-down the biggest mistake that foreigners make when they go to other countries and try to make a difference is that they don't understand enough about the context they're entering into. I believe that it's necessary to go and live in a place, spend time with the people, eat their food, participate in their practices, all in order to understand just who exactly you're dealing with. Understanding where they come from is key to being able to hook them. For example, this accountant might go to Africa every year and buy these children 3 years of education. However, maybe he's there just one week. Perhaps he's not getting a clear picture of what could REALLY turn around the thought process of these parents who see no other alternative. By spending a year with one family, new and creative ways of communication would naturally develop. And by using words that the natives could actually hear and absorb, real changes in their thinking could arise. Maybe some other alternatives could become real options for survival in their eyes, and maybe they could truly change. Patience is another key element that sometimes is lacking. In America, we expect everything, including results, to happen very quickly. In most other countries throughout the world, the lifestyle and the pace of living is much slower and more relaxed. I think expecting results too quickly from people who operate more slowly is another mistake.
I agree with Jessica. A lot of people who go into foreign countries believe "my way is better and these people will have a better life if they live like I do." Of course, that is not always the case because of various cultural, religious/belief, social differences.
It would be like me going up to anyone and saying "I know you don't like living the way you do. I'm going to save you from the hell you have been living in. Follow my way of life and you will be so much happier" only because I don't understand every aspect of thier life. I assume thier life isn't good because it doesn't emulate mine. How ridiculous is that idea? I have no right to judge how anyone lives nor compare it to my own as better/worse. Mainly this is because what we have grown up in and have been surrounded by are vastly different - not in status but in culture, belief, etc. Besides, how do I know someone won't come up to me and say the exact same thing? The only thing to do would be to understand someones background & upbringing to even begin to offer any reaction to their life.
NGO's should locate to the area they want to help, live with the people and understand their surroundings -making sure people want a change - before making concisive decisions and implementing them heavily.
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