Saving the World is Harder Than You'd Think

Sorry I have been away for so long! It is just so hard to put this experience into words, but I assure you that I am alive and well. My projects are moving along. The Kids Club Corner is all painted and we are working on a schedule of activities now. I am also working on getting a computer station set up that is just for their use. It isn't fair that adults get to have all the fun!We are also working on getting the Abila Library functioning. The books are mainly donations from local colleges or old text books from the U.S., some of which are AWFU, so we are we are trying to get more children's books and books for the older kids. It is all a work in progress. Teaching at the school is a lot of fun, the kids are great. The schools are so different here. First off, the kids stand and greet the teacher when they walk in, very very disciplined and well behaved. They don't really have books and we are still trying to figure out how the curriculum works, but the kids are very very bright and soooo eager to learn. The main problem we are having is getting them to generate their own ideas about issues and give their true thoughts about a subject. It is something we have come across a lot when working with the kids and even the youth club members whom are all between 20 and 30 years old. It is very apparent that this is something they are not encouraged to do and there seems to be this general mindset that to challenge the ideas of someone who is seen as a superior (especially Americans and Europeans ) is wrong. As a social worker this is beyond frustrating since we are taught a very person-centered approach!! We did not want to come here as the we-know-how-to do-everything-right-Americans and start telling people how to improve their lives. The point we are trying to get them to understand is that while yes, we come with skills that can and will help , they are the experts of their community and there is no way we can be more knowledgeable what the community needs and what will be beneficial to them. There seems to be a belief that "mazungus" are some sort of god-like being and we hold the solution and answers to the problem (usually financial). We have had a lot of discussion about this and have concluded that it has a lot to do with colonialism, racism, certain NGO's and other form of aid doing more harm than good and they way we treat Africa as a whole among many manyother things. Often you see the headlines and it has something to do with "SAVE AFRICA!" and well I know I have not been here long, but from what I can tell so far Africa does not need "saving". I am still piecing together what it does need, but pity ain't it.

Next week the Voices project, which Sara and a few other interns are working on, will have its exhibition which should be very very cool. The Voices project is the media project which teaches the youth how to use photography and the creation of movies to tell their story and get their voices heard. I am excited to see how it turns out!

I can not believe how fast time is going by. I feel like I am just getting to the point where I am comfortable and beginning to understanding what is really going on here. I have a little less than a month left and have so much more to learn. I guess you can't save the world in 7.5 weeks, but please believe this is only the beginning. My eyes have been opened a whole new realm of knowledge that needs to be discovered so watch out world! Now I am really on the loose!