While events were held round the world on 1st July to mark the 'Make Poverty History' campaign, the Maumere demonstration was rather more low key. As the picture shows, it is harder to get a good turnout when we do not have much in the way of celebrity rock stars to get the crowd motivated. If only Bono had turned up.
The world's attention seems to be focused on Africa this week, but it may surprise you to hear that this part of the world, in absolute terms, has more people living on less than $2 per day than Africa. If NTT province were a separate country then on indicators such as infant mortality it would be right in there with all those fashionable African countries. Which leads us to consider what we are actually achieving out here...
Work is tough but rewarding as we approach the one year in placement milestone. It is a funny thing really, you give up your job, sell your home and move to the other side of the globe with expectations of what you can achieve based on a little bit of personal research and some indications from VSO. On arrival you soon discover how woefully misguided some of these expectations were, and directed towards satisfying your own personal needs rather than the needs of the local community. Now, I am not saying that world peace and an end to global poverty would not have benefited the local people here in Flores but I was probably aiming a little high.
The truth of it is, I am constantly readjusting, usually downwards, my expectations of what is achievable here within my two year placement. This is certainly more a reflection of my own initially unrealistic aims than the conditions locally or the potential of my colleagues.
The more measured pace of life here, and the weight of people's experiences with government regimes and interactions with other development agencies, plays a part in how they respond to you and the concept and importance of change. With this in mind, a couple of weeks ago I ran a session in the health department discussing what change means, how it can make you feel, whether change is always good, different types of change and so forth. This meeting came about from a personal frustration that external development agencies (Western NGOs) with large funds for projects seem to essentially run certain local government departments, or at the other extreme do not include them at all in their activities. It is one of many frustrations that have taken me by surprise. Obviously I realised change and adaptation from both myself and my colleagues would be fundamental to my placement, but I am surprised that such a large barrier to change is the impact and working practices of development agencies.
So here I am a year into the contract, and I feel I am finally getting my head round the task ahead and what is required of me. It concerns more fundamental issues than I first thought, particularly the importance of empowerment. If in a year's time I return to the UK leaving a more highly skilled, motivated and empowered Health Department resulting in a healthier, better cared for community, I will feel more than happy with that. Making Poverty History will just have to wait until Bono answers my e-mail.
To learn more about how development agencies can be obstacles to change read on...






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