We come with suitcases of clothes, presents, soccer balls and candies. School supplies, work gloves, guitars, ect. and we throw them at members of the local community and snap a happy photo of how we, as Northerners, are making a difference in worlds far away. We throw the pictures up on facebook to show all of the “good” we’re doing in these poor and helpless foreign lands. But we don’t tell the locals what price our ‘gifts’ come with…we don’t tell them what will happen if they accept our gifts…and we wont see it either…unless we want to and unless we go back and are willing to be critical of ourselves—which as North Americans we like to shy away from, blame other people, and give ourselves a preemptive pat on the back when we really haven’t done anything. The soccer jerseys don’t come with a note that says by taking this gift you will become dependent on our presence. It doesn’t say we will mess with your culture. It doesn’t say we will enforce (consciously or not) our ideals on you—expecting you to lean our language while not learning yours. It doesn’t say that for us this is a vacation and after a couple weeks of doing good and getting dirty we will return to our cubicles and venti dark roast coffees that cost six dollars. It doesn’t say that we will sleep better tonight…and for the next year because we are “changing the world”. And it doesn’t say that we’re likely to give up if it takes more than seven years. When we cut a check so we can build a school, or a hospital, or a barn so we can play in the dirt and swing a hammer and listen to our friends and family tell us how noble we are and how much good we are doing and we can respond with how great the 45 cent beer tastes after a hard days work of saving lives the memo doesn’t read…we are using you (intentionally or not).
What you also don’t see from sitting at home and criticizing these programs is the depth of the individual experiences and the effects that transpire as a result. To the individual who participated the picture isn’t of a foreigner and a local but rather of two new friends. The soccer jerseys don’t show the relationship that has developed between the giver and the receiver. The school supplies don’t show the attempt of two people from two very different places accepting each other for who they are with empathy and compassion. It doesn’t properly illustrate the reciprocal nature of the relationship and the knowledge sharing that goes on. One of the most important things that go unnoticed to those sitting at home being their textbooks and theories is the inspiration generated as a result. The foreigner will return to their community sharing their pictures and stories with friends and family exposing them to a reality they might be unaware of and in turn inspiring them to get involved (in some capacity or another). It doesn’t show how a two week trip with good intentions can lead to a lifetime of engagement and participation—because with a personal connection it its more likely to be sustained. It also doesn’t show the local may be inspired by the experience of someone coming to their community and listening to their story. From being shown that cares (in some way or another) about them, and their issues. The inspiration that could begin (both sides) to a lifetime commitment on developmental issues, pursuing equality and all that good stuff.
So what do you do? I don’t have a clue. I think experiences that engage and inspire while creating awareness are crucial if we want to put the idea of Global Citizenship into everybody’s head. I think it’s a fundamental way to create and spread awareness and I think it’s a hell of a good place to start. BUT I also don’t think you can stop there. I think when people are inspired they do great things and it’s important to remain ambitious. To continue to change how far you want to go and how much you’re willing to push the envelope and to always challenge the status quo—as cliché as that is, and to demand more from yourself and from those around you. I think we need to be very conscious of our impact and be aware of what we are leaving behind and what we are taking and at what cost. I think we need to realize that we cant look at these situations as black and white—they aren’t.
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