Dark Continent, Iluminated?

“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to save the world and a desire to savor the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”

-E.B. White

What is the Africa Question, anyway? I once thought I knew it. To add to such audacity, there was a time when I thought that maybe, just perhaps, I knew the answer. The reality is there are as many answers to the Africa Question as there are Africa Questions. To say it is a complex continent does not even begin scratch the surface of the issue. To highlight this aphorism, try beginning to understand the intricacies of one African country. Then try to understand the intricacies of one ethnic group within one country. For every step towards the specific, you find that using the word “complex” to describe Africa is a gross understatement.

After personally accepting the fact that I probably will never understand the etiology of the plight of Africa, I am thankful to know that I have seen at least a slice of this place. Many of my perceptions of this continent are validated through various observations, conversations, experiences. But it is through seeing and doing that I have realized that myself, and the rest of the world for that matter, know so little about this place. I know that is not why I am here. I am not a cultural anthropologist, nor a historian, not even a cartographer. I am a Peace Corps Volunteer.

The other day I was having a conversation with a fellow GEE volunteer. Tim is nearing his close of service and is in the process applying to Law School. Seeing as how Peace Corps is a recent and intense chapter in his life, he feels compelled to incorporate some of his impressions into his cover letter. We began discussing the concept of activism in community development. To what extent is going against the grain a necessity to elicit social change? We as PCVs are taught that cultural sensitivity is paramount in our interactions on a community level. We are, after all, guests in this country. The question arises: Does attention to cultural sensitivity and the practice of social activism, in a community development setting become mutually defeating? I would like to think not. Volunteers are somewhat of an anomaly. We are often able to mobilize groups of people that would otherwise take no interest. It is a frustrating reality, but oftentimes people will only show up to an AIDS sensibilization because they know that the Amercian in their village will be presenting something. In many villages, conducting a session on the importance of the use of contraceptives or the dangers of female genital mutilation is exceptionally taboo. Cultural traditions and taboos are deeply rooted, regardless of their disasterous effects. If a volunteer was to be culturally prudent, then this subject may very well remain off limits. Is this acceptable? Both cultural sensitivity and an ability to challenge deeply rooted beliefs must coexist in the job description of a volunteer. Long story short, I think this is much of what a PCV, in Burkina Faso at least, must strive for.

It is both exciting and incredibly frustrating being at the bottom looking up. Amid it all, I believe that grass-roots development is the most effective, rewarding form. The conversations, debates and stories I have shared with my friends in village will always remain. If I am able to leave knowing that I helped one student understand the concept and importance of critical thinking and independent thought, I would consider my two years a success. But it all has its drawbacks. For it is at the grass-roots level that you cannot escape the frequent realization that perhaps our work here is making no measurable difference. On a macro, bureaucratic level, where figures and statistics are the language of development, it is very easy to be optomistic. Burkina Faso has reduced the incidence rate of HIV/AIDS to 4%. In many regards, this is cause for celebration. But what about the volunteer that sees with her own eyes the devastation of AIDS has caused in her village? Numbers are deceiving and in some respects, insulting.

My biggest challenge is fostering sustainability with my efforts in village. I don't want my projects and activities to exist in a vaccum. It is very hard not to throw money at things in village. Kids don't have enough notebooks? Sure I'll give the school $30 bucks so they can buy 120 notebooks. I'll feel good and then 1/5 of my school will have one notebook for one subject. But what happens next year? Will I give another $30 dollars? Is it not better to work with the school to find a locally feasible, sustainable approach to ensuring that students will have enough school supplies? It is better, but it is fighting against the status quo. Altruism and charity, in many respects, has hurt my village, especially my school. Why should a school director try to find ways to raise money for more desks when there is the constant possibility that some NGO from Germany or France or the U.S.A. will throw $2,000 into the school? What has transpired is a sit-and-wait system. Should one be surprised then when I, an American (de facto affluence included), moves into Pobe-Mengao, aiming to improve the lives of my new neighbors, and am immediately and persistently asked for money?

I guess it all comes down to how you look at it. I try to see through the incessant requests for cash and focus on the core needs, all the while evaluating to what extent I can be of help. I've never given a cent to a cause in village (aside from buying tea for those that come to the Women's Association meetings), and I'd like to think that I am still welcome. Just as Africans have come to expect money, many of us from the economic north feel it natural to give what we can in dollar signs. It is a challenge, and I am still trying to rid myself of such instincts. I am still confident that change can occur without grants or gifts.

Depending upon how you define development, it can be said things are getting better. Africa, the Dark Continent, is lighting up. With the help from a handful of NGO's, Guinea Worm has been practically eradicated in Burkina Faso. More and more women are seeking pre-natal consultations, due to greater availability and awareness of its importance. Cell phone coverage, and subsequently, cellphones are just about partout. It may be another 20 years before my village gets electricity, perhaps 50 years before anybody has plumbing. But my next door neighbor is able to call his brother in Cameroon and then check European football scores from his cell phone. Is this a good news? It all depends on your level of analysis. Cell phones do not eradicate poverty. It is just another example of how the world is getting a little flatter. Problems still exist. They will continue to exist. To what extent, I guess we will see. While people are debating whether Africa is a continent, a country, another world, whatever, the people of my village will continue doing what they know best: Living.