This is dedicated to all of my friends and family who promised to visit but never did. SOUTH AFRICA IS AMAZING. You missed out. :D All jokes aside, my month long journey across SA was incredible and was the perfect way to transition from being a volunteer with a purpose in life to unemployed and homeless.
As many of you are probably aware, I haven't had any visitors for the whole 2 years. No one to share my joys and pains, no one to fetch water for me and get sick with me, and no one who could relate and understand what I went through in my everyday hut life.I still don't have that BUT what I do have is someone who gets SA, the culture, and the rural life and that's close enough for me! My friend from home came out and we spent 3.5 weeks exploring the coast, starting in Durban and ending in Cape Town.We rented a car which was the biggest luxury I've had for quite some time! For anyone who's lived in Africa or has spent time here using public transportation, you can understand my joy. For those of you who don't know let me paint a picture for you. A 15 person khumbi (minivan), on average, will usually have somewhere between 17-25 people packed full with animals,babies, food, and materials such as buckets. It's not a comfortable ride. With a car I could just throw my bags in and spread out, though not too much as our little car- the Spark Lite- was as tiny as it sounds. But even then, that beat hauling your life into a khumbi and having to hold everything on your lap. No waiting for hours; you can go when and where you please. Obviously it's been a while since I've had a car.
Joey and I started our trip in Durban. We stayed in The Bluff which had some fun surf! Unfortunately it's been so long that I spent more time paddling than catching waves but it was fun nonetheless. From Durban we went to Umkomaas to dive on the Aliwal Shoal. Joey got certified and I did 2 dives, a reef dive and a shark dive. There were only black tips and Dungies in the water but they often see great whites, zambezis (bull sharks) and tiger sharks. It was pure adrenalin rush, diving in great white territory without a cage, and having the water chummed before you enter. I've never done a shark dive quite like this!
From Umkomaas we went to Port St. Johns where the shark attacks in this region were unbelievable. This year alone they have had 5 fatal attacks in one beach. Two surfers, two lifeguards, and one swimmer in waist deep water were all attacked by Zambezis (bull sharks) and unfortunately, all died. We did some amazing hikes to a couple of waterfalls and to a blowhole where you had to climb down a cliff. It was incredible! The hostel we were staying at had live music. A girl who was on South African Idol (top 20) performed for us. There were talented people from the villages who came out and Joey even got up there jamming on the uke! It was a great time.
We then went to Coffee Bay for a day, and did a small hike to the river. From Coffee Bay we made a few stops along the way in Buttersworth, East London, Grahamstown, Addo Elephant National Park, and then finally to Jbay. We stayed for a little under a week in Jbay taking in the sun, surf, and food! We lucked out and the swells hit when we were there! Joey surfed Supertubes everyday and I stuck to the baby waves of Kitchen Windows. Ha. I can only hope that when I return to Hawaii, my surfing skills also return...
From Jbay we stopped in Plettenburg Bay, Buffalo Bay, Victoria Bay, and Mossel Bay. Joey once again was able to hit the waves while Eric and I found solitude on the beach drinking beers and eating fish and chips! We then went to Cape Agulhas to see where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet and eventually made our way to Cape Town. Joey left SA on Sunday, August 26 returning back to America, and I continued lazing around SA until Tuesday when I headed out to Namibia.
This month of attempted surfing, eating fish (FINALLY!), not having to worry about public transportation or being stranded, hanging out with good friends, and being in and near the ocean was more than I could ever have asked for. It was an amazing trip largely in part to Joey coming out, so thanks!
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Pretoria and NGOs
The main objective of going to Pretoria, South Africa was to obtain visas and eat good food. Little did I know how amazing the city actually is! AnnaMae and I spent our days exploring and our nights watching the Olympics, cheering on Pretoria's own Olympic gold medalist, Cameron Van der Burgh!
One day as I applied for a Tanzanian visa I met this kind South African man. After talking for a bit I found out that him and his wife do amazing work for gassroot organizations. As I have said in previous posts, the BEST kinds of organizations are ones like these where the money donated go straight to the people and projects instead of NGOs and churches who tend to just build something without teaching them how to do it on their own or give free things away and then leave. This specific NGO is called Fathers in Africa and could use some donations. If you have any free time to check them out, please do! http://fathers.co.za/ Any donations will be appreciated and will help the children and their projects greatly.
One day as I applied for a Tanzanian visa I met this kind South African man. After talking for a bit I found out that him and his wife do amazing work for gassroot organizations. As I have said in previous posts, the BEST kinds of organizations are ones like these where the money donated go straight to the people and projects instead of NGOs and churches who tend to just build something without teaching them how to do it on their own or give free things away and then leave. This specific NGO is called Fathers in Africa and could use some donations. If you have any free time to check them out, please do! http://fathers.co.za/ Any donations will be appreciated and will help the children and their projects greatly.
Goodbyes Are The Hardest Part
The sound of a vehicle was approaching my homestead.I took a deep breathe, closed my eyes, and smiled at all the memories of the past 2 years- both good and bad. Happy to be moving on, sad to be saying goodbye.The car came to a stop outside my hut. It was time to leave. My host mother and sister were sitting inside their house watching from their window as I packed the last 2 years of my life in the back of a car, and they refused to come out. I had just spent the last hour saying thank you and goodbye, exchanging gifts, shedding tears, and laying hugs and kisses on them. I entered the car, gave one last look at my hut, my homestead, and waved goodbye to no one. And to everyone.
My days as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Swaziland were now officially over.
It was just Bongani (the PC driver) and I. We drove through my village, shopping town, and major cities for the last time. I mentally said my goodbyes and tried to hide my excitement for my future and what the next 5 months would bring. After being picked up from site, the following three days were spent "exiting" PC: closing out my bank account, getting signatures, having interviews, shipping boxes home, and saying a goodbye.
On Friday, July 27, 2012, Katie, AnnaMae, Joe and I rang out. Ringing out is a ceremony to celebrate our service and a chance to say goodbye to the staff and PCVs who we have served with. I had been given a heartwarming and thoughtful card by my amazing friends Mia and Kelly, and as we left on Saturday, all of our friends came outside, formed a line and started doing "the wave". Tears formed in my eyes and AnnaMae and I were deeply moved by the kindness and love shown on behalf of all of our friends. We've been through so much together- changed, grown, loved, laughed, cried, vented, fought, shared the highest of highs and the lowest of lows with one another. We have shared this unique, once in a lifetime experience with each other and there will always be this to bond us no matter how different we may be. So saying goodbye to the closest friendships formed was that much more difficult. But the RPCV world is small and I know our paths will cross again one day soon.
And so begins the adventures of a nomad.
My days as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Swaziland were now officially over.
It was just Bongani (the PC driver) and I. We drove through my village, shopping town, and major cities for the last time. I mentally said my goodbyes and tried to hide my excitement for my future and what the next 5 months would bring. After being picked up from site, the following three days were spent "exiting" PC: closing out my bank account, getting signatures, having interviews, shipping boxes home, and saying a goodbye.
On Friday, July 27, 2012, Katie, AnnaMae, Joe and I rang out. Ringing out is a ceremony to celebrate our service and a chance to say goodbye to the staff and PCVs who we have served with. I had been given a heartwarming and thoughtful card by my amazing friends Mia and Kelly, and as we left on Saturday, all of our friends came outside, formed a line and started doing "the wave". Tears formed in my eyes and AnnaMae and I were deeply moved by the kindness and love shown on behalf of all of our friends. We've been through so much together- changed, grown, loved, laughed, cried, vented, fought, shared the highest of highs and the lowest of lows with one another. We have shared this unique, once in a lifetime experience with each other and there will always be this to bond us no matter how different we may be. So saying goodbye to the closest friendships formed was that much more difficult. But the RPCV world is small and I know our paths will cross again one day soon.
And so begins the adventures of a nomad.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
My Peace Corps Journey: Most Memorable Moments in Swaziland
1. Meeting the 39 volunteers I was to spend the next 27 months with in Atlanta, Georgia.
2. Stuffing my face with sushi as my last meal in America.
3. Throwing my phone away.
4. Arguing with the airport workers that Swaziland and Switzerland are NOT the same place. It is crucial that our bags end up in the correct country.
5. Waiting to board the plane to South Africa and watching the World Cup game: U.S. vs. Ghana. Me being the only person in the airport cheering on Ghana.
6. Spending the night in JNB (Joburg Airport), while a World Cup game was going on just outside.
7. Arriving in Matsapha, Swaziland- an airport smaller than the Kona airport.
8. Our first night in country having our Medical Officer show us videos of RPCVs living with HIV. Being terrified and scared shitless.
9. Moving in with my AMAZING and WONDERFUL training host family.
10. The U.S. Ambassador, Earl Irving, coming to our small July 4th party.
11. Fighting for cookies and turning ALL topics to Las Vegas during our Language Training Sessions. Sophia, Rob and I were definitely the best and most productive group.
12. Having sessions in broken down buildings, under trees, and in rodevals (huts).
13. Our Medical Officer forgetting to mix fluids for our vaccination shots. Having to take it twice.
14. Alcohol Day, Cooking Day, and Mental Health Day were the BEST sessions. Yes, we got to taste local alcoholic beverages, a day set aside to learn how to cook, and a day devoted to learning how to stay sane. Informative, fun and looking back on it- very much needed.
15. Going on a field trip to Sondzela’s Game Park. Seeing wild zebras, wilderbeasts, crocodiles, and hippos for the first time.
16. On the Job Training (OJT) from hell. In the 3 days spent at my future site: someone stole airtime/money from me, I learned that I was going to be stuck with the worst project in PC history-building a dam, my counterpart had intimidated and tried to persuade me to write proposals for more water projects, walked about 15 miles in one day, slept on the floor with rats and bats, not having enough water to bathe, getting attacked by mosquitos, learning that a man had recently raped 2 young girls in a homestead not too far away, and finding out how terrible my transportation was. On the upside, I met my nearest PCV (about a 3 hour walk) and despite EVERYTHING, I knew if I could stick it out, it’d be the BEST experience of my life.
17. Being Sworn In as Peace Corps Volunteers in an old gym. We were required to set up and strike our own party. They ran out of food. Most of us left hungry and tired. Despite it being absolutely terrible, we were stoked because we were FINALLY free and moving into our permanent homes.
18. Moving in, and having PC assist me in getting my water barrels filled (along with the 10 extra water containers from my host family). Took 3 hours for 3 PCVs and 2 PC staff to fill ALL water containers from the borehole. WELCOME HOME SHAUNA!
19. Walking, relaxing, swimming, having picnics near/in the dam. 3 months later- finding out there are CROCODILES in there. Thank you community members who despite my questions about wild animals- laughed at me and said it was ok to swim in.
20. Cows knocking over my bucket full of collected rainwater. It was devastating.
21. Celebrating my 22nd birthday in my hut with good friends!
22. Dealing with rats the size of cats, bats, scorpions, tarantulas, frogs, centipedes, and some crazy weird bugs in my hut for 2 years.
23. Running away from snakes- mainly black and green Mambas on my homestead.
24. Attending my first Traditional wedding.
25. Walking for my water in a broken wheelbarrow, uphill and in sand. (Refer to blog post 2010)
26. Having my trucks and khumbis get stuck in sand, then having to push the vehicle out of the sand, while running away from black mambas. This happened more times than I can possibly count.
27. Getting struck by lightning. During an intense lightning storm, my hut was hit. There was a loud boom on my roof, sparks flew out of my socket, and my body went into convulsions. I called my friend to verify that I was indeed alive.
28. My mode of transportation are trucks -which they fill to the absolute limit. Trucks are not certified so when the police are out- I have no transportation. One day we had been waiting for 4 hours to get back. Finally we ended up going but through a different route and through the bushes. In turn we ended up losing our gas cap, people’s belongings, the side mirror, and scarily, the tailgate which I was partially leaning on. Every time something flew off we’d have to run after the item and retrieve it. As the police were still out, we had to send someone to check the roads ahead and make sure it was clear. One of the craziest transport experiences to date.
29. Celebrating Thanksgiving at the U.S. Ambassador’s house. BEST THANKSGIVINGS EVER. Thank you Earl Irving! (Refer to past blog posts about it.)
30. My youth clubs <3
31. MOZAMBIQUE. African vibe, Latin Influence, Salsa dancing, Island living= AMAZING time. Minor Precaution: Beware of corrupt cops in Maputo.
32. Hostel Takeover= the first of MANY PC parties and events.
33. Marula Festivals! 2011 and 2012. Refer to blog posts.
34. Attending PC trainings: In-Service Training, Mid-Service Training, Grief and Loss, Medical Mid-Service, All Volunteer Conference, and Soka Uncobe trainings.
35. SOKA UNCOBE (Male Circumcision)- fun trainings, great times, and awesome project to be a part of. Brought about many important conversations on health and HIV.
36. Changing of Country Directors. Changing of Assistant Peace Corps Director and Programming Director. For all intents and purposes, let’s just say it was ROUGH and made for a challenging service.
37. BUSHFIRE! Southern Africa’s largest music festival (2011 and 2012)
38. J-Bay Surf Trip (see blog post July 2011).
39. Being sick for 6 months. The lowest point- fainting in the latrine at night and unsure how long I was passed out with one arm out the door and hugging the “toilet”. (See blog post )
40. Germany, Italy, and France. Seeing my parents after a year living in Africa. (See blog post September 2011)
41. Medical Mid Service- pooping in cups. Enough said.
42. Camping Trips at NGWEMPISI GORGE! By far my favorite place in Swaziland. (See blog posts October 2011/December 2011)
43. Halloween spent at a PCV homestead. Dressing up, creating costumes, and teaching the children how to knock and ask for candy. Cultural Exchange at its finest!
44. HhoHho Shenanigans! All my Hhos coming together monthly for some fun and adventure within our communities.
45. 2 best friends’ weddings. Though I’ve missed a lot back home, I’ve been blessed to make such wonderful and loving friends in Swaziland. Most importantly, I’ve been able to share their special day with them.
46. Christmas and New Years Craziness! Included but not limited to camping, hiking, falling, dancing, music, and injuries.
47. Hlane National Game Park Camping- lying awake at 10pm listening to the lions roar then waking up in the morning and watching hippos, giraffes, elephants, rhinos, crocodiles, and many other animals gather at the watering hole.
48. Teaching Swim Lessons to 100+ adorable children for 2 years. Some of my happiest memories.
49. Tuesday/Thursday Prayer Meetings on my homestead. They consist of yelling, screaming, shouting, and lots of singing.
50. Painting murals and community buildings with friends, family, neighbors, and community members. (see blog post March 2011)
51. Teaching in the schools. The joy your receive watching your students flourish and grow with excitement from learning.
52. Learning that I quite enjoy corporal punishment- then realizing I could never become a teacher in the States.
53. Bringing home a puppy for my family only to have it vomit, poop, and pee ALL over me multiple times in the first 30 minutes of travelling. It took 4 hours to get home and 3 different modes of transportation. The puppy also had worms so I was covered in them as well. Ranks as a top contender for the worst transportation rides EVER.
54. Being able to watch my GLOW clubs grow and strengthen and see the girls gaining valuable knowledge from it. (see blog post on Camp GLOW April 2012)
55. Falling asleep to the soothing drums of the traditional healer in the homestead next door.
56. Being sick and stuck in the Peace Corps Office for over 2 weeks and eating the same meal every day. The upside: free internet all day, being able to eat meat, a bathroom, running water and getting to shower daily.
57. Building 2 libraries in my community. Helping the schools sort, label, and shelve 1,000 new books per school. A constant joy to see how excited teachers, parents, and children get at the site of books available for them to read.
58. Receiving gifts from friends, members of the community and from the ambassador. :D
59. 4th of July 2012- meeting G10 Volunteers at the Country Directors house, eating hot dogs, hamburgers, lighting fireworks, singing the national anthem and being chosen by the U.S. Ambassador to read the Declaration of Independence- while slightly tipsy off of 1 beer. How the times have changed!
60. Telling my Make (host mother) the date that Peace Corps is picking me up and her breaking down crying and telling me the best compliments.
61. Finish painting the pre-school and NCP. Spending my last few weeks in my community with friends, music, laughing, and painting HIV awareness advertisements.
62. Waiting for the Peace Corps vehicle to pick me up, waving goodbye to my family, and driving away.
2. Stuffing my face with sushi as my last meal in America.
3. Throwing my phone away.
4. Arguing with the airport workers that Swaziland and Switzerland are NOT the same place. It is crucial that our bags end up in the correct country.
5. Waiting to board the plane to South Africa and watching the World Cup game: U.S. vs. Ghana. Me being the only person in the airport cheering on Ghana.
6. Spending the night in JNB (Joburg Airport), while a World Cup game was going on just outside.
7. Arriving in Matsapha, Swaziland- an airport smaller than the Kona airport.
8. Our first night in country having our Medical Officer show us videos of RPCVs living with HIV. Being terrified and scared shitless.
9. Moving in with my AMAZING and WONDERFUL training host family.
10. The U.S. Ambassador, Earl Irving, coming to our small July 4th party.
11. Fighting for cookies and turning ALL topics to Las Vegas during our Language Training Sessions. Sophia, Rob and I were definitely the best and most productive group.
12. Having sessions in broken down buildings, under trees, and in rodevals (huts).
13. Our Medical Officer forgetting to mix fluids for our vaccination shots. Having to take it twice.
14. Alcohol Day, Cooking Day, and Mental Health Day were the BEST sessions. Yes, we got to taste local alcoholic beverages, a day set aside to learn how to cook, and a day devoted to learning how to stay sane. Informative, fun and looking back on it- very much needed.
15. Going on a field trip to Sondzela’s Game Park. Seeing wild zebras, wilderbeasts, crocodiles, and hippos for the first time.
16. On the Job Training (OJT) from hell. In the 3 days spent at my future site: someone stole airtime/money from me, I learned that I was going to be stuck with the worst project in PC history-building a dam, my counterpart had intimidated and tried to persuade me to write proposals for more water projects, walked about 15 miles in one day, slept on the floor with rats and bats, not having enough water to bathe, getting attacked by mosquitos, learning that a man had recently raped 2 young girls in a homestead not too far away, and finding out how terrible my transportation was. On the upside, I met my nearest PCV (about a 3 hour walk) and despite EVERYTHING, I knew if I could stick it out, it’d be the BEST experience of my life.
17. Being Sworn In as Peace Corps Volunteers in an old gym. We were required to set up and strike our own party. They ran out of food. Most of us left hungry and tired. Despite it being absolutely terrible, we were stoked because we were FINALLY free and moving into our permanent homes.
18. Moving in, and having PC assist me in getting my water barrels filled (along with the 10 extra water containers from my host family). Took 3 hours for 3 PCVs and 2 PC staff to fill ALL water containers from the borehole. WELCOME HOME SHAUNA!
19. Walking, relaxing, swimming, having picnics near/in the dam. 3 months later- finding out there are CROCODILES in there. Thank you community members who despite my questions about wild animals- laughed at me and said it was ok to swim in.
20. Cows knocking over my bucket full of collected rainwater. It was devastating.
21. Celebrating my 22nd birthday in my hut with good friends!
22. Dealing with rats the size of cats, bats, scorpions, tarantulas, frogs, centipedes, and some crazy weird bugs in my hut for 2 years.
23. Running away from snakes- mainly black and green Mambas on my homestead.
24. Attending my first Traditional wedding.
25. Walking for my water in a broken wheelbarrow, uphill and in sand. (Refer to blog post 2010)
26. Having my trucks and khumbis get stuck in sand, then having to push the vehicle out of the sand, while running away from black mambas. This happened more times than I can possibly count.
27. Getting struck by lightning. During an intense lightning storm, my hut was hit. There was a loud boom on my roof, sparks flew out of my socket, and my body went into convulsions. I called my friend to verify that I was indeed alive.
28. My mode of transportation are trucks -which they fill to the absolute limit. Trucks are not certified so when the police are out- I have no transportation. One day we had been waiting for 4 hours to get back. Finally we ended up going but through a different route and through the bushes. In turn we ended up losing our gas cap, people’s belongings, the side mirror, and scarily, the tailgate which I was partially leaning on. Every time something flew off we’d have to run after the item and retrieve it. As the police were still out, we had to send someone to check the roads ahead and make sure it was clear. One of the craziest transport experiences to date.
29. Celebrating Thanksgiving at the U.S. Ambassador’s house. BEST THANKSGIVINGS EVER. Thank you Earl Irving! (Refer to past blog posts about it.)
30. My youth clubs <3
31. MOZAMBIQUE. African vibe, Latin Influence, Salsa dancing, Island living= AMAZING time. Minor Precaution: Beware of corrupt cops in Maputo.
32. Hostel Takeover= the first of MANY PC parties and events.
33. Marula Festivals! 2011 and 2012. Refer to blog posts.
34. Attending PC trainings: In-Service Training, Mid-Service Training, Grief and Loss, Medical Mid-Service, All Volunteer Conference, and Soka Uncobe trainings.
35. SOKA UNCOBE (Male Circumcision)- fun trainings, great times, and awesome project to be a part of. Brought about many important conversations on health and HIV.
36. Changing of Country Directors. Changing of Assistant Peace Corps Director and Programming Director. For all intents and purposes, let’s just say it was ROUGH and made for a challenging service.
37. BUSHFIRE! Southern Africa’s largest music festival (2011 and 2012)
38. J-Bay Surf Trip (see blog post July 2011).
39. Being sick for 6 months. The lowest point- fainting in the latrine at night and unsure how long I was passed out with one arm out the door and hugging the “toilet”. (See blog post )
40. Germany, Italy, and France. Seeing my parents after a year living in Africa. (See blog post September 2011)
41. Medical Mid Service- pooping in cups. Enough said.
42. Camping Trips at NGWEMPISI GORGE! By far my favorite place in Swaziland. (See blog posts October 2011/December 2011)
43. Halloween spent at a PCV homestead. Dressing up, creating costumes, and teaching the children how to knock and ask for candy. Cultural Exchange at its finest!
44. HhoHho Shenanigans! All my Hhos coming together monthly for some fun and adventure within our communities.
45. 2 best friends’ weddings. Though I’ve missed a lot back home, I’ve been blessed to make such wonderful and loving friends in Swaziland. Most importantly, I’ve been able to share their special day with them.
46. Christmas and New Years Craziness! Included but not limited to camping, hiking, falling, dancing, music, and injuries.
47. Hlane National Game Park Camping- lying awake at 10pm listening to the lions roar then waking up in the morning and watching hippos, giraffes, elephants, rhinos, crocodiles, and many other animals gather at the watering hole.
48. Teaching Swim Lessons to 100+ adorable children for 2 years. Some of my happiest memories.
49. Tuesday/Thursday Prayer Meetings on my homestead. They consist of yelling, screaming, shouting, and lots of singing.
50. Painting murals and community buildings with friends, family, neighbors, and community members. (see blog post March 2011)
51. Teaching in the schools. The joy your receive watching your students flourish and grow with excitement from learning.
52. Learning that I quite enjoy corporal punishment- then realizing I could never become a teacher in the States.
53. Bringing home a puppy for my family only to have it vomit, poop, and pee ALL over me multiple times in the first 30 minutes of travelling. It took 4 hours to get home and 3 different modes of transportation. The puppy also had worms so I was covered in them as well. Ranks as a top contender for the worst transportation rides EVER.
54. Being able to watch my GLOW clubs grow and strengthen and see the girls gaining valuable knowledge from it. (see blog post on Camp GLOW April 2012)
55. Falling asleep to the soothing drums of the traditional healer in the homestead next door.
56. Being sick and stuck in the Peace Corps Office for over 2 weeks and eating the same meal every day. The upside: free internet all day, being able to eat meat, a bathroom, running water and getting to shower daily.
57. Building 2 libraries in my community. Helping the schools sort, label, and shelve 1,000 new books per school. A constant joy to see how excited teachers, parents, and children get at the site of books available for them to read.
58. Receiving gifts from friends, members of the community and from the ambassador. :D
59. 4th of July 2012- meeting G10 Volunteers at the Country Directors house, eating hot dogs, hamburgers, lighting fireworks, singing the national anthem and being chosen by the U.S. Ambassador to read the Declaration of Independence- while slightly tipsy off of 1 beer. How the times have changed!
60. Telling my Make (host mother) the date that Peace Corps is picking me up and her breaking down crying and telling me the best compliments.
61. Finish painting the pre-school and NCP. Spending my last few weeks in my community with friends, music, laughing, and painting HIV awareness advertisements.
62. Waiting for the Peace Corps vehicle to pick me up, waving goodbye to my family, and driving away.
The Strength of a Swazi Woman
As time races against the clock, I find myself reminiscing on these past 2 years.
I’ve learned A LOT. From the countless hours spent alone in my hut I’ve gotten to know myself- both the best and worst qualities. I’ve grown more assertive, passionate, and articulate. No longer am I that timid young girl, cautious of stepping on people’s toes and afraid to speak my mind. This has mostly been in part to being surrounded by 60 other insanely crazy, motivational driven, and natural born leaders or also known as Peace Corps Volunteers. During my Pre-Service Training we often would go late into the evenings past the sessions- asking questions, arguing and debating. The loud and persistent took the forefront of the conversations and the quiet were left stringing along. In a room full of leaders you quickly learn to find your voice or have it spoken on your behalf.
My eyes have been opened to development work and from first-hand experience I have learned the Do’s and Don’ts of “helping” others (see the previous blog post).
I have physically and mentally grown as well. I have learned to appreciate water and` look forward to the day where I will not be having to walk a couple kms for it or have to rely on the rain. I have learned to deal with creatures of all kinds including black mambas (snakes with venom so poisonous it’d kill you within 15 minutes), scorpions, tarantulas, bats, rats, centipedes, frogs, roaches, and spiders of all kinds. I have learned to say no to people.
But the hardest trial and biggest obstacle of living in Swaziland has been one of gender inequality and sexual harassment. In training we were told the best way to deal with sexual harassment was to let it happen and don’t make a scene or the perpetrators will continue and make it worse. And that is what I did. For the first couple of months I would let the comments slide. I would reason with myself, “This is their culture.”
One day as I left my shopping town heading back to site, I was stuck in the back of a pick-up truck with 20 other people. Packed full, the men used this to their advantage getting as close as they could to me. Besides the touching, and the “accidental kiss” when the truck turned, one young man used this as a way to sing Celine Dion in my ear. As hilarious as this was, it bothered me that they thought it was OK to do so. I told them to back off I did try to take this lightheartedly convincing myself it was OK because this was their culture.
In my community I noticed the gender differences all around me. The way men treated women, the way women were to serve men in their own homes, how boys were clearly superior to girls in every aspect of life. These things annoyed me relentlessly but still I did nothing because it was not my place nor my culture to do things differently. Then one day a guy in my community who I had become friends with, said something that pushed me over the edge. On a facebook message he said that this was a man’s world and it was understandable that women should not be heard. I broke down and in turn lost all faith in this country. This was my turning point. I directed all my energy into having girls empowerment clubs- GLOW. If men didn’t believe in the women, and their society is constantly putting these young women down, how do they expect to succeed?
Throughout the 2 years I have experienced a lot of sexual and gender harassment, but sadly this is NOTHING to what Swazi women experience daily. I have said it before and I will say it again, Swazi women are the strongest people on earth. They are raised in a male dominated society, and those in the rural areas are beaten, sometimes raped, and they are raised with the notion that they are made to get married and have lots of children regardless if they finish school.
If it wasn’t for the love, generosity, and strength of the Swazi women, I would have left this country a long time ago. They are a beacon of all that is good in the world. They are a light and shining example that things can be beautiful despite all the bad and harm that comes your way. The Swazi woman is strong, loving, loyal, caring, respectful, generous, cares for everyone regardless if it’s their child or not, and despite any physical or emotional abuse they receive- the Swazi woman remains the solid rock of faith. For all the bad that I have experienced on behalf of the male gender, I have gained more perspective and love from the women. So this is to you- My Swazi friends, family and confidants. You are amazing, you have kept me here, you have taught me what it means to be strong. I will forever respect, love and admire you. Keep your heads up. A new day is approaching.
I’ve learned A LOT. From the countless hours spent alone in my hut I’ve gotten to know myself- both the best and worst qualities. I’ve grown more assertive, passionate, and articulate. No longer am I that timid young girl, cautious of stepping on people’s toes and afraid to speak my mind. This has mostly been in part to being surrounded by 60 other insanely crazy, motivational driven, and natural born leaders or also known as Peace Corps Volunteers. During my Pre-Service Training we often would go late into the evenings past the sessions- asking questions, arguing and debating. The loud and persistent took the forefront of the conversations and the quiet were left stringing along. In a room full of leaders you quickly learn to find your voice or have it spoken on your behalf.
My eyes have been opened to development work and from first-hand experience I have learned the Do’s and Don’ts of “helping” others (see the previous blog post).
I have physically and mentally grown as well. I have learned to appreciate water and` look forward to the day where I will not be having to walk a couple kms for it or have to rely on the rain. I have learned to deal with creatures of all kinds including black mambas (snakes with venom so poisonous it’d kill you within 15 minutes), scorpions, tarantulas, bats, rats, centipedes, frogs, roaches, and spiders of all kinds. I have learned to say no to people.
But the hardest trial and biggest obstacle of living in Swaziland has been one of gender inequality and sexual harassment. In training we were told the best way to deal with sexual harassment was to let it happen and don’t make a scene or the perpetrators will continue and make it worse. And that is what I did. For the first couple of months I would let the comments slide. I would reason with myself, “This is their culture.”
One day as I left my shopping town heading back to site, I was stuck in the back of a pick-up truck with 20 other people. Packed full, the men used this to their advantage getting as close as they could to me. Besides the touching, and the “accidental kiss” when the truck turned, one young man used this as a way to sing Celine Dion in my ear. As hilarious as this was, it bothered me that they thought it was OK to do so. I told them to back off I did try to take this lightheartedly convincing myself it was OK because this was their culture.
In my community I noticed the gender differences all around me. The way men treated women, the way women were to serve men in their own homes, how boys were clearly superior to girls in every aspect of life. These things annoyed me relentlessly but still I did nothing because it was not my place nor my culture to do things differently. Then one day a guy in my community who I had become friends with, said something that pushed me over the edge. On a facebook message he said that this was a man’s world and it was understandable that women should not be heard. I broke down and in turn lost all faith in this country. This was my turning point. I directed all my energy into having girls empowerment clubs- GLOW. If men didn’t believe in the women, and their society is constantly putting these young women down, how do they expect to succeed?
Throughout the 2 years I have experienced a lot of sexual and gender harassment, but sadly this is NOTHING to what Swazi women experience daily. I have said it before and I will say it again, Swazi women are the strongest people on earth. They are raised in a male dominated society, and those in the rural areas are beaten, sometimes raped, and they are raised with the notion that they are made to get married and have lots of children regardless if they finish school.
If it wasn’t for the love, generosity, and strength of the Swazi women, I would have left this country a long time ago. They are a beacon of all that is good in the world. They are a light and shining example that things can be beautiful despite all the bad and harm that comes your way. The Swazi woman is strong, loving, loyal, caring, respectful, generous, cares for everyone regardless if it’s their child or not, and despite any physical or emotional abuse they receive- the Swazi woman remains the solid rock of faith. For all the bad that I have experienced on behalf of the male gender, I have gained more perspective and love from the women. So this is to you- My Swazi friends, family and confidants. You are amazing, you have kept me here, you have taught me what it means to be strong. I will forever respect, love and admire you. Keep your heads up. A new day is approaching.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Bored? Read some books!
Peace Corps is a time for development projects, helping others, building relationships, and learning about yourself. It is also the perfect time to catch up on reading books you've never had time to read and watch television shows and movies you've always avoided in the States! The following is a list of books I have read in the past 2 years. Obviously I've had A LOT of time on my hands. If you want some time to catch up on life- join Peace Corps!
July 2010- YEAR 1:
1. Kingdom of Roses and Thorns- Deborah Daly
2. The Other Boleyn Girl- Philippa Gregory
3. Under the Banner of Heaven- Jon Krakauer
4. The Cider House Rules- Jon Irving
5. Running With Scissors- Augustin Burroughs
6. The Sea- John Banville
7. How We Are Hungry- Dave Eggers
8. Life Expectancy- Dean Koontz
9. The Heaven Shop- Deborah Ellis
10. Velocity- Dean Koontz
11. More 5 minute Mysteries- Ken Weber
12. By the Light of the Moon- Dean Koontz
13. The Good Husband of Zebra Drive- Alexander McCall Smith
14. Seduce Me at Sunrise- Lisa Kleypas
15. In the Company of Cheerful Ladies- Alexander McCall Smith
16. Love and Houses- Marti Leimbach
17. Savannah Heat- Kat Martin
January 2011
18. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo- Stieg Larsson
19. The Girl Who Played With Fire- Stieg Larsson
20. Bachelor Duke- Mary Nicholas
21. Playing For Pizza- John Grisham
22. A Kiss Before Dying- Ira Levin
23. The Appeal- John Grisham
24. Love Lies Bleeding- Susan Wittig Albert
25. Written On The Body- Jeanette Winterson
26. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan- Lisa See
27. Midnight Treasure- Katharine Kincaid
28. Forever Odd- Dean Koontz
29. The Quickie- James Patterson
30. To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee
31. Mere Christianity- C.S. Lewis
32. The Contrary Blues- John Billheimer
33. Icy Sparks- Gwyn Hyman Rubio
34. Stranger Than Fiction- Chuck Palahniuk
35. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nets- Stieg Larsson
36. Shanghai Girls- Lisa See
37. War Child: A Child Soldier’s Story- Emmanuel Jal
38. The Darkest Evening of the Year- Dean Koontz
39. Love Walked In- Marisa de los Santos
40. London Bridges- James Patterson
41. Little Bee- Chris Cleave
42. 44 Scotland Street- Alexander McCall Smith
43. Fresh Air Fiend- Paul Theroux
44. Not Quite A Gentleman- Jacquie D’Alessandro
45. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas- John Boyne
46. You’re the One That I Want: A Gossip Girl Novel- Cecily Von Ziegesar
47. Lifeguard- James Patterson and Andrew Gross
48. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets- J.K. Rowling
49. Sail- James Patterson and Howard Roughan
50. Life of Pi- Yann Martel
July 2011- YEAR 2
51. Eclipse- Stephenie Meyer
52. Breaking Dawn- Stephenie Meyer
53. The Tao of Pooh- Benjamin Hoff
54. The Catcher in the Rye- J.D. Salinger
55. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince- J.K. Rowling
56. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows- J.K. Rowling
57. The Sun Also Rises- Ernest Hemingway
58. The Dharma Bums- Jack Kerovac
59. The Bell Jar- Sylvia Plath
60. The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories- Hemingway
61. Middlesex- Jeffrey Eugenides
62. Making Money- Terry Pratchett
63. In Persuasion Nation- George Saunders
January 2012
64. Burning Bright- John Steinbeck
65. Siddhartha- Hermann Hesse
66. Midnight- Dean Koontz
67. Hard Eight: A Stephanie Plum Novel- Janet Evanovich
68. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference- Malcolm Gladwell
69. Desert Rain- Elizabeth Lowell
70. Edge of Danger- Jack Higgins
71. Three to Get Deadly: A Stephanie Plum Novel- Janet Evanovich
72. Fearless Fourteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel- Janet Evanovich
73. Seven Up: A Stephanie Plum Novel- Janet Evanovich
74. The Hour I First Believed- Wally Lamb
75. Teaching the Dead Bird To Sing- W. Paul Jones
76. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West- Gregory Maguire
77. The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins
78. Is There Democracy In Swaziland? A Personal Perspective- Rebone Tau
79. Long Walk To Freedom- Nelson Mandela
80. Game of Thrones- George R.R. Martin
81. Catching Fire- Suzanne Collins
82. MockingJay- Suzanne Collins
83. A Clash of Kings- George R.R. Martin
84. Anthem- Ayn Rand
85. The Da Vinci Code- Dan Brown
86. Pathologies of Power- Paul Farmer
87. River Town- Peter Hessler
88. The Screwtape Letters- C.S. Lewis
89. Smiles: Stories, Essays, and Little White Lies- Gary Schwartz
90. Great Short Stories of the World: Volume One- Reader’s Digest
July 2010- YEAR 1:
1. Kingdom of Roses and Thorns- Deborah Daly
2. The Other Boleyn Girl- Philippa Gregory
3. Under the Banner of Heaven- Jon Krakauer
4. The Cider House Rules- Jon Irving
5. Running With Scissors- Augustin Burroughs
6. The Sea- John Banville
7. How We Are Hungry- Dave Eggers
8. Life Expectancy- Dean Koontz
9. The Heaven Shop- Deborah Ellis
10. Velocity- Dean Koontz
11. More 5 minute Mysteries- Ken Weber
12. By the Light of the Moon- Dean Koontz
13. The Good Husband of Zebra Drive- Alexander McCall Smith
14. Seduce Me at Sunrise- Lisa Kleypas
15. In the Company of Cheerful Ladies- Alexander McCall Smith
16. Love and Houses- Marti Leimbach
17. Savannah Heat- Kat Martin
January 2011
18. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo- Stieg Larsson
19. The Girl Who Played With Fire- Stieg Larsson
20. Bachelor Duke- Mary Nicholas
21. Playing For Pizza- John Grisham
22. A Kiss Before Dying- Ira Levin
23. The Appeal- John Grisham
24. Love Lies Bleeding- Susan Wittig Albert
25. Written On The Body- Jeanette Winterson
26. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan- Lisa See
27. Midnight Treasure- Katharine Kincaid
28. Forever Odd- Dean Koontz
29. The Quickie- James Patterson
30. To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee
31. Mere Christianity- C.S. Lewis
32. The Contrary Blues- John Billheimer
33. Icy Sparks- Gwyn Hyman Rubio
34. Stranger Than Fiction- Chuck Palahniuk
35. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nets- Stieg Larsson
36. Shanghai Girls- Lisa See
37. War Child: A Child Soldier’s Story- Emmanuel Jal
38. The Darkest Evening of the Year- Dean Koontz
39. Love Walked In- Marisa de los Santos
40. London Bridges- James Patterson
41. Little Bee- Chris Cleave
42. 44 Scotland Street- Alexander McCall Smith
43. Fresh Air Fiend- Paul Theroux
44. Not Quite A Gentleman- Jacquie D’Alessandro
45. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas- John Boyne
46. You’re the One That I Want: A Gossip Girl Novel- Cecily Von Ziegesar
47. Lifeguard- James Patterson and Andrew Gross
48. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets- J.K. Rowling
49. Sail- James Patterson and Howard Roughan
50. Life of Pi- Yann Martel
July 2011- YEAR 2
51. Eclipse- Stephenie Meyer
52. Breaking Dawn- Stephenie Meyer
53. The Tao of Pooh- Benjamin Hoff
54. The Catcher in the Rye- J.D. Salinger
55. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince- J.K. Rowling
56. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows- J.K. Rowling
57. The Sun Also Rises- Ernest Hemingway
58. The Dharma Bums- Jack Kerovac
59. The Bell Jar- Sylvia Plath
60. The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories- Hemingway
61. Middlesex- Jeffrey Eugenides
62. Making Money- Terry Pratchett
63. In Persuasion Nation- George Saunders
January 2012
64. Burning Bright- John Steinbeck
65. Siddhartha- Hermann Hesse
66. Midnight- Dean Koontz
67. Hard Eight: A Stephanie Plum Novel- Janet Evanovich
68. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference- Malcolm Gladwell
69. Desert Rain- Elizabeth Lowell
70. Edge of Danger- Jack Higgins
71. Three to Get Deadly: A Stephanie Plum Novel- Janet Evanovich
72. Fearless Fourteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel- Janet Evanovich
73. Seven Up: A Stephanie Plum Novel- Janet Evanovich
74. The Hour I First Believed- Wally Lamb
75. Teaching the Dead Bird To Sing- W. Paul Jones
76. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West- Gregory Maguire
77. The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins
78. Is There Democracy In Swaziland? A Personal Perspective- Rebone Tau
79. Long Walk To Freedom- Nelson Mandela
80. Game of Thrones- George R.R. Martin
81. Catching Fire- Suzanne Collins
82. MockingJay- Suzanne Collins
83. A Clash of Kings- George R.R. Martin
84. Anthem- Ayn Rand
85. The Da Vinci Code- Dan Brown
86. Pathologies of Power- Paul Farmer
87. River Town- Peter Hessler
88. The Screwtape Letters- C.S. Lewis
89. Smiles: Stories, Essays, and Little White Lies- Gary Schwartz
90. Great Short Stories of the World: Volume One- Reader’s Digest
Monday, June 25, 2012
The White Man's Burden
Living in Swaziland the past 2 years has opened my eyes in ways I never would have expected. For instance I never thought I'd be so offended from strangers calling me an "Mlungu" (White person) then followed by some sort of Asian country, most often China and India. Strangers shout out, "HEY MLUNGU! Mlungu China, Marry me?" When I say no repeatedly, they then ask, "Where is your shop? Give me a job. Give me sweeties." Or the fact that I would come to love and appreciate water SO VERY MUCH, that I would become an activist for women's rights, and that I would come to a new found knowledge on how religion does not mix well with cultural practices when the cultural values and norms contradict their religious beliefs. But the biggest eye opener has been the issue of international aid or what I like to refer to as "The White Man's Burden".
Before living in Africa I was a huge supporter of donating money to various funds, supporting children in developing countries, and finding ways to help the "poor, starving, helpless children in Africa". I wanted to do anything I could to help. But from living here my eyes have been opened: they don't need our help, our donations to charity organizations, or what we deem as our "valuable and insightful knowledge on the correct ways to solve their problems". What they really need is for us to back off, let them deal with their issues solving them with their own voices, in their own ways and through their own resources. Yes, international aid is needed but not through our big and lofty ideas of what would be great to give to Africans. This unfortunately has only created a dependency on foreign aid, free hand outs and has limited them to thinking that everything will be given to them; that there is no need to work for something when someone will come along to hand it over freely. Many people donate without researching the political and cultural details of the place and organization they're trying to "help", which can be a HUGE mistake. Sadly, there are so many well known organizations and missions that do more harm than good. Organizations and missions often come into villages with big projects, building schools, dams, boreholes, giving out clothes and food etc, without involving the local people. As a result, the people in those areas will often refrain from doing work because they're waiting for those same organizations/missions to come back and do the work for them.
So that begs the questions, what are good organizations to donate to and should I donate money? YES! There are plenty of wonderful NGOs that the money donated will go directly to the people and the projects. Partners In Health, Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, Global Giving and Peace Corps are just a few great organizations where real changes can be accomplished and significant progress can be made. The best organizations are grass root organizations where they are building capacity instead of making a footprint, giving out free material possessions and then leaving immediately. African countries do need help and support but not in the ways that we think. Buying a stop Kony bracelet does nothing, but by donating to grass root organizations like Vusumnotfo (one I support and work closely with in Swaziland) at globalgiving.org, you could help build preschools, train teachers, further develop permaculture in rural communities, and hold grant writing workshops for community leaders. There are endless opportunities to donate, but all it requires is a little background research.
The following article was posted on Matador Change at http://matadornetwork.com/change/7-worst-international-aid-ideas/. It's a great read and so true. Hopefully you'll gain something out of it, as I did.
7 Worst International Aid Ideas
Maybe their hearts were in the right place. Maybe not. Either way, these are solid contenders for the title of “worst attempts at helping others since colonialism.”
Left is delicious. Right will kill you. You try tell the difference if you can't read English and live out in the steppes.
Before living in Africa I was a huge supporter of donating money to various funds, supporting children in developing countries, and finding ways to help the "poor, starving, helpless children in Africa". I wanted to do anything I could to help. But from living here my eyes have been opened: they don't need our help, our donations to charity organizations, or what we deem as our "valuable and insightful knowledge on the correct ways to solve their problems". What they really need is for us to back off, let them deal with their issues solving them with their own voices, in their own ways and through their own resources. Yes, international aid is needed but not through our big and lofty ideas of what would be great to give to Africans. This unfortunately has only created a dependency on foreign aid, free hand outs and has limited them to thinking that everything will be given to them; that there is no need to work for something when someone will come along to hand it over freely. Many people donate without researching the political and cultural details of the place and organization they're trying to "help", which can be a HUGE mistake. Sadly, there are so many well known organizations and missions that do more harm than good. Organizations and missions often come into villages with big projects, building schools, dams, boreholes, giving out clothes and food etc, without involving the local people. As a result, the people in those areas will often refrain from doing work because they're waiting for those same organizations/missions to come back and do the work for them.
So that begs the questions, what are good organizations to donate to and should I donate money? YES! There are plenty of wonderful NGOs that the money donated will go directly to the people and the projects. Partners In Health, Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, Global Giving and Peace Corps are just a few great organizations where real changes can be accomplished and significant progress can be made. The best organizations are grass root organizations where they are building capacity instead of making a footprint, giving out free material possessions and then leaving immediately. African countries do need help and support but not in the ways that we think. Buying a stop Kony bracelet does nothing, but by donating to grass root organizations like Vusumnotfo (one I support and work closely with in Swaziland) at globalgiving.org, you could help build preschools, train teachers, further develop permaculture in rural communities, and hold grant writing workshops for community leaders. There are endless opportunities to donate, but all it requires is a little background research.
The following article was posted on Matador Change at http://matadornetwork.com/change/7-worst-international-aid-ideas/. It's a great read and so true. Hopefully you'll gain something out of it, as I did.
7 Worst International Aid Ideas
Maybe their hearts were in the right place. Maybe not. Either way, these are solid contenders for the title of “worst attempts at helping others since colonialism.”
1. One million t-shirts for Africa
Aid circles employ the cynical acronym SWEDOW (stuff we don’t want) to describe initiatives like Jason Sadler’s 1 Million T-Shirts project. Sadler had admittedly never been to Africa, and had never worked in an aid or development environment before. But he cared a great deal, and came up with the idea to send a million free shirts to Africa in order to help the people there.
Like some sort of lightning rod for the combined venom of the humanitarian aid world, Jason found himself pilloried across the web in a matter of weeks. Everyone from armchair bloggers to senior economists spat fire on his dream until it eventually ground to a halt. In July 2010, Jason threw in the towel and abandoned his scheme. And somewhere in Africa, an economy sighed in relief.
Why was the idea so bad?
Firstly, it’s debatable whether there is actually a need for T-shirts in Africa. There is practically nowhere that people who want shirts are unable to afford them. Wanting to donate them is a classic case of having something you want to donate and assuming it is needed. Just because you have a really large hammer does not mean that everything in the world is a nail.
Secondly, dumping a million free shirts is inefficient. What it would cost to pack them, ship them, and transport them overland to wherever it is that they are meant to go would cost close to the manufacturing cost of the shirts in the first place. That’s just incredibly wasteful. If you wanted to get people shirts, it would be far more cost effective to simply commission their manufacture locally, creating a stimulus to the local textile economy in the process.
Which brings us to the third critique of free stuff. When people in the target community already have an economy functioning in part on the sale and repair of the stuff you want to donate (shirts in this instance), then dumping a million of them free is the economic equivalent of an atom bomb. Why buy a shirt anymore when you can get a five-year supply for free? Why get yours repaired when you can simply toss it and get another? And in the process everyone who once sold shirts or practiced tailoring finds themselves unemployed and unable to provide money for themselves or their families to buy anything.
Except shirts. Because those are now free.
And before you think dumping free shirts is the sin of an uneducated maverick, Jason’s poor logic was subsequently repeated by World Vision , in accepting 100,000 NFL shirts to dump on some poor, shirtless village in Africa.
2. TOMS Buy-One-Give-One
Bearing in mind all of the criticisms above, TOMS shoe brand has built a brand on the premise that buying one pair of their shoes automatically includes the provision of another pair of shoes to an underprivileged child in a developing nation somewhere. Three months after Jason abandoned sending a million shirts to Africa, TOMS celebrated sending a million pairs of shoes to the underprivileged. It continues to do so.
While there are possibly more people in the world who need shoes than might need shirts (though this is debatable), TOMS can be (and has been) broadly criticised for the same kinds of unintended consequences of dumping shoes in places where people might otherwise be employed to make them.
while donating a pair of shoes helps shoelessness, it does not help poverty.
Further, though, the TOMS campaign — like the million shirts — misses the fundamental point that not having a pair of shoes (or a shirt, christmas toy, etc.) is not a problem about not having shoes. It’s a problem of poverty. Shoelessness, such as it is, is a symptom of a much bigger and more complex problem. And while donating a pair of shoes helps shoelessness, it does not help poverty.
Things like jobs help poverty. Jobs making things like shoes, for example. But TOMS doesn’t make its shoes in Africa, it makes them in China where it’s presumably cheaper to make two pairs of shoes and give one away than it is to get people in a needier community to make one pair of shoes.
The result of this setup, as Zizek explains most succinctly, is that on a big-picture level, TOMS (and other buy-my-product-and-donate companies) are busy building the exploitative global structure that produces economic inequality, while on the other hand pretending that supporting them actually does something to fix it.
It doesn’t. It just gives people shoes.
3. Machine gun preacher
The criticisms of TOMS, Jason, and other purveyors of SWEDOW tend to be intellectual, economic concerns. Problems with Sam Childers, the machine gun preacher, are so much more straightforward.
It’s dangerous and insane.
After a misspent youth in the United States and a few years spent behind bars, Childers headed to Sudan on a missionary project to repair huts devastated in the war. There he would be commanded by God to build an orphanage for local children and, incidentally, take up arms against the Lord’s Resistance Army, who was terrorizing the region. With an AK-47 and a bible, Sam would spread the wrath of the Lord and rescue abducted children for the next few years.
Imagine John Rambo with a biker’s beard hunting rebels in the savannah and you pretty much get the idea.
No matter how much you care to help the women/children/villages/gorillas in a particular warzone, trying to solve what is in effect a problem of armed insecurity through establishing another minor armed militia is never a good idea. However entertaining the film turns out to be, it’s the security studies equivalent of pouring gasoline on a forest fire. Peace — and a long-term future for those affected by violence in what is now South Sudan — can only be guaranteed through a diplomatic agreement between the groups that command the thousands of men with guns. Playing Rambo in the bush would not be tolerated back home, and it shouldn’t be here in Africa.
Childers is not the first person to get the crazy idea of solving violent situations by running in with guns. Hussein Mohammed Farah Aidid is an ex-Marine, and the son of Gen. Mohammed Farah Aidid (of Black Hawk Down fame), who returned to Somalia in 1996 to lead the powerful Habr Gedir clan in the country’s civil war. That hasn’t worked out so well either.
4. 50 Cent ransoming children in Somalia
Just this month, rapper 50 Cent visited Dolow in Somalia at the request of the World Food Programme. The trip was presumably intended to raise awareness of the issues in the way that Angelina Jolie and George Clooney did for Sudan and Oprah did for South Africa. There are quite a few examples of celebrities connecting with Africa actually. There is even a map to keep track of who has “dibs” on what region.
If the trip was nothing more than Fifty touring hard-hit areas in order to bring the world’s lazy media along, then it would have been useful at best, and benign at worst. But there is more.
If you Like the Facebook page for his Street King energy drink, he will provide a meal for a child in need. If the page received a million Likes before Sunday, he would donate an additional million meals.
So let’s break that down.
- If you Like Fifty’s Facebook page — without even buying the drink — a child, presumably in Somalia, gets fed.
- We can infer that there is a pot of dollars somewhere earmarked for feeding needy children. Two million meals worth of feeding if you count the million Like-meals plus the potential million bonus.
- Those meals, while they could be donated, and have presumably been budgeted for, willnot be, except to the extent that you give Street King props online.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is called extortion. Dramatically photographed, concealed-as-humanitarian-activism, extortion. I can feed so very many meals to these starving children, but I won’t unless you give me something.
The benefit of involving celebrities in aid work is often that it works to focus the attention of their fans and the media machine more generally on understanding, for however brief a moment, something that is happening somewhere in the world. Out of that can come the kind of empathy and activism that makes things like the Save Darfur campaign possible.
The celebrity’s contribution, though, hinges on whether they can successfully translate attention on them into attention to the issues. When a humanitarian issue becomes a platform for pushing an energy drink on the back of people’s suffering, we should be ashamed.
5. Donor fund restrictions
Not so much an organisation or a specific event, this a policy constraint that isn’t as widely known as it should be. When many governments donate aid money to countries that have been wracked by disasters, or which require long-term assistance, it often comes with a giant asterisk in the fine print:
A significant portion of the cash provided for such assistance must be spent on goods and services provided by suppliers from the donating country.
Not only inefficient, this policy prescription can lead to outright ridiculous results. In the case of the Mozambique floods in 2000, I met a medical volunteer who explained how the only US-made bikes that they could find to get around the country on short notice were Harley Davidsons. And so three of them ended up running between medical stations like some breed of medical Hell’s Angel. Fascinating to behold, but utterly wasteful.
Far more troublesome, as is often the case, are the economics of this sort of donate-and-bill-back activity. Where the donor aid money is tied to spending on donor-country products and services, far less of the amount spent in aid actually ends up benefitting the recipient country. Few local people are employed, and few local organisations see any new opportunities to bid for and provide aid-goods.
This has two effects: firstly, what could have been a large financial boost arriving with the aid is effectively neutered — shunted into a much smaller economy-within-the-economy; secondly, without the opportunity for competitive pricing on local goods, the money is spent on buying comparatively expensive imported products and staff. Harley Davidsons, rather than dirtbikes, for a tenth of the price.
6. Making food aid the same colour as cluster munitions.
Probably the most devastating screw-up in the history of helping was the decisions that lead to cluster munitions and daily food ration packets both being coloured canary yellow.
Left is delicious. Right will kill you. You try tell the difference if you can't read English and live out in the steppes.
Each yellow BLU-97 bomblet is the size of a soda can and is capable of killing anyone within a 50 meter radius and severely injuring anyone within 100 meters from the detonation. A Humanitarian Daily Rations (HDR) package contains a 2,000 calorie meal.
It was inevitable that Afghans coming across the yellow packages in the field would confuse the two. Children in particular — with no English and little idea of what a BLU-97 is even if they did — would investigate the yellow containers and try to pick them up, with devastating consequences that an Air Force general described as “unfortunate.”
7. Making USAID a foreign policy tool
In 1990, on the eve of the first Gulf War, Yemeni Ambassador Abdullah Saleh al-Ashtal voted no to using force against Iraq in a security council session. US Ambassador Thomas Pickering walked to the Yemeni Ambassador’s seat and retorted, “That was the most expensive No vote you ever cast.” Immediately afterwards, USAID ceased operations and funding in Yemen.
USAID, despite its appearances as a benign, well-intentioned member of the humanitarian aid community, is deeply compromised in being beholden to the whims of US foreign policy. Unlike organisations like Médecins Sans Frontières which strictly guard their neutrality, USAID’s ability to hand out food aid and other assistance is subject to the political agenda of groups like Congress and the US Military.
In the case of the army, USAID in Afghanistan has repeatedly had to participate in administering humanitarian relief in cooperation with army elements engaged in the “hearts and minds” strategy of manipulating assistance in order to win over civilian populations. The unfortunate side effect of this relationship is that USAID’s operations come to be seen by opposing forces as complicit in the enemy war effort and thus legitimate targets. An even more unfortunate side effect is that other humanitarian groups with far more benevolent agendas may find themselves tarred with the same political brush and unwittingly targeted for attacks and abductions too.
Sometimes bad aid is just the consequence of someone caring too much, but knowing too little. Other times it’s people who should have known better not being diligent in considering the consequences of their actions. And sometimes politicians and unscrupulous businessmen are simply manipulating the suffering of others for their own ends. When it’s benign or thwarted, it’s easy enough to laugh it off. But when a bad idea is carried through, the results can be diabolical. 
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