Hi Iron Warrior readers! My name is Jimmy and I am one of the 2012 Junior Fellows from the University of Waterloo Engineers Without Borders Chapter. The Junior Fellowship program is the most personal way for chapter members to become involved in EWB’s work in Africa. It is a four-month placement on a team working in Africa on a development project headed by or affiliated with EWB.
I will be working on a project called Sustainable Land and Water Management under the Agricultural Extensions team in Northern Ghana. Specifically I will be in an area called the Tongo Hills just south of the large(r) city of Bolgatanga. The broad spectrum goals of the project include understanding the incentives for farmers to adopt sustainable practices. There are all kinds of issues to explore, for which I will keep you all updated!
I have heard a lot of stories about living in Africa from past Junior Fellows. One of the first things you often hear about is the relationships or living conditions shared between the JF and their host family. A common defining aspect (at least that which is communicated) is whether or not a JF has lived without water and/or electricity, or had their host mother cook, clean, or wash their clothes for them.
To some degree many of the things are ultimately out of the JF’s control, but I have heard a few stories about JFs changing their living conditions to somewhere more rustic (no electricity or water). Or insisting that they do chores (washing clothes, cooking, cleaning).
Is this smart though? Is it correct to (as a guest) move brazenly against the grain of African gender roles? Is it sensitive to seek out more rustic conditions hoping for the “African Experience”? What is this saying about how I view Africans? Should I seek out rustic conditions to put myself on an even plain with what I see as “poor Africans”, or am I just bolstering my ego and making myself feel tough? Would I really be fighting for women’s rights by washing my own underwear?
I want to be the guy to break gender roles and help cook (I love cooking, especially over a fire), but based on what I’ve heard that doesn’t seem likely. It seems like a hefty struggle, with little potential gain, against people who are going to be housing me. Social change is clearly more complicated than showing people that I know how to sweep or sew. I feel that being derisive about household roles has the sole outcome (in my context) of dividing and alienating; at the very least it is a poor means of promoting women’s rights. I feel that it amounts to placing yourself on a higher moral plain and assuaging guilt from participating in a social system below your ethical standards.
I don’t think that seeking out a rustic experience is respectful to African communities. It is essentially turning poverty into a tourist attraction, and I find that incredibly demeaning. When did poverty become a physical challenge, like Everest, or an Iron Man? Is it okay to glorify and romanticize this situation as a test of one’s mettle? I don’t think so.
However I’m not there yet, and one of the few things that I can be certain of is that I don’t really know what to expect. Some of the wisest advice I’ve had on this topic was that I should “pick my battles”, and I agree; things will be clearer once I arrive.
There are many things that will rub me the wrong way, and likely a few things that will make me feel angry and frustrated. Situations heavily impacted by the power relations between men and women will certainly be one of those things. I’m not sure how I’m going to approach that. It seems too reckless and cavalier to drop out of the sky and insist that I follow the customs which keep me comfortable. However it seems passive and mocking to sit back and observe my role in such a social system.
Peace, love and happy trails!
Want to read more? Check out my blog for many more thoughts and updates at:
thelongertrail.wordpress.com
More information on the Junior Fellowship program and Engineers Without Borders can be found at:
www.ewb.ca
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