Before I came here, I was told essentially what my work would involve. I have described before the three projects and areas of focus that I am to do as a Peace Corps health volunteer here in the Dominican Republic. We spent three months being trained on these areas and more, and so it seemed as I entered my community that this was clearly what my job would be here.
I was, of course, wrong.
It took me another three months in my community, and many frustrated meetings where no one showed up, and countless realizations that people would not work without me, that I finally came to the critical realization (more like epiphany on the guagua where I have all my favorite thoughts) on what my job really is as a volunteer. I am in the business of community development, and anyone who works in this area will tell you that it is an incredibly difficult, complicated, and complex area to work in. There are so many outside influences to your work—culture, beliefs, motivation, education—that can make or break your work. Usually, it is the former rather than the latter.
Not to mention that the BIG S is always on our minds: Sustainability. We want our work to last, to not just be a flame in the pan, but a real solid bonfire that can burn with little tending for years after we are gone. We want our work to be sustainable so we don’t feel as though we just wasted two years doing all that for nothing.
I heard once this saying by engineers that says something along the lines of “Your project can be safe, cheap, or fast. Pick two.” For me, I have come to believe that for me as a volunteer, or someone in the development field, it’s more like “Your work can be sustainable, fast, or large. Pick two.” and by large I mean it can reach a large number of people. You can have something sustainable and done quickly, but it will only be benefitting or left within a small group of people. It can be done quickly and effect a lot of people, but it won’t be sustainable. The point is, you can’t have all three…and this really is the toughest part about it all. For me, my decision has been made for me: I have to do my work quickly for I only have two years, and therefore I choose to pair it with sustainability. Why? Because I am the last volunteer in my community, at least for health. This means I may only effect a very small group of people, but I am hoping that when I leave, they will continue the work and grow the projects and its beneficiaries.
In order to do this, I need to figure out how to empower people. My community is motivated and willing to better their health, not to mention the majority are aware of the problems and voice their desire for the work we are doing. The problem lies in the fact that no one thinks they themselves can make the change. Everyone looks to me, the Peace corps Volunteer, the American, the blanca to do it all because they assume my education and background and role in the community automatically makes me the only person who can do it.
What they don’t understand is that for exactly those reasons I am the wrong person for the job. I am a temporary person in their community, an outsider who knows less about the community, people, and culture than every other person here. I will not benefit from the projects, and therefore have on some level less motivation and desire to make these changes. I am not going to benefit and I am not going to be here long. It is for all these reasons and more that make me the wrong person for this job. No, who needs to be leading this change are the people themselves. They are the ones that know what needs to change. They are the ones that can motivate their neighbors, and hold each other accountable. They are the ones that can continue on long after I am gone.
The problem is that they don’t think so, at least right now they don’t. They keep waiting for me to do all these projects with the health promoters, and I keep telling them that I sincerely cannot do anything without the support and help from the community. I cannot, and I refuse to do it. I have no stake in this, but they have so much, and I refuse to do any work without them. This has led to some frustrating and tense meetings and conversations, but I am not budging. Even if it means that I graduate two women from my women’s groups and build six latrines. Even if after I am gone people say I did nothing. It will all be worth it if I leave behind a solid, fierce, group of people who can start their own projects. Who are educated on health and can teach the health topics. People who are motivated, and working hard for their community because they genuinely want to and not for any other reason. If I leave behind people who plan and execute these programs and projects by themselves.
If I leave behind people like that, I will feel as though I did more work, and way more meaningful work than if I built 40 latrines and graduated a hundred people from my groups. That would leave no lasting impact (I have seen this in some communities after volunteers left), and I need to leave lasting impact in my community. I am not focusing on the numbers, but rather one the people, which is always the better way, in my opinion.
I have no idea how I am going to get people to believe in themselves and the work, but I am learning, just like they are. For the first time, my health promoters took the initiative to do the health charlas by themselves. They planned thoroughly a meeting about a clinic (invitations and all), and when a fraction of the people showed up, it only fired them up more to plan another one and personally seek out all invitees to make sure they come. It is small change, but it is durable change.
For the first three months, there were a lot of meetings where no one showed up, where I felt like I was chasing people down to convince them they should care about their community. After I stopped, pulled back, and they began wondering why I was not doing all the work, this led to some thought love conversations. It led to me being blunt, telling them that I am merely a tool, a resource, and they can use me and do great work, or not and nothing will be done. It doesn’t matter to me (it does, of course), but it should matter to them. I gave them the choice, the option, and have let them decide, as I should have from the beginning.
This has been seeming to resonate in my core group of health promoters and now they are taking up the cry that they are not going to do all this work alone within the community and are working on motivating and including other people. It is a slow and painful process, but growing pains are always painful. I am not sure what the next two years are going to look like, but for now I am focusing on getting people to show up to meetings and to buying into their community. Easier said than done.
But I am determined, and now my health promoters are determined too. If you were to have asked me before I came if I would toss away all my assigned projects in order to focus on empowerment, I would have first thought you were insane and then be at a total loss on how to empower someone. I still am at a loss, but I don’t think it’s crazy anymore.
I think it’s necessary.
Now I only need to convince a community.
Xoxo
B
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Letters from the Dominican Republic 