What's Our Worth?

As many of you might have noticed, my blog has been severly deficient in one critical area. Can you guess? I'll help you out. What am I really doing in Thailand! There are a couple reasons why I haven't included too much about my actual work experiences. First, and probably most important, I haven't had too many. Even as I approach a year being a PCV, the fact that I have accomplished seemingly little is not worrying me too much. Given the nature of the CBOD (Community-Based Organizational Development) program, the first year is primarily dedicated to getting to know everything about the communities and people you work with in order to understand their problems, assets, and desires. It is normally not until the second year, and sometimes a ways into it, that most volunteers actually become busy. Even given this fact, it is still sometimes tough to validate your worth. I wrote the following article for our volunteer publication here in Thailand. I thought I wouldn't be a terrible idea to post it on my blog.

PCVs and Community Development

In my short year in Thailand under the Peace Corps’ wing I have come to realize that a gathering of Peace Corps volunteers at any point in time during the duration of their two year service is a unique specimen of social interaction. There is crying, laughing, drinking, sleeping, joking, complaining, boasting and gossiping among a menagerie of many other possible descriptive words. Although the time allotted to each of these activities changes throughout service there are several recurring topics that are at the heart of a Peace Corps experience. One of the most compelling but equally complex topics is, “Is my presence here really contributing to the ‘development’ of the communities I work in?” The answer to this question proves to be quite a conundrum yet I am going to try to tackle this in the most abridged manner possible.

The difficulties begin at the most basic level when trying to answer this question. Development, as a concept, can be seen as either completely lacking a definition or functionally lacking a definition given the inability of one person to construct an all encompassing definition from the myriad that can be found. When we talk generally of development, are we talking of social, economic, physical, or healthcare development? Many argue that “true” development must encompass each one of these areas, among many possible others. I view development as, fomenting the capacity of stakeholders so that he/she/they can be empowered to tackle problems and strengthen abilities in a way that is reflective of his/her/their unique context in order to sustainably improve overall wellbeing. This definition is purposely vague in order for it to encompass the multifaceted nature of trying to increase the wellbeing of the stakeholders, but also offers precise wording that is worth further discussion.

“Fomenting capacity” reflects the idea that development should be stakeholder-centered in order that the terms of development are not dictated but rather created through stakeholder participation in every step of the process. “Empowerment” is essential because any increase in capacity is wasted if the stakeholder is not empowered to use it. “Tackling problems” is purposely paired with “strengthening abilities” given that in development it can be very easy to overlook indigenous strengths, abilities or knowledge which can provide unique insight and skills throughout the development process. “Reflective of the unique context” is of utmost importance because the statement requires the examination of local cultural, political, social, and economic factors that hold sway over the success of development. “Sustainability,” although it is currently a word with increasingly little value as it is used ever more wantonly, when used with “empowerment” solidifies the role of this definition in imparting the idea that once stakeholders are given the proper capacity they will ultimately be able to continue on their path to prosperity and increased wellbeing with little or no outside help. Finally, “overall wellbeing” is used because an increase in wellbeing in one area at the expense of another can have serious negative impacts. The idea of “wellbeing” is purposely vague because it is essential that the definition of wellbeing comes directly from the stakeholders.

Although I have created this definition from my personal experience and education it is quite apparent that it is really a reflection of the most current practices and theories regarding development. It has evolved from the failures and successes of countless groups and organizations in their efforts to help aid in the ‘development’ of another region, nation, group, or individual. Some of you may now be saying to yourself that it also looks a lot like what Peace Corps has hammered into our heads since PST. If you have noticed this I say congratulations! In all the complaints I have heard about Peace Corps I have heard the least about the way they view development. This is specifically because it is one of those organizations that has work in the arena of development and learned from past successes and failures. This is particularly true of Peace Corps Thailand given its 45 year continuous presence in Thailand.

I write this article because it often seems that as a PCV in Thailand, especially a CBOD volunteer; we are more of a burden on the local population than an asset. This can quite easily be revealed as a superficial assessment. This statement becomes ever more lucid when using the previous definition to compare our role and successes with the other organizations in charge with development in many of our sites.

The main agency in charge of local development in Thailand is the SAO. I am quite confident that I will encounter very few people who would say that the SAO is an ideal development organization. It works within its means but is a product of government bureaucracy which is a system renowned throughout the world as the epitome of inefficiency and ineffectiveness.

In my area, Christian organizations have funneled large amounts of money to the local population in very well meaning manner but with little knowledge of the concepts that will make most efficient use of those resources. Finding money to give to impoverished communities is the easiest part of development. When you stop at this step it creates a dependence that propagates a sense of entitlement and saps the motivation and desire out of the population to help themselves.

Corporations and governments often embark on development not because they have concern for the wellbeing of the individuals involved but rather because the targeted group’s development will create social and political stability as well as new markets that will ultimately provide a larger consumer and tax base. As most everyone knows this practice has led to extreme environmental degradation, massive displacement, increased poverty, and social upheaval. This particular development practice is the epitome of what conscientious development organizations/workers aren’t.

Each of the main players in the aforementioned examples shows a large degree of ineptitude in fulfilling the requisites of a successful development program as outlined in my definition. Although inarguably each one of these actors has experienced success in their development efforts, I am quite confident that it is also not difficult to find a person or group who has been negatively impacted by their association with them as well. I believe that this revelation is the single most important factor that legitimizes a PCV’s role in development. How many times after a PCV leaves a community will an individual or group declare that they have been negatively impacted by the PCV’s presence? I challenge anyone to find more than a handful. Yet how many times to you hear locals profess that they have been profoundly impacted by a seemingly innocuous action undertaken by a PCV? More than you can count on the hands and toes of every individual in a Thai village!

Although PCVs may not be able to build a factory or a road they are experts at helping to foment the capacity of their village so that the village members can be empowered to tackle problems and strengthen abilities in a way that is reflective of the village’s unique context. Improving a child’s English abilities so that he has the confidence to run for elected office; helping provide a poor farmer with the skills to create his own income generation project; saving a teen’s life by educating him/her about the dangers of HIV/AIDS; helping provide the community with computers and internet so that they can take advantage of the tremendous amount of resources the world has to offer: this is sustainably improving overall wellbeing. Just because the worth of our existence in a Thai village is not immediately noticeable does not mean that we are worthless. You may not understand your true worth until your final day at site when more than one person sheds a tear over your departure or many years down the road when you read the news and see that a person or group you were involved with contributed his/her/their success to your presence so many years ago.