During our pre-service training I remember one of the country directors saying that the most successful volunteers’ work won’t be remembered by the community within a few years of their departure... This is because a successful volunteer involves community members, and develops community projects, not the volunteer’s projects. In other words, change still occurs in the community, but there is a much larger degree of local participation in the change, which means that community members learn from the process of organizing to improve their livelihood and will be able to replicate such processes in the future. Such work is more sustainable than a volunteer directly teaching something because after the volunteer leaves, the class must end.
Time has been flying by in lovely Carayaó, and I realize that I haven’t taken much time to elaborate on the specifics of my work thus far! The below community service competition is one example of what I would call a success.
In my community I have been helping with the newly formed Scouts program. The group was started in the beginning of May (just when I arrived in fact!) and has been undergoing many changes as the directors learn about the organization's new rules and principles. There are about 60 kids signed up in Scouts, 45 of which actually come to our meetings each Saturday. At the beginning of May and June, the directors, whom were involved in Scouts more than 26 years ago, passed our 2 hours every Saturday talking to (at) the kids, teaching them songs, insisting that they stop fidgeting and stand straight and make orderly lines etc. From my perspective the weekly meetings lacked fun activities with learning opportunities behind them. I slowly began to implement ice-breaker type games with the youth to begin talking about leadership, communication, service, trust etc. The directors and youth appear to have enjoyed my contribution, which has made my role in the organization more consistent. I often implement activities with the group of youth leaders, then I ask them to teach their respective patrols. I am now trusted to come with activities every weekend to implement with the youth. I have also been invited by one of the adult leaders to help plan activities for the younger group that he manages. in July we had organized our first community service project in which we gathered at least 20 trash bags full of used clothes and re-gifted them to people in need.
Seeing the impact that 45-60 youth can have in a Paraguayan pueblo inspired me to continue this theme of community service. Thus, I organized a "community service competition" in which each patrol had to come up with a service project of their choice (unlike the first project which we said they would be doing), and they had about a month and a half to implement it. My host brother's patrol moved the fastest since I spend a lot of time with him and was able to answer his questions. My brother decided that he wanted to build a bridge for an area of the town that lives on the other side of a stream! I was very supportive of his initiative and asked him more questions to guide him and his group. I encouraged him to speak with community members who lived near the stream to learn more about what had been tried in the past, what worked, failed, and whether or not residents of the area would be willing to help his patrol build the bridge. I accompanied Mario while he conducted the needs assessment of the area, and I was very pleased with his results. He learned that people had tried to build bridges there before, but they were too close to the water or not sturdy enough and when the water level rises (about 6 times a year), the structure is carried away. He also learned that about 22 students live on the other side of the stream and they have to take their shoes off to cross on their way to school - this further motivated Mario. After conversing about the very useful information he gained, Mario and I later returned to the stream with more of his Scouts members to solicit help from community members. The next day, Mario’s patrol, a few of their parents, and a few men from the area with whom Mario had spoken all came to build the bridge! They finished it before lunch and ensured that it was elevated and sturdy to avoid being carried away easily. They also installed a hand rail to reduce the risk of falling.
Mario did most of the work in organizing the project rather than his patrol, but he undoubtably developed needs assessment and community organizing skills along the way. The project was his idea, and his actions were influenced by my probing questions to help him think more critically about the work he was committing to. The bridge is very sturdy and supports at least 10 people at once. Mario's mother received a picture of a group of people with large smiles on their faces crossing the stream (their feet were dry). I believe that Mario now is more confident in his ability to influence his community, and in the future will be less prone to implementing projects with unintended consequences due to a lack of community participation.
Happy community members crossing the stream with ease!
I’m pleased to say that none of the people using the bridge in this picture know that I played a role in its construction.
