One Fish, Two Fish

Friday June 18th 2010

This post is dedicated, with much love and admiration, to the 2010 Ghana JFs.

As we approach the half-way mark on our placements, time becomes an increasingly stressful entity. Thoughts of defining our success, quantifying our impact, and evaluating our usefulness start infiltrating our brain space at an alarmingly frequent rate. It’s a natural reaction to the thought of returning home, communicating our experience to chapter members, and beginning the third and final stage of the JF program.

In a recent conversation with another JF, I made the following analogy. At the time it caused us both to laugh and shake our heads, but after reflecting on the conversation more seriously I decided I wanted to share it with everyone.

It went something like this: sometimes I find myself feeling like a fisherman, sitting in a boat in the middle of a river. I’m fully equipped (or so I think) to catch fish– I’ve got a rod, ample bait, and a plan to execute.

As time passes, I notice fish don’t seem to be nibbling. I start getting worried. I remind myself that I spent time and energy trekking to this river, and my journey won’t have been successful if I leave without a fish. I question where all of the fish I was sure I’d find could be hiding. I wonder if, and when, they’ll ever appear.

As more time passes, I think to myself that perhaps I’m not a very good fisherman, or that perhaps by mistake I’ve brought the wrong bait, or maybe I’ve journeyed to the river at the wrong time. This continues ad nauseum until, finally, I get a bite. Maybe it’s just a nibble, and I don’t pull anything into the boat. Or, maybe I’m lucky and I’ve actually caught something. Regardless of the outcome, it’s a reminder that even when nothing was biting, there were still fish in the river.

Fishing takes time, and you largely can’t predict where the fish swim. The environment is variable, and there isn’t a direct channel that, when followed, guarantees catching a multitude of fish. However, allowing yourself to stress over the time elapsed on your journey doesn’t increase the frequency of catching fish, and in fact just invites self-doubt and unnecessary hesitation.

For various reasons, we place pressure on ourselves to be successful JFs. Defining success is quite personal, and can be done using any number of factors: how effective we are at work, how rapidly we can learn from our environments, how deeply we connect with, learn from, and begin to understand rural livelihoods, etc.

We don’t know exactly what success looks like, and often we can’t find exactly the right metric to define it, but we are aware of the general direction in which we want to travel to define our success. Because of this, there are habits we naturally adopt to increase the probability that the micro movements of our everyday lives cumulatively generate the macro directional trend we use to define success.

I’ve composed the following list based on the many JFs I’ve observed who continually demonstrate habits that make them, figuratively speaking, good development fisherman.

7 Habits of Highly Effective JFs

1. The tenacity to stay positive and stick to your goals despite setbacks.
2. An unwavering commitment to put your best self forward everyday.
3. The humility to admit your shortcomings and the willingness to learn from your failures.
4. A sense of ownership over your personal learning and recognition that you are responsible for maximizing opportunities that you are presented with.
5. The courage to stand up and speak out for what you believe in.
6. A passion for learning from people, and the empathy to try to understand life from their perspective.
7. A steadfast respect for diversity, especially when dealing with behaviours you don’t understand or don’t personally agree with.

And so my friends, if you feel like a fisherman sitting in your boat waiting for fish, I hope this serves as a reminder of what you’re good at. Maybe, at the end of the day, it’s less about defining success by the number of metaphorical fish you’ve caught, and more about celebrating the habits that got you there.

Thanks for reading,

Erin

United Colors of Dorothy

Friday June 11th 2010

EWB uses the term Dorothy to represent the African individuals for whom, and with whom, we are working. Someone who we are accountable to for our work overseas, and who we think about when we question the type of impact we’re having. Dorothy is someone who reminds us of the lives of Africa’s rural poor caught in the cycle of poverty.

From the Orange Wiki of Change:

“Notwithstanding the various stakeholders, [..] there is one stakeholder who must always come first: the people in the developing communities with whom and for whom we work. The name ‘Dorothy’ personifies the “stakeholder who must always come first.”

Dorothy means something a little different for everyone in EWB– for some, it’s a nostalgic reminder of a great person they’ve met overseas, while for others it’s a faceless concept that grounds them to realities they haven’t experienced.

I think that the Dorothy concept is a good idea, if only because the question “What would Dorothy want?” prevents EWB enthusiasts from slipping off into a jargon-induced coma via encouraging deeper, more critical thoughts from the perspective of those whose lives we affect. I like how the term is used in Canada, and I think that it plays a big role in EWB’s organizational culture. In fact, putting Dorothy first is our bottom line.

Lately I’ve realized that I likely won’t leave Ghana in August with one or two people in mind when I think of what the term Dorothy means to me in the context of this experience.

Before stepping off the plane at the Kotoko International Airport, Ghana was a giant, complicated puzzle with an additional layer of complexity– the puzzle pieces were all white. Try as I might to understand Ghana from Canada, I arrived fumbling to find the edge pieces, trying to solve a puzzle whose end goal, the complete image, I couldn’t see.

I want to share with you a brief introduction to some of the people who are helping me color in the puzzle pieces of development in Ghana. While none of these people solely represent my “Dorothy”, they do represent a cross-section of individuals who motivate me, pull at my heart-strings, and make me question what development, in the best interest of Ghanaians, really looks like.

Otto, a local farmer of both rice and maize, has been able to put his 10 children through secondary school because of his farming income. He told me that he was poor not because he was a farmer unable to generate an income. In fact, he’s poor despite his income because he has 10 children, all who need to be educated, and schooling is expensive. He wants to see that his children, 6 boys and 4 girls, are all successful in life. Otto works hard to make a living and is continually balancing setting his children up for long-term success with providing for his family’s immediate needs.

Mary is 24 years old, and 5 months pregnant with her second child. Her husband, Eric, is a carpenter and travels frequently to find work. Mary spends most of her days cooking and cleaning with Eric’s mother and tending to her young daughter Lucky. Despite her pregnancy, she still walks 10 minutes to the nearest source of clean water, fills up a large metal bowl, and gracefully carries it back to her home. For reasons unknown to me, Mary has only her primary education. I look at Mary and think that if she had the opportunity, she could contribute more to society.

Prosper is an 8 year old Ghanaian boy with a glowing spirit. I saw his youth and innocence as he ran with his school friends, chasing a ball made from plastic bags down a dusty dirt path. I see that he is filled with curiosity and imagination as I watch him navigate the path of a tire, using two sticks to steer its course, across a bumpy landscape. He is just a kid– having fun, playing with friends, and enjoying life– like any kid loves to do. I won’t know Prosper when he’s in his 20s or 30s, but I hope that he captures his ingenuity and puts it to use for the betterment of Ghana.

For me, Dorothy doesn’t have a face. However, when I return to Canada, she will have a voice. It’s a voice that echoes the sound bites of the many Ghanaians I’ve met, and will continue to meet, that keep me relentless in my hope for a brighter Africa.

Thanks for reading,

Erin

Stipends, Strategies, and Serendipity

Friday May 7th 2010

Since last Saturday we, the Ghana and Burkina JFs, have been spending all hours together in Toronto experiencing pre-departure training, living in the Akwaaba house, and progressively becoming great friends. Every day I’m noticing changes in myself, and have the opportunity to watch people mature around me. The intense feeling of community that has emerged from this sending group of very different people has really been astonishing. I can honestly say that I’ve looked at each member of our newly formed community and realized why they were chosen as embassadors for change at their chapters.

Temporarily living in a house with 24 other people quickly makes you very thankful for quiet moments alone. This week, on numerous occasions, I found myself searching for something– a quiet moment, a fresh idea, or a sense of motivation– only to find myself following a totally unrelated path moments later. In some instances, this has served as a lucky distraction; in others it has led to really empowering conversations. Those serendipitous moments have challenged me and ultimately made me feel more grounded to my place within EWB.

Pre-departure training has offered many insights into not only the complexities of development, but also who we are as leaders. Staying up until 2:30am listening to Parker speak about his opinions on economic development, challenging our analytical skills by creating our own impact model with Robin, and listening intently to Trevor as he told us stories about his experiences overseas have all been highlights for me. This week has been an emotional rollercoster, but it as really opened my eyes to the values I hold important, and what cards I keep close to my chest.

Flying to Ghana tomorrow will likely be overwhelming. Although the cumulative effects of pre-departure training have been a lot of things– challenging, overwhelming, and empowering– one thing that is absolutely certain is that we’ll never be fully prepared for what’s to come. Recognizing and coming to terms with this allows me to let go of some of my personal expectations and live in the moment. This isn’t a natural course of action for me, but a few people over the week have helped me chip away at this realization.

Thanks to all the JFs and EWB National Office staff for making pre-departure a great learning experience, and best of luck to everyone this summer with their placements!

Thanks for reading,

Erin

P.S- To the Ghana/B.Fas JFs: I love you all. Hugs round 4 when we return.

Introduction

Hello reader(s),

If you’re visiting for the first time, check out the About the Blog section for more information on who I am, and what I’m up to this summer.

Since January I’ve been preparing for my summer placement by reading articles, books, blogs, and e-newspapers to gather information on all things pertinent to Ghana. So far this has been extremely varied, and ranges from current trends in African development work, to typical crops, Ghanaian culture, and understanding market facilitation. All of this has been incredibly informative, but I have a feeling the real learning has yet to begin.

From May 1^st to 7^th I’ll be in Toronto with the members of Team Ghana and Team Burkina Faso for pre-departure training. From my understanding, this week will be an incredible amount of learning in a short period of time. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous, but I’m also really excited have the opportunity to learn surrounded by great people.

Stay tuned for more details and posts over the coming weeks!

Thanks for reading,

Erin