There are so many people in this country; usually those that are working in some humanitarian capacity that talk about the Handout mentality of the Basotho (People of Lesotho). There are dozens upon dozens of organizations here that come in and give people money; or food or jobs. From NGO's to churches; to individuals who've decided on their own that they want to do something good for the world. This has been going on for probably as long as Lesotho has been around; so much to the point that there are Generations and Generations of people here that don't know what it's like to work for something.
The only way that I can really think to describe it is to compare these people to the children of rich parents. In many cases rich kids are handed things their entire lives. They don't know the value of hard work and parents have a really hard time getting them to get off their lazy bums and do something that will sustain their lives instead of living off Mummy and Daddy.
The only problem; actually there are several problems in this situation...some of the main ones being that there is no way for the people of this country to help themselves if one day, the gravy train decides to a grinding halt and as for in the work of those of us in the Peace Corps; how the heck are we supposed to convince the people of this country to do any work if they're always looking for a handout.
When I first arrived at my site and would have meetings with the people of my community they would all come in droves and be very excited about thee ideas that I would present to them. But once the actual work needed to be done on projects the people were no where to be found. I planned a pitso (community meeting) on Sunday of last week and of course; being an American I was on time and prepared to wait for a least an hour for the meeting to get started because that's the way things work in this country. I did wait for my planned hour with the Chief and one of girls from my community and no one showed up. I was a bit frustrated but the Chief suggested that we re-schedule the meeting for Thursday. So; we re-scheduled and I headed back to my little house.
Thursday rolls around and I head back to the Chief's house for another attempt at the pitso. I arrive and the Chief tells me that the community had two deaths during the night and people probably won't come. I'm pretty frustrated at this point. The Chief tells me that we will re-schedule again and I start heading back to my house. On my way; one of the community members stops me and asks why I'm leaving; because they are on their way to the pitso. I head back to the Chiefs place and let her know that people are in fact coming. In the end; only three women show up. We discuss all of the things I want to and they give me their opinions and answer my questions. All in all it's actually a pretty successful meeting since at least some members of the community have shown up.
During the meeting I ask this question; about the “Handout Mentality”; which I of course have to explain a few times to the women. When they finally understand what I'm saying they completely agree with me. They say that yes; in order to get the people in the Basotho culture to do something you must offer them something; whether it be food at the meeting or some sort of prize. As long as something is being given away for free; you will always have a large group show up to your meetings.
So; the big question. Since I'm a volunteer and don't have the money to lavish the people of this community with free gifts of food and the like (and even if I did have the money I wouldn't); how on earth do I get them to do work without immediate gratification. How do I prove to them that in the end they will reap the rewards??? The answer? Well; none of them really had an idea. They all agreed to help me with the projects I am working on and we moved on to other things. Needless to say; I'm frustrated.
Don't get me wrong; there are many people that I've met in this country that are passionate about change and they do know the value of hard work. I also find that those that I've spoken too are having the same problems I am. And their answers are always the same; all they can really do is continue to work on the projects they're working on and continue to help those willing to do the work; no matter how large or small in number they may be.
Sometimes I think that I'm not as invested in this country as the people of it; and I guess not being a Masotho; I can't be. I am passionate about Lesotho and it's people and the fact that there are people here that I've grown close to makes me want to make a difference but end the end I always go back to Kenya. I always go back to the fact that I couldn't stay and I didn't go back. So in the end; why should the people here put their faith in me and rely on me. Why should they listen when in the end; I'm just going to go home?
This blog has turned into a bit of a bitch fest. Maybe I won't even post it. Hell; two posts in a matter of days; my readers may not know what to do with themselves...
2 comments:
Two posts within a week? Who are you again?
The Handout Mentality is interesting. It sounds really rough too, considering how rich kids are dealt with on an individual or small group basis (you can't send an entire country on a MTV reality show about Gettin' Real! or whatever they're called now. You know what I mean, when they send kids to other countries to gain a new world perspective). Sometimes, the problem with rich kids, at least gravy train kids, is that they can't sustain themselves financially but also can't think/problem solve for themselves.
Perhaps look at it from the Basotho's perspective. Every couple of years people come to their home with some great ideas and give them all of these great tools for their community. But is two years enough to successfully implement a project? And are the people leaving the Basotho with enough knowledge so they are capable of running a project themselves? What will the Basotho get out of it? Will everything have to change when the next batch of people come? Look at Oprah's school. I don't know how long they were there but after they left it in the care of the community, all of these allegations came out. I'm sure Oprah and Co. didn't just say "here's a school, go run it, bye" but in the same token, what else did they leave in the manner of assigning work duties, training new employees or even school spirit?
I'm not saying in any way that things are hopeless, but to find your answer about gearing up the community: maybe start at the end. When you leave, what will you want to leave them with aside from a lot of really great tangible things? Managerial skills? Problem solving? Community spirit/pride? Empowerment? Just like when undoing the habits of rich kids, instill the desire for self-dependency/esteem with parameters and goals, role-modeling, stability, and high expectations that both sides will meet halfway instead of one side doing all the work (the one side usually being the rich parents).
Right now it sounds like you're still doing work but it's the "pass the baton" work; work that's been previously organized and you're taking care where someone else left off. You're still as useful and needed in that position just as much if you came up the original idea. As for the problem about immediate gratification, maybe you could tell everyone that you're going to set a medium goal and once you've reached it or surpassed it (don't say "close enough"), instead of rewarding immediately, suggest a small potluck party or some fun ice-breaking event. It sounds cheesy and 8th grade, I know, but I don't know what your project plan entails or what your demographic is.
Yeah the inability to think and problem solve is definitely a problem but I think that has a great deal to do with the British implemented school system from way back when that's still around in a lot of ways; that's hindering children's abilities to truly think for themselves or understand the English language to any full and recognizable degree. Which I must follow by saying; this is not true of ALL children or adults in this country. But the school system here BLOWS and needs a major revamping. But that's a whole different rant and rave.
As far as the Basotho perspective goes; I've definitely taken that into account. In my particular situation I'm the first Peace Corps volunteer at my site. Mind you; I'm not the first aid type person that has come to my area though. They have World Vision; World Food Program; different Mission projects. There's been a ton of different organizations; but I definitely agree with you that one of the big problems is that people come in for super short periods of time and show the people these great possibilities for their lives and their communities and then they leave. But one of the problems that many of the members of aid groups have is that they get really discouraged by the handout mentality like I am. They have all of these great ideas and want to jump in and help but the people just want to be given things because that's what they're use to. And the organizations that are still coming and just handing things out don't really help.
That's the thing I love about the PC; we come in at the grass roots; live with the people and help them with things at their level. Other orgs just come in with their own plans; assuming that they know what the communities want/need; never having lived there getting to know the people. I'm not saying they're going in completely uneducated on the situation but I think it's something completely different to read a book or some statistics versus actually living with the people of a country as we do; side by side.
As for the situation with Oprah's org. I don't know the whole story there but as smart as Oprah and her people are I'm sure they thought they did what they needed to do when it came to educating the people they left in charge. Some things just happen. Sometimes people get crazy or jealous or greedy. I mean look at the situation with my supervisor. Some things you just can't prevent; and even Oprah can't change that.
I don't think things are hopeless. I guess I'm just venting and wondering if people have thoughts and opinions on how to handle such things. I do think about the end of my time here. I think about if I left tomorrow; if I would feel like I'd of made a difference and to be honest; I do. I feel that I've made a difference here by simply coming to this country; since many of the people had never seen an African American before; nor thought that they existed for that matter. I've met a lot of people here and feel like I've had impacts on their lives and given them hope and in a lot of ways; they've done the same for me. Sometimes I guess I feel like it's not enough. I know that sounds ridiculous but I do. I guess I need to keep telling myself that I can't change the whole country or even my small village over night. It's just hard.
You've given me some good stuff to think about though. Thanks for listening to; or reading rather, my insanity. Love ya babe! :-)
Post a Comment