Travelogue - Veronica

Similar to Simone and others, the international perspective of this collaborative exercise was enticing for me personally.  My undergraduate work was International Relations with an African concentration and I have always had a deep appreciation for cultures and languages.  While I was deployed to Kosovo, I had the privilege of spending my free time doing humanitarian work with the other multinational military officers.  We put coal stoves in school houses; brought clothes and food to the Romas living in enclaves; and provided school supplies to the Serbian schools that had been devastated by the war.  This experience of collaborating with women and men from Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Sweden, France, Ukraine, and Russia for the benefit of the less fortunate was very rewarding and felt like something I might return to one day.  Reflection on the readings, the map and my understanding of the work we actually did in Kosovo has shed new light on the difference between what charity and solidarity.  I really appreciated in "Cows for Campesinos" how Gerald Debbink reflects on his own growth in understanding of charity verses solidarity.  I also was very moved by Arturo Ornelas' comments about working with the people in order for real participatory action research to take place.  "Manual work is the only real link between an intellectual and the community.  if you do not work alongside the people in the community, they will not believe you.  You create a moral value among the people-a belief in their reality...Work is a source of transformation."   This brings up the difference too, of sustainability of the project or work being done.  The map reflects important work being done all over the world.  It is ambitious work.  The projects I found most compelling were those that put the Client voice at the center.

I was interested to find organizations in parts of the world in which i had some personal connection.  For example, I looked to the Ukraine because I worked with several Ukrainian Soldiers in Kosovo and I know that country has experienced significant political unrest which often significantly impacts marginalized populations in a society.  Presently the number of social workers in Ukraine is critically low and many of those who provide services to people living with disabilities are doing it in a voluntary status or for extremely low wages.  The number of people living with disabilities has increased significantly due to the conflicts in Eastern Europe.  This country is particularly closed off and it is not easy to find non-profit organizations that are supporting work inside this nation.  However, the EU is working to support the efforts to increase the development and efficacy of the social services which will potentially have a very important rippling effect in the lives of people living with disability in this nation.

The second organization I found of interest was Women For Women International in Democratic Republic of Congo.  This country was interesting to me because I knew several students from this country when I was teaching and they speak French.  It was also interesting to me that the project seemed to be focused on the empowerment of women, educating them about earning power, money management, vocational skills, business skills and health management.  There is also a focus on peer to peer support and fundamental rights.  

The third organization I found compelling was Mercy Korps in Kosovo which is doing work to help the lovely people of this region continue to grow their country to a place that has economic opportunities for everyone; refugees are reintegrated into a society that promotes inter-ethnic cooperation and the streets feel safe both day and night.  I appreciated that this organization seemed to be meeting people where they are and the work being done seemed very meaningful and sustainable.  The placement of the streetlights to provide a stronger sense of safety within a community, I think is one example of neighborhoods and communities working with organizations to get what is needed, practical, sustainable and wanted.  However, this brings me back again to the "Cows for Campesinos" reading, and I think you are not going to know the community is "licking the chicken bones" or the streets are scary at night, if you are never on those streets or really "listening between the cracks".  

One of my other take aways from the readings is that it was a little difficult for me to find organizations on the map that are completely post-modernist and it brought me back to the reading by Lane.  It seems as to me that most of the organizations I was looking at referenced some sort of curriculum, programming, management or other component of change.  In reflecting on Lane's article, it seems to me that these all come with some sort of agenda.  Granted, the intention of the organization may be completely supportive and well-meaning, but that does not discount the existence of an agenda.  As soon as we are not living with and keeping the Client voice at the center, no matter how subdued the voice may be, we are not really doing the work for the Client.  

This was a very thought provoking exercise for me and I really enjoyed the opportunity to reflect on my past humanitarian efforts and deconstruct them in light of new knowledge.  In a few weeks I will have another opportunity to collaborate internationally, as Mary mentioned, when we go to Finland.  Based on my past experiences, I trust there are going to be some relationships we form that will last for years to come.  As this collaborative map demonstrated, there is a tremendous amount of potential for those of us interested in future international social work and that is very exciting.  On the other hand, it also demonstrated to me, the incredible need for a force of activist-minded individuals who are willing to stay focused in helping to changed the world.  I think this map was a clear indicator that it will be the grassroot organizations and their supporters that continue to change the world and we need to be part of that change.