Author´s Note: You should probably read the post below this one first. I always like to end on a good note and eBlogger will have none of it. Once you're done, come back up here for the partner post on development work.
Poco a poco. Little by little. In my first 8 months out here, I've learned a lot about myself and about development work. Development work is slow. There are plenty of challenges. The easy stuff to overcome are the bugs and the heat and the amoebas and the diarrhea and the infections and the... and the... It's the language barrier, the resistance to change, the pace, the lack of education, the cultural roadblocks, the lack of appreciation for you being there in the first place. That's the hard part.
But over time you learn more about yourself. The emotional, physical, and spiritual trials and tribulations make you stronger. You change the way you view your situation. You take another tack, try something new. It takes patience. It takes persistence. Most of all, it takes an understanding that you're only going to be able to chip away at a much larger problem. You're only going to do what you can do because you're only one person. You're going to contribute what you can in the time that you are here and you should feel good about that. Don't dwell on all that you can't accomplish, but on the small wins.
Yes. Jon and I are kicking butt. Sure we have our brief bouts of depression. We're alone in a freakin' jungle. They're questioning our contributions in a language we'll never understand. But you know what, we're still kicking butt. Let's recap:
- Over a mile of tube has been properly buried on Jon's aqueduct. Not an inconsequential task in the middle of thick jungle with only a few shovels with a community that had zero motivation until we threw down the gauntlet in January. (This project has been Jon's baby. He's been doing the heavy lifting, and should be proud)
- The said aqueduct has been surveyed and we have a (realistic) goal of bringing water to his community by the end of the year
- Two more families have water in my community
- I have a clear plan for projects to develop in my community, namely latrines and new cooking stoves. This is important because the community is finally on board, understanding their level of commitment, and wants to see these projects through
- Water committees have been formed in two neighboring communities
- One of the two water committees will be going through a formal training next week on collecting money with their community for continuing aqueduct improvements. The committee now understands the value of a committee and how less than $50 will bring dramatic results to the quality of their water system
- The water committee in my community is successfully collecting monthly payments for continued maintenance of the aqueduct. It's worth noting that most water systems fail because the community either has little involvement in the construction process (and therefore no sense of ownership) or does not have a system in place for maintaining the system (collecting funds, community members trained on servicing water system)
- Two kids in my community can read and write basic English. They can form simple sentences about what they are doing. While this may not end up being too useful, it's gone a long way in empowering them, something these people desperately need
- I built a house in an indigenous community in the middle of the Panamanian jungle
Sometimes (most of the time) it's easily to lose track of the things that you've accomplished. It's hard to see the forest through the trees. There's a huge need and a lot of work to do. It's sometimes (most of the time) overwhelming. But I can't let them be my downfall. I'm doing what I can, living, learning, failing, and occasionally, winning. Poco a poco.
