Journal 4: Ethical service principles

This week was focused on service—defining it and identifying best practices with respect to ethical service. Three in particular stood out to me:

• Commitment/sustainability
• Community voice/autonomy
• Education/reflection

Commitment/sustainability: Inherent to the balance of benefit to both the student and to the host organization is commitment and sustainability. A student demonstrates commitment to the organization by choosing a service period long enough to accomplish their project, by doing what is in his or her capacity to prepare for the service trip, going at a time compatible with the organization, etc. With respect to sustainability, the project the student implements needs to be in line with the organization’s mission and have a lasting positive impact for the organization or for the community after the student’s departure. A project that only exists while the student is available may benefit the organization temporarily, but later become a burden. For example, a group of service volunteers may bring the supplies and skills to host a pop-up clinic and help attendants register for a local health program. However, if the volunteers are only there for the pop-up clinic, they may leave the organization with the burden of processing or following through with all the registration paperwork later on. In order to ensure a project is sustainable and can stand alone after the students departure, this must taken into account during the formative stages of the project, not when the project is nearing completion.

Community voice/autonomy: Unethical service is often described as well-intentioned, meaning the service done did not match the goals of the community. It is crucial that the service project be defined by the organization or community rather than by the student, since the former will be the most familiar with both the needs and the assets of the community. My experiences with our recent ASB (Alternative Spring Break) service trip as well as my conversation with Dr. Glenn, my community connection, certainly attest to this. While we had a general idea of what we would be doing with our main community partner the Last Organic Outpost (an urban farm in Houston Fifth Ward), the specifics were decided once we arrived and determined what would be the most beneficial to the Outpost. This translated into extensive weeding and mulching—perhaps not the most glorious tasks, but the most essential in preparation for the approaching growing season. While our team could have done something more visible, such as planting an assortment of fruit trees, this would have likely become a burden to the farm in terms having to upkeep the trees. Additionally, when speaking with Dr. Glenn, the Watershed Protection Program (WPP) she is developing is entirely stakeholder-led. As a result, one outcome was formulating a solution for the addressing the growing feral hog population, a source of bacteria in the water. The stakeholders were aware of the hogs being a problem in the community, and thus were able to outline a plan with Dr. Glenn to address the population in the WPP.

Education/reflection: Briefly mentioned in the principle of commitment, education on the part of the student is key to ensure that he or she furthers rather than hinders the organization’s agenda. While education during the service trip is not only inevitable but also anticipated, there is a difference between education and ‘catching up.’ For example, the student should prepare with his or her service trip in mind, i.e. improving language proficiency, becoming familiar with the culture and customs, practicing the technical skills relevant to the service, etc. Reflection throughout service is also very important. I look forward to answering the journal prompts from the envelopes during my service trip, and also hope to keep up with regular journaling. Reflection allows for the experiences to be processed and synthesized so that the service can truly be connected back to the issue it addresses, and perhaps beyond. I am very appreciative of the emphasis ASB programs place on reflection, which takes place daily as a way for participants to think over the day’s service, share their experiences with one another, and see the bigger picture. It was during these reflection moments that I came to the eye-opening, but uncomfortable recognition that while the Outpost was a source of fresh produce, it was severely underutilized by the community in part because it did not cater to communities preferences. While our group was able to appreciate the fresh organic salad mixes from the farm, salad was not a ‘staple’ for the locals, and thus not something that they would ready incorporate into their diets.