Journal 5: Responsibilities as a Participant in International Development

            Over the course of this semester and in this week’s readings I have had the chance to explore what it means to do international service. As a participant in international development, I need to ensure my contributions are sustainable to the organization and the community. The examples Michael Hobbes gives in his article of unsuccessful instances of international development, such as the PlayPump, are unfortunately often times the general perception of international development efforts. While well-intentioned, these ‘development’ efforts are unsustainable, ending when the funding is gone and leaving the community in no better state, or even worse off as a result. These attempts highlight the importance of sustainability in service. This would entail working closely with the organization and building upon its existing capacities and working to further its mission. Ultimately, I am responsible for working with the organization to develop a project that can stand alone after my service term ends.

            Another responsibility would include facilitating a cultural exchange between my service destination, China and my home, the US. In addition to immersing myself in the culture in China, specifically in Chengdu, I should also be reciprocating and introducing my culture to others I encounter during my service. I hope this will help to promote understanding between the two cultures, since there are definitely stereotypes associated with each that are by no means true. Upon my return from my service, I expect this to continue to be a responsibility, though slightly different in the sense that I will be introducing host culture to the home culture rather than vice versa. I look forward to getting to share both the culture and my experiences with my peers at Rice (and beyond!) through the fall semester presentation, as well as through everyday interactions. Additionally, the responsibility of sustainability will also remain applicable after my service trip. Sustainability means continued involvement with the issue, not just implementing a sustainable project abroad. While the capstone project may not be feasible with my schedule next year, I look forward to finding another way of getting involved with water quality and conservation, perhaps at Rice or through a community connection!

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.  

Journal 2: SMART (and other) goals

     SMART is an acronym for the criteria to consider when setting a goal, and stands for
·         Specific
·         Measurable
·         Achievable
·         Relevant
·         Timely

      Taking these in context of Loewenstern, there are a number of areas within which I can set SMART goals for myself. Perhaps the most obvious would be with respect to my service with CURA. While my specific project details have yet to be released to me, I hope to have the chance to be responsible for a project that I can implement within 6 weeks and will continue to benefit either CURA or the village residents after my service ends. Nevertheless, I also understand that trying to complete a project of my own may not be in the best interests either party—and will adjust this goal accordingly as I learn more about the project I am to complete. An interesting word of advice I received from the Rice faculty I met with last week certainly applies to this. She told me to go over the project description once I received it and to make a detailed schedule of what would be done each week and have it reviewed by my contact in CURA to make sure it was reasonable. The professor warned me of the tendency for projects to have vague objectives, which would ultimately result in less being accomplished if not further defined. This helped to reinforce the importance of creating SMART goals.

     From class on Tuesday, I was able to flesh out additional goals; another related to the project is to be self-sufficient by the end of my first week with CURA, both in terms of housing/transportation, but also with respect to my service project so as to maximize my effective service time with CURA. In terms of language goals—I have had an ongoing goal to be reading 1-2 pages of Chinese every day prior to my service trip to continue developing my proficiency and facilitate the transition process. Once I receive more technical documents relating to my project, I plan to have read them in Chinese prior to my trip in order to gain a working vocabulary of technical terms. Given how well SMART goals lend themselves to quantifiable outcomes, I set a few more personal SMART goals—I would like to learn how to cook three Sichuan/regional dishes during my stay in order to share back home. I also anticipate writing in my personal journal at least once a week.

     As for the less quantitative goals, such as developing close personal relationships with the CURA staff and perhaps even the residents of the village, I thought these goals might best be measured by the intentions approach that was discussed. I value learning from others’ experiences as well as challenging myself, thus pushing myself to break out of my ‘comfort zone’ and growing relationships with those around me would be well-aligned with this intention. I also value practicality and application, which I hope will translate into me taking an active hands-on approach with respect to my service with CURA, such as learning the technical skills relevant to water quality testing, as well as those associated with generating awareness among the target audience. I anticipate being able to use these skills back home, not only with a local organization focused on water quality and conservation, but also in other future endeavors as well. Despite ‘intention goals’ being ‘in the moment’, I believe these goals can also be future-minded, in the sense that the goals I have set relate to post-trip service/application. After all, my values are an inherent part of me—continually influenced by my actions and influencing my actions. By shaping my values, this trip will have a lasting impact on me, and by extension my post-trip service plans. 

Journal 1: International Service Reflections

I have always been aware of the dichotomous nature international service, of how it is a channel capable of bringing not only tremendous benefit to a community but also tremendous detriment as well. Ivan Illich’s speech ‘To Hell with Good Intentions’ highlighted the many flaws associated with international ‘dogooders,’ whose lack of training, applicable knowledge, and linguistic abilities only goes to hurt rather than help the community. While his argument was not new to me, I was still shocked by the fact that the Peace Corps spends near $10,000 to help their members ‘adjust’ to the new environment and overcome culture shock. Clearly, this type of service is not sustainable and should be avoided in all circumstances. On the other hand, while the projects implemented by FSD participants also fall under the broad category of international service, they are radically different. The skills, outlook, and training the participants bring to the community result in self-sustaining programs such as the bike-cab and rental program developed by the student during his period of service with a local organization. I agree with his definition of success—when the program can operate without his involvement. This goes to show that international service can be meaningful to both the participant and the community. To me, this is certainly worth pursuing. By looking at the assets of the community and how they can be used to build the community, a participant can help the community to help themselves. This is a jarring contrast to the conventional needs-based approach, which creates a damaging dependence of the community on the participant, an outsider.

My recommendations are aligned with the criteria I set for myself when applying to be a Loewenstern scholar. Familiar with the asset-based outlook from ASB, I wanted to be able to contribute towards the goals of the organization rather hinder their efforts due to deficiencies on my part. Thus, I looked for opportunities in China, which would help minimize the language and culture barrier. I also sought service opportunities needing skills that overlapped with my existing skill set so that I could devote more time to service without facing a steep learning curve. Nevertheless, while relevant skills and preparation are crucial for an international service participant, an open mind is just as important in order to truly facilitate sustainable community development. The participant cannot attempt to implement their own agenda, but must develop an agenda in accordance with the community. The participant should be a catalyst, not the origin.