Bar at the Wheelhouse on Senga Bay
I just got back from the mid place retreat. I was great to see everyone, most of which I hadn't had any contact with over the past two months. It was also my first time to see Lake Malawi. We worked on finding solutions to challenges we are facing and creating action plans for the remainder of our time here. My main challenge with work is finding a way to shift my focus from learning to adding value at BERDO. The retreat helped me come up with three project ideas to present to BERDO.
Creating visual summaries of our placements
We had a chance to take a break and have some fun. Swimming in the lake, playing beach volleyball, hanging outwith friends, and other amusements (see picture below).
Paul wearing Anne's pants
It was also a great time to reflect on my experience here and do some big picture thinking. One question that comes up a lot for me is "What role should I play in human development?" I think I am starting see the world as much more of a global system and that "human development" is not something that is isolated to "developing" countries. A large part of the change I would like to see needs to happen in the West. Thinking about the global system, it is the unsustainable lifestyles of the west that appears to be the biggest challenge. I am not sure where I will work in the future, but I know it will be focused on the same over all goal of creating a global system that promotes sustainable quality of life for all people.
Group picture of all the JFs in Malawi and the long term volunteers in Malawi and Zambia.
1 comment:
Kyla,
These are some incredible insights that are really important. I think it's really challenging to deeply internalize and really understand this concept of a "global system" that you're talking about without ever travelling to a country with a different culture. I remember when I was growing up I had this attitude that we were privileged in Canada and so it was our responsibility to help people in the world who were less privileged. There may be some truth in this but i think it is overly simplified and also somewhat arrogant. When I finally left Canada and went to India I realized how mistaken I was. There was a richness there that went far deeper than material wealth. I realized that every place on Earth has struggles and also a lot of beauty and potential. We need to stop looking at the world as the "haves" and "have-nots" and start seeing ourselves as one, unified group that needs to work together, to learn from each other and to support one another in overcoming our challenges. It's not a matter of people in "developing" countries getting enough money to be able to live like people in "developed" countries, but it's a journey that we're all part of and all need to take responsiblity for.
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