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By Ian Keeling |
Everyone's problem, everyone's solution.
A group of volunteer young men and woman travel to Africa to help build school houses for a poor village.
A celebrity stands on late night TV and asks for a donation so that a starving child might eat.
Often when we think of the term "third world development" these are two of the more frequent images to appear in our minds. And while these two images may not be completely wrong, they paint a very narrow picture of the third world. What they don't show us is that the situation in the third world is hopeful. A great deal of work is being done, not only by North Americans, but also by the very people who have to endure those problems. Another thing those images fail to convey is that combatting these problems can be more than volunteering; it can be a full-time occupation.
International development as a career requires many skills and talents. Overseas work in emergency relief or community development, or education are important fields of international development. For every lesson we teach we learn one in return.
So what do you need for such a career? Start with an interest in people, because that's what the job is all about. It's not about how many tonnes of food were sent to Ethiopia in 1991 or how many schools were built in Costa Rica. It's about people. A willingness to sacrifice yourself. Odd hours and hard work. Getting rich it's not. Patience and the ability to listen it is. People in developing countries understand their problems and often have their own viable solutions. What they want and need is co-operative assistance. It's all about working together.
Get as much volunteer experience as you can for this shows the organizations your willingness to sacrifice. Working in a day care or hospital is good experience. Of course overseas experience is essential. There are several national organizations that are specifically oriented towards giving young people overseas experience and many have regional offices. Volunteering for these organizations is an important first step if you're looking for a career. They open your eyes to a world never seen before.
Kevin Perkins was 17, travelling in Greece, and launched a conversation that changed his life. After returning to Canada he began to explore the possibilities of working in overseas development.
After an exchange to India through Canada World Youth, a degree in International Development at the University of Toronto, several other overseas exchanges and a lot of hard work, Kevin, now 28, has a full-time job at Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief (CPAR).
As program officer for CPAR, an organization which focuses on fighting hunger in the horn of Africa through relief and community development, Kevin is responsible for initiating new programs. This involves writing proposals for a new program, registering as an NGO (Non Government Organization), in the country where the program will take place, approaching donors here in Canada to help finance the program.
Because the actual implementation of most of the programs is done by local organization in Africa, once a program is in place Kevin's job turns to administrative support. This involves visiting the project, writing a report, offering whatever ideas he may have and finding out what other needs the local organizations have. Kevin says, "I don't go over there and dictate. I'm just making suggestions, getting feedback, and finding out what I should be doing here to make their job easier."
Indeed, many people in Canada don't realize that most of the work in overseas development is done by the local people who usually know the solution to their problem and merely require assistance from groups like CPAR. "A lot of people think of Ethiopia as a burnt out desert and Ethiopians as hopeless, powerless people. We pity them but we don't respect them as human beings who are resourceful and ingenious in their survival mechanisms; their ability to survive against such impossible odds and keep a smile on their face."
Kevin's advice to anyone interested in a career in international development is find a way to get practical work experience, such as an exchange, because many aspects of the job can't be learned in the classroom. Also, plan to work hard. "It's not an easy thing to do. You have to plan ahead. It takes a lot of letters, a lot of contacts, a lot of making it happen. Not just with people in Canada, but making direct contact with people overseas."
Some might think such a career would leave no time for a family life, however Kevin is happily married to his wife Donna. "It is difficult," Kevin says. "You have to make compromises, but I think you have to do that in any career. Most people I know whose families live with them in Africa or Asia speak of those years as the best years."
tgmag@tgmag.ca