Working to work
Thursday, February 25, 2010
After getting back into the swing of things - volunteering-wise - after my enjoyable safari, I’ve run into a bit of a dilemma over how to evaluate my time here.
Wednesday proved more productive than I expected, as we were finally able to get a printer sorted out and have all of our marketing materials: labels for the bracelets/coasters explaining who made them; a letter outlining business logistics; a brochure with marketing spiel.
Given that this is now my third week here - and we made the materials during our first week - it was a surprising how complicated it can be to complete a task like printing. In Canada, this would have been as simple as pressing a button on my computer at home and then moving my hand to the left to grab the result. Here, it involved a network of communications between three other people to locate the printer, then get a key to access its location, followed by a trip to the city to find the correct - and rare - ink. The material is printed now though, and its nice to feel like we’ve actually done something almost three weeks into our volunteering.
The hardest part is still ahead of us, though, as we still need to convince a safari company to be in business with the Mama Machumba group.
Thursday then gave us the opportunity to finally show our marketing materials to the women, and they seemed quite pleased with our work. Given that many of them probably have never seen a printed photograph of themselves, I think it was quite a novelty to see themselves framed in a promotional brochure for others to look at.
At the end of the day though - and after what felt like the first time we had actually proved our worth to the women - I was asked by Mr. Shija if I had yet thought of any ways for his organisation, Educare, to make any money. Well, I replied, isn’t that exactly what I’ve been doing this whole time?
No, he replied, as money made by Mama Machumba Crafts goes back to Mama Machumba Crafts. Educare, as an umbrella organisation, wants to support organisations like the Mama Machumba group (or as another example, the Mama Nazareth group who has made a recipe book), but needs money to do so.
I was under the impression, I replied, that some of the money made by the Mama Machuba group would go towards developing their individual business, but some amount would also go towards sustaining Educare. To Mr. Shija, this didn’t make sense, as Educare shouldn’t be getting help from its branch organisations… it should be the other way round!
Though he was perfectly well-intentioned with his request of me, the conversation left me rather confused and feeling somewhat directionless. Who exactly am I supposed to be helping here? What are my goals?
Clearly, “just make money for everyone” isn’t at all feasible. So I’ve resolved to simply stick to my guns and do what I can for the women making crafts. Two months isn’t a lot of time, and, considering I’m nearing the half-way point without actually feeling like I’ve done very much, I’ll really have to focus my productivity if I’m going to feel like I’ve achieved anything at all.
Even if I’ve been feeling somewhat pessimistic in the short-term, day-by-day conduct of my volunteering, I definitely have an optimistic outlook upon the bigger picture. After all, even if I don’t end up being able to make any significant impact in helping people during my time here, I’m sure I will have learned a lot of lessons along the way. Perhaps in a “what not to do” sort of way, but hey, at least that’s something, right?
Posted byplayerHAYTER at 10:20 PM