Saturday 8 September 2012

Goodbye

Tonight I will be going to the airport to travel to a country I have only ever read about. I am overwhelmed with a thousand different emotions at the moment - the flip flop between excited, scared and miserably sad being the most predominant.

Saying goodbye is never easy.

Tuesday 10 July 2012

Monday 9 July 2012

To the Jane's of the World

Tonight was one of the first nights I stopped to really think about moving to Malawi. I've been so busy recently with school and events that I really haven't given myself time to stop and really take in the fact that I am moving to Malawi in less than two months. As I thought about saying those heavy goodbyes at the airport, waiting for my flight to board, a few tears welled up in my eyes. However, after receiving lots of comforting words, and warm hugs from my boyfriend Tim, I began to feel a bit better about the reality I will soon face. 

I've mentioned before that there are times when I, like anyone, lose sight of the true meaning of why I am here and why I do what I do. Tonight after imagining the plane landing and facing an entirely new world I had another one of those moments of slight hesitation. And then I came home to my comfy bed and watched a video reminding myself again.

The young girl that Jacqueline Novogratz speaks about, Jane, is just one of the many stories I have heard that bring me back to the big picture. The fact that this girl only ever wanted to be a doctor, and to have a husband who would love her, is now HIV positive after years of being subjected to prostitution when her husband left her for another suddenly puts my fears into perspective. She is still a strong woman who loves her family and feels blessed to have what she has today. She is truly inspiring. 

The description of her living conditions and her life story told by Jacqueline just further highlights the inequality that is so prevalent across the globe today. She talks about the definition of poverty, which got me thinking about all of those lectures I've had on the term "poverty." Many times we tend to use the $1/day reference point, however, when Jane was making up to $4/day she was no longer considered to be living in extreme poverty. The reality is that Jane is still very poor, too poor even at the time to remove herself and her family from her current unsanitary, unsafe living situation. It's an interesting concept to think that we can judge a persons level of poverty simply based on the amount of money they make each day. There are far too many variables that factor into the equation to give this approach a holistic understanding of each individual's situation. 

It's sad that at times I have to hear these stories to really remind myself of the bigger picture, that I want to help empower and enable women like Jane to live the life they've always dreamed of. And as much as I'd like to help, it is really her courage and strength that empowers me.

Sunday 8 July 2012

Voluntourism: Helping or Hurting?




Voluntourism has recently become a pretty hot topic in the world of development. In the last decade this phenomenon of combining travel and volunteering has increased largely in popularity. It has even gone so far as to create its own new form of vocabulary! “Ethical holiday, voluntourist, travel philanthropy” all encompass this same idea of traveling to a developing country, for a short-term vacation with some participation in a project. This is an opportunity for an individual, or group, to make the most of their vacation or time off by ‘doing good’, or ‘making a difference’.
The big question being asked today is, is voluntourism hurting or helping? These trips typically range from ten days, to three weeks in duration, however shorter and longer trips are available. The term voluntourism, however, tends to exclude any trip exceeding 4 weeks in length. While on these trips volunteers might partake in activities such as building homes, schools, working in orphanages and with underprivileged youth, or distributing food and or supplies.
Organizations that are facilitating these experiences are growing by the masses. Some that are well known include, Hero Holiday, Habitat for Humanity International, International Student Volunteers, Hands up Holiday, Volunteers Without Borders, and the list goes on and on! Ten day trips with these organizations typically run around $2000 to $4000, this coming straight from the volunteer to pay for resort accommodations, all inclusive food and excursions in the evening.
Voluntourism typically attracts individuals in high school, college or university. However this is not to say it is limited to the younger crowd, in fact several middle aged and retirees also embark on these trips. It provides people with the opportunity to travel, and to see a different part of the world. A great deal of people walk away from the experience saying things like “it was life changing” or “I found myself.”
So, what else makes these voluntourism vacations a good idea? Well, firstly they are perfect for people with busy schedules. A quick two weeks in the sun and you get to walk away with a rewarding feeling like you put your two weeks of vacation to good use. This experience can also transpire into further interest in development work, and inspiring friends, family and coworkers to look into how they can get involved. Speaking to others, hearing their stories, and having that intimate person -to-person experience can make an intense impact on the voluntourists. Not to mention that international experience is very attractive to employers and schools, what a great way to set yourself apart from the millions of applications received each year.
Now lets get down to the reality of the situation. Although the trip might be valued by the voluntourist, we have to analyze whom the trips are designed to benefit. Realistically the majority of these volunteers do not possess certain skills that would be abundantly beneficial to the local communities. Therefore to cater to the masses, these trips are more often than not designed around physical labour, and therefore for the volunteer. The voluntourists are unqualified to do any other development work. There is also a gap in training the recipients. Often when new infrastructure comes into a small community they are not familiar with, it is rejected or goes unused. There must be continuity between the delivery and the reception.
The length of these trips is one of the biggest areas of debate. Because they are so short, the goals of these trips are very short sighted. Most volunteers want to see the end product of their efforts and therefore the projects are short term. This leads to the fear that the infrastructure may not be maintained, or will go unused. How much impact can you really have in ten days?
Another issue with voluntourism is that people are so attracted to vacations where they can also lay on the beach, or be in the sun that the purpose of the trip is lost. Canada has a great deal of development issues that are in dire need of attention. Unfortunately problems away from home seem more appealing than those close to home.
Furthermore, orphanages are an often-visited destination of these trips. The issue with visiting orphans, spending time with them, and building relationships is the fact that these are not sustainable relationships. When the voluntourist leaves, these children are abandoned all over again. There can be serious psychological repercussions on these children if volunteers are constantly coming in and out of their lives. Again this begs the question, who are these trips really for?
This explanation is not to say that there aren’t genuine experiences or successful, meaningful projects, however, the arguments above are reasons to question who these voluntourism trips are really benefitting. What do you think?

PRIDE


The wonderful birthday celebration of our beautiful nation was also accompanied by the spectacular celebration of Pride weekend in Toronto! What a magical weekend. The celebration of pride for my country grows stronger and stronger as we continue to move closer to a more unified, loving nation. The beauty of the Pride parade and demonstration can be seen for miles with the many gorgeous colours and people filling the streets, coming together as one to embrace the rights and justices they so truly deserve.
The first Pride march was held July of 1972, Toronto following suit in the year of 1981. This year’s 32nd annual parade was the gathering of individuals from all communities coming out to express their creativity, energy and talents. The weekend was filled with activities and a very dynamic lineup on several stages around the city. Year after year this demonstration continues to WOW the world. The impressiveness of Pride only intends to grow and create more awareness, as Toronto Ontario will be the first North American city ever to host World Pride! 2014 will mark this amazing event, and I can’t wait!
Unfortunately, with the celebration of both Canada day, as well as Pride falling on the same weekend this year, I was unable to attend both. I had an amazing weekend in our nations capital, Ottawa Ontario, bringing in the big birthday with friends, and crowds filled of red and white. What an amazing experience it is to stand amongst thousands of individuals, all standing in unity. This was an act of pride for the many reasons we are blessed to be Canadian.

Go Local!


Last week my classmates and I traveled on a field trip to a local farm just outside Waterloo. The lovely, friendly owner, Theresa gave us a wonderful tour of her small, but pretty amazing farm. She explained the history of her farm, her educational background, and more exciting facts regarding her blooming crop. We went down to the small field where she grows her tomatoes, asparagus, and so much more. It was there that Theresa put the group of us to good use. After about half an hour of getting down in the dirt in the siring hot sun, it was clear this was no easy task, especially without the help of thirty energetic students. We then moved inside to her preparation room, where we discussed more interesting aspects of the life of a farmer and the Community Supported Agriculture program, or CSA.
What is CSA?
CSA is a way for small-scale local farmers to sell their fresh, in season, and in some cases certified organic produce to local consumers who want to reduce their carbon footprint, eat healthy, and support local producers. Consumers can purchase shares, and this will provide them with a box of fresh, in season vegetables each week. At Theresa’s organic certified local farm, Garden Party, she offers shares all year round so that you have the opportunity to eat ethically each season! An added bonus to picking up your food from the farm is the variety of other organic food Theresa keeps on stock including cheese, milk, eggs etc. This is a great way to get all of your organic staples in a one-stop shop!
So why buy local?
There are so many reasons to go local! In this day in age it is becoming increasingly important to know where your food is coming from, where and how it was prepared, and what you are putting in your body! Buying local provides you with all of the answers large supermarkets and manufactures cannot. So why buy local?
1.     Freshness and taste!
2.     Support for rural communities!
3.     Confidence in your food!
4.     A healthier environment!
So will you look into a more ethically food source for those fresh veggies this summer? There are a variety of options! I encourage you to do your research and please feel free to comment below!

ULTIMATE INDEVOURS!

First off, I’d just like to extend an apology to all of my friends and family about the constant harassment to come out and take part in the INDEVOURS Ultimate Frisbee FUNdraiser Tournament. But in reality, I’m not, because the day was a huge success, and I couldn’t have done it without all of the support you all showed us on this ‘indevour.’

So! The tournament was an incredibly long process, and, lets be real, I was way in over my head when I boldly volunteered, “I’ll organize the tournament!” There were several unexpected hoops in which we needed to jump. And organizing an event on campus isn’t as simple as I had originally predicted. The first step was to pick a date, which we did, twice. It was slightly ambitious of my team to give ourselves only a couple of weeks to prepare and organize everything after returning from the winter term break. After facing the reality of the intricacy of the event we decided we would need an extra week, and therefore the day of the tournament was set. June 2nd! How exciting! The day was going to be wonderful, and sunny, and magnificent!

After filling out many forms, having meetings with incredibly helpful people, faxing the Waterloo Health Department our event food forms, and booking Campus Response Team, we were looking pretty good! Now our only issue was… who will play? After days at the registration booth in the SLC, handing out fliers, putting up posters and reposting status updates on Facebook, I was not feeling very confident. One week out we only had one team registered, and a whole lot of maybes.

Being the incredibly keen individuals that we are, INDEVOURS hosted our own class late one evening due to our scheduled class being cancelled. Feeling tired, overwhelmed and slightly defeated, I expressed my concerns with my classmates. I’m not sure if they all love me a lot, or they just say the sheer brokenness in my soul, but these wonderful individuals set off from that meeting determined. 

Finally! Teams started to sign up, and I no longer had to stare at the ceiling all night stressing so hard I thought my heart was going to stop, and my brain was going to explode. This might be a slight dramatization.

The gloomy, rainy Saturday morning finally rolled in, and with it come the fearless athletes! The morning went flawlessly. ONE of the many beautiful things about my classmates is that they have amazing initiative. Everyone knew exactly what they were supposed to be doing, and if they finished that task, they moved on to the next. I could not have been more grateful in that moment for the people I have been blessed with to share this amazing experience with.

The day continued with a total of eight teams playing four games each, which made up a thrilling 32 games! A warm BBQ with quite the spread including hamburgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, chips, and refreshments, was blazing all day long. Prizes were handed out, and the winners were determined. Although the day was gloomy, Mother Nature was merciful enough to hold out the rain until the very end of the day. And at last, the day came to an end, and I could breathe again.

The Ultimate Frisbee FUNdraiser event would have been nonexistent without the amazing hard work and dedication of my fellow INDEVOURS. Each and every single one of them was my hero on that Saturday.

Thursday 5 April 2012

The Good Stuff

Hello again!

So some of you may have read my previous blog about my trip to the travel clinic. In that blog post I mentioned that the doctor warned my thoroughly about the drinking water in Malawi, as well as swimming in any of the fresh water. And because water has been such a hot topic lately in the world of Indevours, [my class of international development students] especially with the amazing water conference recently organized by some of classmates, I decided to jump on the band wagon and yes, blog about, water.


I accidentally found this video made for World Water Day this year, when trying to find a "how to boil and sanitize your water" video. I first watched it with my roommate who, after a few glasses of wine, was brutally honest. She immediately told me to turn it off because she found it far too depressing, and I guess it was killing her buzz. So I turned it off and finished it this morning.


I found some of the marketing tactics used in the video to be rather interesting. It first beings with depressing music, accompanied by some very saddening facts about the lack of access to water around the globe. 'Poor households across the developing world waste hours collecting water everyday. This can prevent children from attending school. Where there are no clean or private toilets people are forced to defaecate in the open. Not only is this an indignity, it puts women and girls in danger of sexual violence as well as disease. Drinking dirty water can cause diarrhea, keeping adults out of work and children off school. It also kills 4000 children every single day. This is more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.' Then the video puts this huge number into perspective and explains that 4 children have died from unsanitary water related diseases since you started watching the video one minute and 39 seconds ago. Can you imagine dying in Canada just from getting diarrhea? This simply does not happen. This is one of the most treatable conditions in the world, and yet 4000 children are dying EVERYDAY because of it. This is unacceptable.

After the video has caught your attention, and engaged you emotionally, it begins to provide you with hope. I think this is an extremely important aspect of development when raising awareness. People don't want to know that a problem is irreversible or impossible to eradicate. This video then switches to a more upbeat song, and shows images of children drinking fresh water from pumps and taps. These are examples of how and where these programs have been successful! Finally, a light at the end of the tunnel! And at the very end of the video it urges you to take action. As we have learned in my marketing class this semester, social marketing is an amazingly powerful tool in the marketing world. It is generally free, and the most effective way to reach out to as many people as possible all around the world. The video uses symbols that are identifiable around the world for twitter and facebook calling you to action to simply repost the video and continue to spread the word. They have ingeniously harnessed one of the easiest ways to publish a video for free: YouTube!

This blog post was originally going to be about how much I take water for granted, and how much of a culture shock it's going to be when I can't just turn on the tap and chug that beautiful resource down the way I do here now. I am going to have to prepare every glass of water I wish to drink by boiling it for at least 3 minutes! This may not seem like a long time, but lets be honest, because I have become so accustom to my brita filter always full of cold, wonderfully filtered H2O goodness, I am going to be seriously dehydrated. Everything is so very convenient in my life right now, and I am finally coming to the brutal realization this will all be changing drastically, very soon. I was born in Canada! Could I be any more spoiled when it comes to fresh water supply?! Our toilet water here is even pristine! [Not that I am suggesting anyone drink from the toilet, not even the dog.]

All this recent talk about water just makes me so very grateful to have the access to clean drinking water that I currently do. I'm not much of a juice girl; milk and I aren't friends ... water is my number one.

Well, I don't know about you, but I sure am thirsty! Cheers!

Wednesday 4 April 2012

News From the Travel Clinic!

UPDATE! I have been to see the travel clinic doctor! ... And wow, did she ever scare me for life in Malawi. Please note, I am paraphrasing here, and as many of you know I have a tendency to over exaggerate slightly, but I promise this story is told to the best of my memory.

So first the doctor and I went over the several vaccinations I will need just to survive while I'm there. This list wasn't as scary or long as I had originally anticipated. 1 MMR = measles, mumps and rubella shot; 1 meningitis shot; 1 Hep A; 1 yellow fever shot. So I'm thinking okay, sounds simple enough, four shots wont be so bad. Piece of cake, bring on Africa! Then the doctor explains to me that Lilongwe is in a malaria prone zone. I replied "Okay, can't be so bad, I'll take a shot of that too!" ... If only it were so simple.

The doctor then explains to me there are a few options for malaria preventative pills I can take. Option 1: "This one is 5 dollars a day and you have to take it everyday you're there. You can't afford this one." Option 2: "You only have to take this one once a week, but some side effects may include depression, insomnia, vivid dreams..." I swear she went on to say weight gain, and also weight loss, heart failure, brain damage, death; anything that could possibly go wrong, could potentially be attributed to this pill. I stopped listening at this point and said "NEXT." The doctor continued. Option 3: "You would have to take this one everyday, some side effects may include vulnerability to the sun." I replied "I'm a white girl in Africa. I've come to terms with burning. But which one do you suggest?" The doctor replies, "well with option 2, very few people actually suffer from the side effects." So I question, "So you're saying option 2 is my BEST option?" ... A brief pause... the doctor speaks again, "well its just that with option 3 I would  have to calculate ALL the days you would be away for, and that's a lot." In my mind I'm now thinking, aren't you suppose to be insanely smart? You went to medical school! You've completed at least eight years of post secondary school! You're practically a genius, and you're worried about calculating how many days are in 8 months? I'll do the math for you if it means I don't have a chance of suffering from insomnia! So I calmed her stresses and said, "I got this," or something equally as suave. After adding the number of days I will be away, plus the weeks I have to take the pills before and after my trip, we rounded the number to 280 pills. Excellent, just add it to my tab.

"And now we're going to take about travelers diarrhea. You will get it." Oh, okay, great. We collectively add up how many times we think I'll suffer from travelers diarrhea, a fun conversation to have with anyone really, calculate how many pills I need to buy, and move on. Now that I'm officially broke, I ask, "is there anything else I should know?" This opens up the floor to the doctor who then instills a deep rooted fear into the very core of my being.

"Do you have any dietary restrictions?" Oh boy, here we go. I quietly whisper while staring down at my lap, "I'm a vegetarian, and I can't really drink milk or many dairy products." She looks at me like I'm a stuck up little hippie. "Well you might be able to get some fish." She says with a tone of disapproval. "Actually, fish is also meat, and therefore I don't eat fish either," now proving her assumption that I am indeed a stuck up little hippie. "Well then what exactly do you expect to eat?!" She says like a frustrated mother who can't get their children to finish their dinner plate. Head still down I say softly, "vegetables?" The doctor reacts immediately, "and just what kind of vegetables do you think you're going to find there? They don't have the variety we do here!" I now look terrified, knowing Africa will be the best weight loss diet I've ever been on whether I like it or not. The doctor looks me up and down and thinks, well luckily she's still carrying some holiday weight. She breaks the silence, "you'll be able to get yams! You can have yams!" Although I enjoying seeing her attitude change from, 'you're an ignorant North American', to 'yay yams!' I'm not thrilled. "Yum!" I shout with excitement. We look blankly at each other and thankfully the topic changes, but only to continue with more lecturing.

"Well you wont be able to wear those shorts you have on when you're there." Head down I nod feeling like a modern day floozy.


"Don't touch ANY animals you see in the street. You may think the dog skipping by is cute, but do not pet it. You will get rabies."

"Under no circumstances do you swim in ANY fresh water, at all! You will get parasites."

"Learn to boil all your water and keep it in jugs. Do not drink the water. Ever." She looks me sternly in the eye.

"Spray everything you own in bug spray. Bring lots. There is an African sleeping fly. People die from it quiet often. If you start feeling drowsy or you notice one of your friends losing conscientiousness get them back to North America immediately." I pause and yell, "I'm sorry... WHAT?!"

"Don't just go for jogs in your neighbourhood. Bad idea. Go to a sports track if you want exercise." I think to myself, exercise is the least of my worries at this point lady, if I make it past a week I'm basically immortal.

"Buy all of you drugs and medicine here in Ontario. You have no idea what you're buying over there." Oh, great, comforting.

She continued with a couple more pointers on how to stay healthy and safe, my brain still stuck on the African sleeping fly. Then she printed out what looked like a novel of information for me to take home and read. This trip to the clinic, although very informative, made me feel incredibly ill prepared for my move to Africa and for the first time a little frightened. However, this meeting did not deter me in the slightest! I suppose we can only hope for the best and prepare for the worst! Bring it on Africa! ... But seriously, please go easy on me.

Monday 2 April 2012

Unlock the Intelligence, Passion, & Greatness of Girls

When I'm feeling frustrated with a paper due, or I'm cramming like crazy for a big test, I often look at myself in the mirror and think, 'Ummmm... are you nuts?!' Why do I consistently put myself through  all of this? I swear I found a gray hair the other day. Wrinkles? YUP, already got them. The intensity of this university life is aging me significantly by measurable amounts. So when I'm trying to figure out my accounting homework, or staring at stats like its a different language, I often need to stop and remember what it is I'm doing here.

And then I see something like this:
http://www.ted.com/talks/leymah_gbowee_unlock_the_intelligence_passion_greatness_of_girls.html
And it all comes flooding in.

Leymah Gbowee is a Nobel Peace Prize winner, and an activist that speaks out about women and girls around the world. Her efforts contributed greatly to the end of the Liberian Civil War in 2003. She is an incredible example of the type of women I hope to become - helping to empower others to reach their highest potential. She sees the wrong in what is happening to females across the globe and has worked her entire life to help change the outcome for these women. She is such an inspiration to me that yes, I even blogged about it.


I have been extremely passionate about the protection of human rights, with a special fire for women's rights. Knowing the kinds of things that are happening to girls around the world genuinely hurts my soul. Ever since I was a little girl with a big mouth in elementary school I have been a self proclaimed feminist and female rights advocate. I even opened my grade 8 yearly speech quoting Helen Reddy with, "I am strong, I am invincible, I am woman." I then went on to boast about all the important influential women in history and why I thought they were amazing... Some things never change.

Leymah has a divine way of providing hope, where there is very little. Not only in the girls she empowers on a personal basis, but also to those she speaks to publicly around the world. She is an extraordinary woman who truly sets an example of just how powerful women can be. Leymah, with many other strong willed and courageous women, worked long and hard to bring peace to Liberia after a fourteen year civil war. They got a promise out of Liberia's former president Charles Taylor for him to attend peace conferences in Ghana and even staged a sit in until a resolution was found. This group of women fearlessly fighting for peace, with peace, also helped the first female Liberian head of state come into power, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. These women were active contributors to bringing peace to Liberia.

In the link above, Leymah speaks about the young women who worked together to create a voters registration in a rural area of Liberia and asked each candidate what they would do for the women if they were in office. She gives real examples of how brave and intelligent these women are and how we really CAN make a difference! I get excited when I hear these stories. They give me hope when I am being told things like "Rach, you'll never be able to CHANGE the way things are there. Its just the way things are!" Maybe I, on my own, wont be able to change the world and solve all of our problems - a tough pill to swallow, but I'll take it. However, if I can help to empower and enable women, youth, and men to stand up and make changes that we see are indeed possible, then, well, all of this cramming and frustration would have all been worth it.

Monday 26 March 2012

Done With Procrastination

Hello friends!! For those of you who know me, I get straight to the point. Here it is: I'm afraid of blogging. I constantly fear saying something that may be politically incorrect, uneducated, or insulting to those who may not agree with some of the things I have to say. I know I don't have all the answers, I know I can be, at times, hypocritical, and I am also very aware that I have a big old mouth that never fails to get me into trouble. Oh, and let's be real - my grammar sucks. So for those viewing I ask that you read with a light heart and know I mean no harm. Also, I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions so please feel more than encouraged to comment!

So this will be my outlet where I will be talking about all of the exciting new advancements being made on my upcoming trip, which will potentially include: bursts of excitement, breakdowns and fears, and also anything and everything that I may come across that sparks an interest in my heart so great that I feel obligated to post it here... they may be few and far between.

Cheers!