I'm realizing how important each of us has (and will) become for this country. Many schools have less than a dozen teachers, and very few qualified to teach English. All told, the Ministry of Education says that they need 6000 teachers in Mozambique. Though 36 is an impressive number by PC/MOZ standards, it's less than 1% of the need. Hardly seems adequate.
Even so, our role is magnified in MOZ as we are expected to play an active part in the community. No matter which site I end up at, I will have another volunteer there with me, if not living in the same house. Together, we will be expected by PC and the school to transfer our knowledge to the community - meaning that 2 people will be expected to contribute the passion and information of 100x as many people. We will have to fill gaps we didn't know existed. It's intimidating to be in this situation, especially since we're not sure we should be doing this in the first place (well, some of us).
Walking into another country and telling them you can do things better than they've been doing them is a very touchy subject. It's the plight of the development worker, and no matter how much time and effort one puts in, there's always the risk of never being accepted.
And, on the other hand, if we are accepted into the community and there are hundreds of times more communities that need our help, how can we but make a dent? How can we feel that we've simply done our part and leave somebody else to continue our work elsewhere? How can we not feel frustration at Americans who bathe every day in the fruits of privilege (my metaphors have gone downhill as well:) )? Or even at the Mozambicans who do nothing about their situation except accepting their plight as a poor nation. There aren't many of the latter, but it's hard not to get worked up when meeting them.
Basically, I feel like there is an inordinate amount of pressure on those of us who may still be coming to terms with putting our lives on hold - so much pressure, that perspective is lost. Taking a couple steps back, it's plain to see that giving two years of our best efforts is but a drop in the bucket for what we can do for this country. It becomes not a question of staying, but a question of opportunities here in Africa. And, importantly, relaying this feeling to our loved ones.
Peace
John
