Hey all,

i came in with the intention of updating on my radio PSA project with my students. its going well, but there is something else on my mind.

Ok. So. I am a member of our Volunteer Advisory Committee (VAC). The committee's job is to communicate with admin on behalf of volunteers, and vice versa. We give feedback on policy, hold admin responsible to follow through with things they say they will do, keep tabs on our transit house and other things that affect PCVs.

The recent frustration is the new administration. We received a new country director last November, and I know part of the reason he was sent was to get our program back in line with PC Washington regulations (little did i know, we were way out there in terms of policy, and enforcing policy). Our last CD, while he was happy to drop whatever he was doing in order to sit and talk with a PCV about anything, he didn't follow policies very closely, and didn't punish people who broke them. So, it has been a difficult set of changes. They have written numerous policies, and consequences for breaking them. Difficult as it is, I know this is all well and good. The problem is, our new CD isn't as interested in having personal relationships with PCVs as the old one was. He doesn't seem to think its his job. Come with a concern, and he will direct you elsewhere. Moreover, he doesn't seek/value PCV input when it is appropriate to seek it. I know that in terms of some policies, its all Washington's doing, and we have little room for input. But others, such as the direction of our program in development, its appropriate and necessary to seek PCV input on these decisions. We are the ones actually working on the ground. Most of us have been here longer than him, and better know the culture and history of development in the country.
Recently our CD decided that his new focus for our program is to push grant-writing. He has organized a series of new trainings and committees, etc. Hmm. Well, if someone is going to write a grant, I would want them to do it well, and so trainings seem like a good step. My concern is that PUSHING grant-writing might make people think that getting money for things ought to be our focus. It's not. It's absolutely %100 ok to be a PCV and never bring any money to a project. Money is not a solution to the problem, and TOO MUCH development money has harmed Gambia in many ways by shaping bad habits. Not enough money is not the problem. There is plenty of money in this country, just backward priorities. People can find money to spend over $40 for a single outfit, or over $500 for a party, but can't seem to find the money to send their kids to school. Here, as in other places in the developing world, people have really capitalized on what foreigners will pay for and what they will not. Foreigners like to pay for hospitals, ARVs, schools and school fees, roads, and food relief. Foreigners will not pay for big parties, fancy clothes, or mobile phones. So people spend their own money on the fun stuff, then knock on our door for the rest. It only exacerbates the problem if we're just another group of people throwing money around. If our CD spent some time living outside the capital he would know that. If we tell him our opinions, he simply replies "duly noted" and continues what he was doing.

The money thing is a big frustration. I know that some amount of money is necessary for development efforts. I just liked that we were different from other organizations in that we focused on skill-building. Money gets in the way of that because people still get stuff, and don't have to change any of their habits or learn new skills. When that money runs out, more will come. it always does. Why learn new skills when you can get paid to just stay the same? And the fact that my opinion (and those of my peers) is not valued by someone whose job it is to support me is a real pisser.

thats my rant for the day. duly noted.