Spectators of Misery?
Misery is fascinating. An acquaintance of mine made a brief trip to Belfast at the height of the Troubles, and came back telling her friends: ‘I couldn’t get over the number of people using crutches or sticks – all knee-capped, you know.’ Everyone gasped and wanted to know more. Misery provides a thrill, but only of course when you are in a safe and comfortable place yourself.I am often asked whether short-term international volunteering cultivates a tourist attitude towards the misery of the host community. Over the past eight years I have been actively involved in selecting and forming groups of young adults for work in our short-term (three weeks) projects in Colombia, Zambia and Kingston, Jamaica. Typically, a group has ten members, balanced in gender, maturity and skills. As an organiser in Slí Eile, which is an Irish Jesuit formation programme for young adults between the ages of 18 and 35, I guarantee that such ‘tourism’ has no place among us.
One of the best compliments I have received was to hear Slí Eile volunteers described as ‘professional volunteers working alongside professional survivors’. ‘Professional’ cuts out the notion that the volunteers have a lazy tour in the sun, while it emphasises that each volunteer gives of their best, in a non-condescending way, and is open to sharing their lives and faith with their hosts.
Of course the volunteers see lots of misery, but our formation programme helps them to make sense of it. They come face to face with the unjust structures which condemn families to lifelong poverty. They struggle with the mystery of a God who allows people to live in sub-human conditions. They pray to understand how the Good News of Jesus can make any sense to people who are the unwanted of the earth.
In the debriefing sessions after returning home, the volunteers make comments such as the following:
‘I thought I knew what life was all about. Now I’m full of questions about it. The people we met are closer to the Gospels than we are at home. I had all kinds of assumptions of how these people might be, but they’re just like us, or we’re just like them, but they seem more real, more alive than us. I see now that everything we have is a blessing, but we’ve taken it all for granted. I’m now noticing God’s presence more in everyday life.’
Why Volunteer?
Young people may begin the process of volunteering for all sorts of reasons: to see the world, to help people less fortunate than themselves, to do good while having plenty of craic with their peers. Again, some may be in search of themselves and hope that immersion in the lives of others will tell them who they really are and what they want to be, and so forth. These young adults come as they are, and our task is to channel their energy and goodness into the Gospel call to loving service; we want them to be present to those in need just as Jesus was, in his place and time.
Early on we tell them that ours is not a charity model in which we head out to do good for our hosts; we emphasise the idea of partnership – the poor must invite us in among themselves, so that by putting their ideas and our skills and energy together, something worthwhile may get done. But beyond getting a hall built, a house painted or a religion class well taught, there is the deeper enrichment of bonding, of mutual appreciation and respect, and – let us use the word – of mutual love. The partnership model with which we challenge the intending volunteers stresses the importance of the human dimension over that of efficiency. The underlying goal of the various projects is community – being with the others rather than doing good to them.
Most volunteers find themselves on a steep learning curve. They may have wanted a practical taster of social spirituality, of faith in action, but they discover that the divine and the human merge; spirituality is incarnated. Grace worksmysteriously and deeply when good people meet one another; if our young volunteers are open to it, they will learn hugely, they will be humbled and challenged in all sorts of ways. Their hearts will be opened to the surprising ways in which God is at work in the situations they encounter. The poor and ‘uneducated’ hosts teach the volunteers about life in a way that privilege and relative affluence could never do.
They savour too the hidden workings of grace in the messiness of human life.
‘A little boy came to us one evening and said his grandfather wanted us to come. He brought us to a place where we were the only whites for miles, and into a little shack where the old man lay. ‘Pray with me’ the man said. We started to pray as best we could; we sang a few hymns. We didn’t know what else to do then. The old man lay there, crying in the silence. Then he said ‘Sing me more songs’ so we did. He smiled and blessed himself and thanked us. Then some of us started crying…’
Orientation
The Slí Eile Volunteer Orientation takes a full nine months. It enables young adults to focus toward their placement abroad, to develop the skills of working with others and to explore hard questions around issues of faith and social justice. The approach is theological, pastoral and deeply human. I have had the privilege of developing the programme over the past eight years. This I did by first visiting each country and listening to the needs of the people, because, like Jesus, volunteers are going out to serve and not to be served, to meet our hosts’ needs rather than to satisfy our own curiosity.
The programme is based on Ignatian Spirituality, with its focus on finding God in all things. This appeals to the volunteers and creates a positive energy which evokes in them a deeper appreciation of their Christian faith. It challenges them to reach out to others and to be authentic in doing so. The safe and non-judgemental environment of the programme helps them to face personal issues of faith, relationships, life-goals. For many, honest reflection with their peers can be new experiences; they are surprised and reassured to learn that they are not alone in their confusion and doubts. They learn to pray. On a very practical level, they raise the money for their project and their travel.
Conversion of Heart
Daily prayer, faith-based reflection, personal journalling and sharing are key dynamics during the three week immersion in the project. The volunteers use a book of prayers and reflections which they composed during the Orientation. If a priest is available, the Eucharist will be celebrated. All sorts of emotions surface.
What Volunteers Say
“We are working in St Ann’s Summer School in the Jesuit parish in downtown Kingston, with over 130 children, aged 5-13 years: they are very welcoming, curious about us. They have learned already to survive the poverty and violence of their neighbourhood. As we get to know the local people, a sense of awe develops; what keeps them going? How can they be cheerful and friendly in such awful conditions? The heat (30c) here in Kingston drains our energy; smells of burned solid fuel and dry grass greet you throughout the small backyards. Many families are living in one small makeshift room without water or electricity; they block off roads with debris to claim their authority on their area. Fr Peter McIsaac S.J. tells stories of the gun battles between gangs and at times it all seems surreal. He encourages us to be present to people and to be open to their gifts, to allow God to grace us over the next three weeks.”
– Volunteer in Kingston, Jamaica
“There is a spirit of social change here in Bogota at the moment, the entire country came to a standstill yesterday with mass rallies, marches, concerts and demonstrations for peace in every city, town and village in Colombia… It gives hope that conditions may improve! Our focus remains on the children…we are praying for strength and openness in our last week that we may give all we have to give and receive all we can …..”
– Volunteer in Bogota, Colombia
“We’re working hard, and we’re happy, despite the conditions. The enthusiasm and the buzz around the kitchen table are infectious. In ‘The Home of Hope’ - the project for street boys, we’re greeted by many smiling faces. Fr Pete Henriot S.J. spoke about many different aspects of Zambia: he talked about ‘living with the tensions’ and helped us to understand the projects that we were working in. It’s an amazing city: God smiles at us through people’s faces here …”
– Volunteer in Lusaka, Zambia