Service Learning Field Program Report #2

Service Report #2

Operation Hunger, South Africa

            Gazing out the bus window as I passed lush vineyards and sprawling suburbs, it was hard to believe that hunger or malnutrition were a big problem in Cape Town.  Even in my reflection of my visit to a township a few days prior I couldn't remember any obvious signs of hunger.  On that bus trip to my service visit, I didn't yet know that I had a big day ahead of me where I would learn more about the community and myself as well as come to understand that hunger isn't something that is necessarily advertised or recognizable.  Now I know that hunger is easy to overlook and a complex issue to address.  Reflecting on my experience volunteering with Operation Hunger, I am glad that I started my education in the issue of hunger in South Africa and that I helped implement sustainable solutions in the community I visited.

            After the bus ride through the countryside and suburbs, we arrived at the township where we would volunteer with Operation Hunger.  The regional manager of the Western Cape met with us in a high school auditorium to explain about the organization and what we would be doing that day.   I was excited to hear that much of the organizations framework had sustainability built in.  In the past, Operation Hunger had simply handed out food, but now, they focused on staring community gardens, monitoring health, and income generation.  That day we had a choice of cooking in the community soup kitchen, starting a community garden, or assisting the Semester at Sea media team document the experience.  I chose to work in the gardens because I felt that I would be most useful there.  I have a lot of past gardening experience and I already knew that I could do it from a wheelchair.  After lunch, the Semester at Sea and Operation Hunger team came back together to carry out a bi-annual data collection of key health markers in the childhood population.  Again we had a choice of what our jobs would be and I chose to work at the station where the kids would be weighted.  My friend Josh or I would help the child onto the scale, he would read out the weight, and I would write that value on the child's lower arm.  With all of us working at our stations, we were finished far quicker than I would have believed possible.  I had some extra time to watch the kids receive a special meal from the soup kitchen and play with some of the younger ones.   

            During the monotonous, yet satisfying gardening work, I had time to begin my reflection of how this experience would fit into my larger experience in the International Service Learning class.  The reading that stood out most as pertaining to the Operation Hunger service visit was the section on levels of leadership and the seven Cs.  This model divided experiences into the individual level, the group level, and the community level.  I felt that components of all of these contributed to making this service visit a rewarding and useful trip. 

            In the category where I was looking at myself, the individual, the sub-category "consciousness of self" stood out to me as being particularly relevant.  Consciousness of self means to be aware of my frame of mind and my motivations.  It is something this class has challenged me to think about in depth.  Previously I would answer the question, "why do you participate in service?" with a simple, "because I like to."  Now I see how plain and uninteresting that response is.  Probing deeper into my motivations, I start to be able to better articulate the "why" of what I do.  In the context of this trip, I find service visits to be highly education and an opportunity for cultural immersion I may not otherwise be offered.  I sometimes have trouble initiating conversations with people and a service visit would do that difficult task for me.  I also gain a strong sense of satisfaction when I work on a service project.  For example, it was very satisfying to see a ratty patch of earth turn into the beginnings of a community garden during the morning of the Operation Hunger.  I think it may be part of my culture that I enjoy working on and completing projects.  What I see as my primary motivation for participating in service was beautifully illustrated in the community I was working with as ubuntu; "I am who I am because of who we all are."  I want to be a part of setting the tone for a global community where we all give and need help.

            I was also a member of a group made up of Semester at Sea and Operation Hunger affiliates.  In this group level of leadership, collaboration and having a common purpose were very important.  The Semester at Sea field office and Operation Hunger had years of collaborating to best suit each organizations needs.  On the day of the service trip, we collaborated within our group on how to best go about doing our tasks whether it was how to turn soil or how to organize dozens of energetic kids.  We all were brought together and encouraged by the common pursuit of addressing the problem of malnutrition in this community. 

            The final category of community always seems to be the most difficult area of service.  This is the area where everything comes together, where I, as an individual am working in a cohesive group and together we join with the community that we serve.  This highlights the idea of citizenship, particularly world citizenship in this case.  As we sowed seeds with a new parent or mingled with the kids after their meal, the definition of "we" included all of us.  We were all confronted with the issue of malnutrition and we all wanted it addressed.   

Service Learning Field Program Report #1

International Service Learning

Service Report #1

Orphanage for Kids with Disabilities, Brazil

 

            Today I went on a service trip to visit with orphaned kids who had neurological disabilities and accompany them on an outing to the zoo.  It was my first service visit on this voyage so I was a little unsure of what to expect.  When we got to the orphanage, I was very excited to see that their logo had kids in wheelchairs on it.  Being disabled myself, I was really excited to visit with people like me.  Walking into the orphanage was a little intimidating as none of us really knew what we were supposed to be doing.  For me, the ice was broken when one of the young adults came up to me motioning for a hug and help up the stairs.  It felt really good to be able to help someone else up stairs because I have needed help doing the same thing from time to time.  It was a reflection of how sometimes we all need help and sometimes we all have the opportunity to give help (and often it is at the same time).  From there I was much more relaxed and excited about the experience. 

   At first, communication with the kids was a little difficult as many of them were non-verbal and if they did speak, it was only in Portuguese.  I was amazed at how quickly I accommodated to that.  Most of the residents as the orphanage really enjoyed human contact whether it be holding hands, tickling feet, or giving hugs.  That requires no common language, or maybe it in itself is a kind of language.  I learned quickly by trial and error what the kids found interesting and enjoyable.  For example, peek-a-boo was met with a bored stare, but blowing bubbles was received with smiles and even squeals of laughter from some of the younger kids. 

   The zoo visit was more hectic than meaningful to me.  It was pouring for most of the time, and many of the students pushing the wheelchairs weren't aware of how to do that properly.  I was in a wheelchair myself and tried to show people how to get over bumps and ditches when pushing a chair.  I felt more like a burden than anything as I required some help myself to navigate the inaccessible parts of the zoo.  When it came time to for students to help the kids eat lunch, I was stuck in a traffic jam of wheelchairs and was able to offer little help.  I spent my time observing others' interaction and taking pictures.  The rest of the zoo visit passed by too quickly and soon we were waving goodbye to the kids' bus as it pulled away front he zoo. 

    I noticed that I differed from some of my fellow students in that many of them felt very sad during and after the orphanage visit.  I heard people talking later at dinner and one girl said, "I just can't get over how sad it was!"  This surprised me because I didn't really get that impression from the field program at all.  I think this goes back to a difference in perspective.  For others, I suppose they think it is sad if someone is disabled.  To me, that is like pitying someone who has a certain hair color.  It doesn't make sense.  This way of thinking reminded me of how the workbook talked about prejudices getting in the way of service.  If someone sees being disabled as being sad and needing to be fixed, his or her service job is already done.  They can't "fix" the disabilities so they don't bother.  However, if one looks instead at the kids' lives and what makes them sad or happy, much could be discovered and achieved.  This made certain things in my own life make more sense.  So many people pity me even as I am on this trip of a lifetime.  I now have a better idea of why.  Many see me as having something that needs to be fixed.  The fact that they can't fix me elicits various emotions of sadness, fear, frustration and pity.

   In carrying out my own observations, the residents seemed to not be wanting in many ways.  I noticed that many of the kids and young adults enjoyed human contact, and the staff was always there to reciprocate.  Though I did find it sad that the kids' parents had abandoned them, I was happy to see that the kids were certainly not lacking in love.  The workers there appeared to genuinely love the kids and cared for them as parents would.  The facility was very clean and inviting with warm colors and smiling faces.  The kids had friendly blue uniforms and the staff saw to practices of good hygiene.  The only thing I noticed as a potential area of improvement was more things to play with.  I didn't see any playground or many toys available. If I were to suggest future work with this group, I would suggest discussing enrichment ideas with the staff and helping to implement those ideas.  Furthermore, education about disability and support for parents of disabled kids would be an important addition to the community.  Most, if not all of the kids were abandoned by their parents, which is what I see as the fundamental social problem here.  Perhaps if people were more educated and tolerant of disabilities and if parents had support to care for their disabled children, this wouldn't happen as often. 

   This was a very meaningful educational experience for me.  I learned more about how disabilities were viewed by my peers and by people in Brazil.  I thought critically about what could actually address the problem of disabled kids being abandoned and realized that our group did almost nothing to help with that.  Still, it was an enjoyable experience and perhaps a good basis for future involvement in similar issues.  

Global Studies Essay

I want to point out that these observations are only based on my limited experience and do not reflect my views (or reality) of a country as a whole.  

Fear and Integration

At my home University, I took an adaptive physical activity class and was surprised that we spent the majority of the quarter learning how to "interact with the disabled."  We read booklets, role-played situations, and discussed politically correct ways to speak to them.  I kept thinking, is talking to me really that complicated?  On one hand, I knew I was different.  I had pills instead of a cup of coffee in the morning, took naps instead of playing intramurals, and moved around on wheels instead of legs.  On the other hand, a booklet?!  After that class and five years of being disabled in the U.S., I had a good idea of what my culture taught people to think of people like me (for better or worse).  I was eager to learn how other cultures tackled this complex issue.  On this voyage around the world, I was able to observe different attitudes towards those with disabilities that different cultures fostered.  I saw a wide range of sentiments from fear to full inclusion, as well as the possible contexts for these different attitudes.

            My first experience came in Brazil.  There were several military personal outside the zoo entrance in Manaus.  Well trained, precisely tailored, and carrying guns larger than a toddler, the last emotion I expected to see in their usual steely gaze was fear.  However, that was exactly what I saw in their faces as our bus full of kids with disabilities pulled up to the zoo entrance.   Their previous stoic demeanor faltered.  They exchanged meaningful looks and fidgeted at their posts.  As our group of kids, students, and adults with all ranges of ability entered the zoo, the guards seemed to want to look in any other direction.  Once inside the zoo, I saw more evidence of this same fear in other guests.  Mothers grabbed their toddlers and sped off in opposite directions from our trajectory.  Pre-teens snuck wide-eyed looks at us from behind walls.  I looked around at our group, and saw a young woman cuddling a shabby stuffed bunny, a boy fiddling with a string tied to his wheelchair, a volunteer helping a girl eat a popsicle.  I wondered what people found so terrifying in this tranquil scene.

            To me, the answer to the source of the fear was simply being different, representing an unknown.  Most people enjoy a certain amount of familiarity and comfort.  On this trip, I know that I have experienced fear as I pushed myself past my usual comfort zone.  For the guards and guests at the zoo, seeing a large group of people with disabilities was probably just as foreign and frightening to them as the first time I tried bargaining at a market.  I learned from one of the volunteers at the home for kids with disabilities that inclusion and disability education were not common practices in Brazil.  She said that if a child had a physical disability, he or she was educated at the center instead of integrated into the public schools.  If a child had a developmental or mental disability, he or she would not receive any education.  In addition, the lack of social programs to educate and aid families of kids with disabilities often led to those families abandoning their disabled children.  In many ways, those with disabilities were separated from society as infants and remained apart from the general population their whole lives.  This separation would indeed create a recipe for stigma, othering, and fear because the general population would only know about people with disabilities as outsiders.

            An excellent foil to my experience at the zoo came a few weeks later in a South African township.  I was on another service visit, this time to volunteer for Operation Hunger.  I was apprehensive as I learned that I would be gardening as part of the project.  I doubted my ability to make a significant contribution and worried that the community I was serving may think I was too fragile to help.  After all, many attempts I made to volunteer in my community at home were blocked due to my disability interfering with the goal of the project.  My trepidation lessened as we entered the township and I saw something unique.  There were people with disabilities quite visible in the community.  I saw a mother walking with her developmentally disabled daughter to school and an elderly amputee working (not begging) at a meat shop.   A young man with profound brain damage was among the community members who greeted our group when we toured the soup kitchen.   I had rarely seen such inclusion in any society.  When it came time for the gardening to begin, I was only asked once if I needed any help before being left to my work.  Part way through, one of our guides exclaimed over my raking technique and asked me to show him how to do it.  In that experience I was accepted into a community, even as a stranger, in a way I never had before.  The people from the township who were overseeing the gardening project acknowledged my potential need for assistance, but, more importantly, focused on my ability to contribute to the project.  I believe the full integration I saw and experienced in the township community comes from the idea of Ubuntu, "I am what I am because of who we all are."   In this philosophy, every person has his or her responsibilities and place in society.  If one person were excluded, the whole society would suffer because it would not be able to realize its full potential. 

            These experiences are just two examples of attitudes towards people with disabilities out of a much larger collection I have experienced.  When looking for the reason behind the sentiment, I found a number of personal, religious, cultural, philosophical, and educational causes.  Many times, my experience was a result of a complex mix of those.  I look forward to taking the knowledge and confidence I gained from researching for this paper back home to my everyday life. 

Japan! Day 4

As Winnie The Pooh would say, it was a blustery day out.  That kind of impeded the goal of the day which was to see the beauty of Mt. Fuji and Hakone.  Instead we used our imagination of how pretty it would look if we could see it.  haha  I still had a fun day though.

It was an early one, with my alarm going off at 5:45 am.  Then a quick breakfast and a dash to the bus by 6:45.  (I realize there was an hour of time in there, but for some reason I am always in a rush in the mornings.)  

The drive to Mt. Fuji was dismal, but relaxing.  I divided my time between listening to the guide talk about the area and listening to podcasts about neuroscience (don't judge.  Everyone has to have a hobby.)  :0P  

Mt. Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan and seems like it is quite beautiful based on the pictures I have seen of it.  We were lucky that the roads up to half way up the mountain were open despite the fact that it was snowing and around 20 degrees F out.  Many of us, including myself were very much not prepared for this cold weather. 

 Luckily, I don't have temperature sensation in my feet so the fact that I was wearing flip flops actually didn't matter.  I even tested if I could feel cold by sticking my foot in a snow bank.  Nada.  After a while of walking around my feet went completely numb and kind of hurt, but other than that the cold was no problem.  For my feet that is.  The rest of my was quite cold.  

One of the highlights of the stop was to go to a Shinto temple for the goddess for good marriage.  Since one of my most bestest friends has recently gotten married I made a special wish just for them.  :0)  My guide showed me the proper way of doing it which goes: toss the coin in the well, bow twice, clap twice, close your eyes, fold your hands and say a prayer, bow twice, and clap twice more. 

The rest of the brief half hour stop (worst part about tours is you always feel hurried) I spent trying to stay warm in the gift stores.  I didn't want to buy anything (way too expensive!) so I kept myself busy by taking pictures of some of the cute/strange items for sale.

This wasn't for sale, but I didn't know where else to put this picture.  haha  I want my toilets with seat warmers back!  

Now that is an epic cheese stick!

From what I can tell, these were plastic baby heads, like off of a doll.  You could lift up their skull and inside was something that looked like Vaseline and lotion mixed together.  It it hadn't been $30, I would have definitely bought one.  haha

Is this golden poo?  Awesome!

This mysterious object was in the port but also didn't know where else to stick this picture.  

I got back to the bus early and my ship dad and I built snowmen.  :0)  It was too bad my hands don't share the immunity to temperature that my feet do!  Still, it was very fun making my first snowman in 5+ years!

Then back on the bus to the Mt. Fuji museum.  Again we only had a half an hour which I spent watching a dance and music performance.

We got our lunches on the bus and I took a picture.  EVen though I think those lunches were usually pretty disgusting, I know I will miss the sight of them when this voyage is over.

I could tell Hakone would be beautiful when the sun was out and visibility was better, but as it was, things all kind of looked pretty dreary.  I did have fun riding on some gondolas and boat across the lake.  The fog even cleared enough for a few minutes for me to get some pictures of the shore.  :0)  

Then a bus drive back and I had to say goodbye to land for a long time.  I think we have 10 or 11 days at sea now which will be full of the mountain of homework I haven't had time for over the last month.  I'm actually looking forward to the rest and being able to just hang out with people.  There still may be one or two people I know on this ship who I have not converted to Whovians.  :0P

We got a send off from port by an excellent band playing a mashup of every American song I can think of (disney, christmas, patriotic, etc.)

How 'bout them Giants? (Aka Japan Day 3, Part 3)

All this and it was only 3:00 in the afternoon.  We got in line for tickets early (they start being sold at 3:30) to make sure we would get good seats.  And oh yes we got good seats.  But more on that later.  

    Then it was back to the dollar store so they could get some origami paper and to the ship to drop off our awesome science stuff.  We also changed into our baseball outfits we had bought and I broke out the face paint.  Finding a place to eat dinner was a challenge.  The places nearby had personal pizzas for $20 and the prices went up from there.  We found a tiny, French-ish style cafe with only $15 hamburgers so we ate there.  I ordered a hot dog and despite it's dodgy look, it was quite good.  Plus, there was a cat in the cafe.  So it was a good choice.

    Theeeeeeeen GAME TIME!  We knew our seats were good when we bought them, but we found out they were AMAZING once we got to the stadium.  I believe we were in the fifth row right near first base!  I don't think I have ever been that close outside of a Spring Training game!   It was so fun to be at such a familiar type of event in such a different setting.  I tried to note all the differences like how there were cheerleaders and bands at the games in Japan, they play for 10 innings (I think), and there are no garlic fries (sad face.)  One thing that was the same was that the Giants were playing!  (As the visiting team)  Same colors and everything!  And like their World Series Champ sister team in the States, they skunked the competition!  Hannah and Courtney were making fun of me because I cheered whenever either team got a hit or made a play.  

    I think it was around the third inning when it started raining, but it didn't really appear to be a problem.  It was warm enough that we were content to get completely soaking wet and still enjoy the game.  I got bored and started reading though...

Just kidding.  (That is a joke with my family so I just took the picture and then went back to game watching.)  We also had a really good conversation about spirituality and life changing experiences and philosophy and stuff.  Because of course that's what you do at a baseball game in Japan in the pouring rain.  

It was a very exciting evening that we ended with a hot chocolate party back on the ship.  :0)  I was a little giddy about being up past my usual sleep time and thought I would show them how street I am.