Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thankful for: Safe Programming, Community Outcomes, Excellent Academics, A Few Features of the US

This Thanksgiving Day I chose to take the opportunity to reflect upon what I'm thankful for in Amizade and more broadly. As you'll see, I'm thankful for:


  1. Amizade's 15-year Safe Programming Record
  2. Countless exceptional community efforts completed around the world
  3. The way in which global service-learning enhances student learning 
Mostly, I'm thankful for the people around the world who make Amizade work: the community partners, the volunteers ranging in age from the early teens to late eighties, Amizade donors and foundation partners, Amizade staff, faculty members, and interns. Of course, I'm thankful for my friends and family and all the support they offer Amizade and me personally. And - I took this Thanksgiving Day to reflect upon what I'm thankful for in the United States of America. Here's an extended version of the essay published today in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

From Abroad: Thankful for the American Experience


A friend from Singapore once told me that if he ever got the chance to visit the United States he wanted to have an American breakfast at a truck stop at 4am. His vision struck me. He managed to gather into one wish the unique American approaches to breakfast (waffles), work (where else so many 24-hour truck stops and diners?), and wide-open spaces.


Thanksgiving is also uniquely American, and this year, as I connect American volunteers with community development projects around the world and prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving with my American Students and their Bolivian host families, I’m taking a moment to consider what I’m thankful for in The United States of America. Thankfully, we have:  


Water: The vast majority of citizens of the United States can turn on tap water in their homes and drink it, unfiltered. This is a daily miracle.  Nearly 1 billion people around the world (that’s more than three times the population of the United States) do not have access to safe water. And the vast majority of people who do have access to safe water do not have it flowing directly into their homes on a continuous basis.


Public  Education: The United States invests in people. The effort to provide accessible and strong public education is nearly as old as the country. That effort has been unequal, unfair, and subject to continuous contestation. And it should be an area of argument – it is where we make or break the future of individuals and the future of the country. Looking around the world, the message is crystal clear: countries that invest in their people flourish economically, support democracy, and respect freedoms.


Democracy: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...” Putting this radical idea to paper in 1776 put many lives at risk, and as the ideal was expanded to include women, African Americans and other minorities, more lives were risked, more advances were made for human freedom and human dignity, and our American Experiment grew ever closer to the ideals it espoused. Blood is spilled everyday over precisely what democracy is and who has the right to define it. We do well to remember that our foundational understanding of democracy derives from the radical idea that each individual has inalienable rights, and “among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”   


Work Ethic: In fairness, people work hard all around the world. That was one of my first impressions of Africa – men and women were moving crops, hauling water, exerting themselves continuously. And there are doubtlessly millions of lazy Americans. But – our culture is associated with obsessive and excessive concern with work. We’ve even produced a substantial self-help literature on how to escape the work obsession, how to achieve better balance, how to escape the ostensibly unhealthy hyper-focus on achieving the American dream. Reality check: One doesn’t take every weekend and holiday off and fly to the moon. One doesn’t take a siesta everyday and also play a primary role in creating the financial architecture of the world as we know it. One doesn’t sleep early and wake late and support the steady flow of ideals of freedom and democracy around the world. Hard work yields dividends. For those who don’t agree, see “Contemporary China.”  


Timeliness: Scandinavians and Germans are slightly more obsessive about time than Americans, but much of the world tends to be far more laidback. Timeliness helps us get things done (see work ethic).  


Freedom and Open Spaces: I’m well aware that there is a substantial subset of the population that complains that “The American West,” “The Frontier,” “Freedom,” and the “Rural American Dream” are all in one way or another mere mythologies. And to anyone in that subset I say, stop reading, go west, and experience your beautiful country. Breathe in Dwight D. Eisenhower’s internationally unique achievement – The American Highway System. Zip past acres upon acres of sunflowers in Kansas; grab a six-pack and hang out with rural Nebraskan kids floating up and down on the backs of oil derricks, drinking and talking about eight-man-football as the sun drops below the plains. Then, somewhere in the massive and intimidating Rockies, throw a tent and sleeping bags into the back of a pickup and drive a full day over dirt roads deep into one of our numerous National Forests to camp. American Freedom is fundamentally intertwined with the freedom to move and to experience; to see and to learn on your own. Now go.   


Diversity: There is always room for improvement; there is always need to become better at accepting one another, but America has accomplished a functioning multicultural democracy to an extent unmatched elsewhere and unparalleled in history. This is a beautiful thing. It’s also an effective thing – history shows us that strong societies are adept at incorporating and adapting ideas from other cultures. I was in Washington DC several years ago on July 4th. The National Symphony Orchestra was playing, Tony Danza was emceeing, the capitol building was in the background, and all around me this multicultural menagerie was celebrating the same set of ideals, the same shared purposes and commitments to individual human dignity. It was radical and beautiful and becomes more diverse and therefore more dynamic every single day.   


Volunteer Military: The United States Military is the strongest and most capable military in the history of the world. This is due to many factors, but one primary among them is the decision a generation ago to ensure that our service men and women would only be enlisting voluntarily. Our strength and power sometimes makes us a target – and our volunteers step forward to put their lives at risk, anonymously. War – and the effort to create stability that follows it – is horrible and profoundly complicated. That should never prevent us from honoring the men and women who volunteer to keep us safe, who serve under the direction of our elected officials, who prevented further genocide in Bosnia, who toppled the oppressive Taliban regime, and who continue to risk their lives on behalf of American Security and American Ideals.  


Pancakes, Waffles, Hamburgers, French Fries and Fusion Food: For a country so rich in history, we’re poor in our own unique culinary traditions. But the sweet, syrup-topped, simple and affordable breakfast foods – pancakes and waffles – those are all ours. Yum. And burgers – made with ground beef, which for some inexplicable reason is hard to recreate elsewhere around the world – are our own form of magic. Most interesting is that in America one can experience the fine foods and culinary traditions from almost any corner of the world, anytime.


Incentives for Honesty: James Madison laid this out for us in The Federalist Papers, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary… In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men … you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” Throughout our history, we’ve continued to work at that project – the project that is simultaneously enabling human freedoms to the fullest extent possible while also acknowledging human vices and limitations – in government or in the private sector. I see too much corruption and graft in my work around the world, but it’s helpful to remember that good behavior is built with institutional reform over time. The lending crisis has shown us another area where we need to better control excessive impulses while still providing people opportunity to access credit; that is a current project. Our institutions have and should continue to be built with an eye toward simultaneously expanding individual freedoms and incentivizing honest practice and fair play.    


Philanthropy: Yes, other developed countries spend a greater portion of their budgets on social welfare at home and abroad. But Americans give from their own pockets in a way that is not matched elsewhere. Individual involvement tends to lead to greater oversight, which has led to the development of thousands of dynamic and responsive nonprofit organizations and social sector movements. It has also led to a hyper-production of small and mid-size global nonprofit organizations like the one I direct. While organizations of this size are not able to address issues for everyone in a country or region, they are more deeply connected with individuals in the specific communities where they work. Their size permits them to be more responsive to community members’ real lives and concerns.  


Desire: Humans have desire, so I of course cannot claim that emotion as uniquely American. Yet I will suggest that the American Story, the American Mythology, the American Dream and American Ideals are tied up with the notion that we can do better, again, and again and again. We dare not relax until the project is complete. We continue to build a better society. We work to redress the excesses of past generations. We are now concerned with ensuring our society becomes sustainable. We need to cooperate with other countries and people around the world – to ensure greater access to inalienable rights for every man, woman, and child. We continue to want to improve the human experience – and we continue to work toward the goal of expanding individual human freedoms in our own country and around the world.


For these things and for so much more, we should be profoundly thankful. Throughout world history, few peoples have broadly had the opportunity to experience long lives. Few peoples have had the opportunity to voice and hear internal debate in the run up to free and fair elections. No other peoples have had the opportunity to hop on a motorcycle and cruise across a continent on smooth and well-manicured roads, stopping at truck stops along the way at any hour of the day or night for fast, efficient service and savory food. I am thankful to be an American in the world today.  We have a lot of problems. We have a lot of disagreements. We create injustices. We attempt to redress them. We mess up and sometimes we fail. Today, pause. Be thankful for the broad contours of this American reality. Tomorrow, let’s get back to work making it continuously better. 

 

Thankful for: The Way Service-Learning Courses Enhance Understanding and Deepen Learning

For a full decade, and for five years through cooperation with West Virginia University, Amizade has been offering global service-learning courses around the world. The courses' key features are rigorous academics, intercultural immersion and exchange, community-driven service, reflective inquiry, and exploration of global citizenship. Importantly, all of the courses and instructors are approved through a thorough process developed in cooperation with WVU, to ensure that every course offered through the partnership meets the standards of a Research 1 University in the United States. Amizade's many years of experience in this area have provided it with the opportunity to offer global service-learning professional development conferences and to present on the topic at universities and events as diverse as Bucknell University, Cornell University, Winthrop University, the conferences of The American Political Science Association, The International Service-Learning Research Organization, and Vermont Campus Compact.   What is perhaps most interesting, about Amizade-WVU global service-learning courses, however, is how they enhance student learning.

Here in Bolivia, on one of our semester programs that integrate study of international development with history, language, and local service placements, one of my students recently suggested that what she most hoped to communicate about her experience was - she searched for the phrase ..... its complexity. The other students agreed: it's one thing to study international development and Latin American History on campus. In the safety of their campus classrooms and individual experiences, students can easily embrace or reject the a-new-world-is-possible musings of Jeffrey Sachs or development-aid-is-dead diatribes of William Easterly. But when those arguments are considered in light of the stark reality of living and working in a developing country - their certainties disappear in the face of continuously challenging and contradictory information.

Students have the opportunity - and deep challenge - to understand theoretical arguments in the context of inescapable empirical realities. It leaves them with truths that are in many ways less certain, less comfortable, and far more realistic. In addition to providing this challenging academic experience, global service-learning courses provide students with a clear and unmistakable opportunity to make a difference. Amizade-WVU programs also dispel the myth that our knowledge, our actions, and our ethics are held in separable spheres. Global service-learning demonstrates the inextricably intertwined nature of what we do, what we believe, and how we understand the world.

I'm thankful for the challenges and deep understanding global service-learning catalyzes in students and faculty. For a brief, volunteer-produced video on our service-learning semesters, click below.

   

Thankful for: 15 Years of Amizade Volunteers Making a Difference

Fifteen years ago, Dan Weiss organized a group of friends for a volunteer project in the Brazilian Amazon. The group saw things they had never before imagined and made a difference in a way they hadn't previously thought possible. When he returned to the United States, Dan founded Amizade - using the Portuguese word for friendship - to provide people who want to make a difference around the world with the opportunity to do so through volunteer programs. Since that time, Amizade has connected thousands of volunteers with community-driven service programs around the world - and also expanded to offer academically rigorous service-learning programs in cooperation with West Virginia University. Volunteers and students join our programs from across the country and around the world, and collectively, they have:


  • Amizade volunteers have completed all of these things and much, much more, and I'm thankful to be part of these Amizade efforts! 

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Thankful for: 15 Years of Safe Programming

For 15 years, Amizade has been safely connecting individuals with volunteer and service-learning programming around the world. We have been able to do so safely and securely throughout that 15-year period, because


  • we've followed the best practices articulated by NAFSA: The Association of International Educators,
  • we've been rigorous in our review of sites, potential homestay families, and service partners,
  • we've stayed up to date with State Department and local news media whenever there are concerns in an area, and, 
  • most importantly, because we hire, work with, and trust our very competent and committed local site coordinators. 
Amizade is very thankful for the competent and committed people with whom we work around the world, and the role they have played in ensuring volunteer and student safety, consistently, for 15 years. 

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Oregon Man to Volunteer Around the World with Amizade

A fantasy volunteer globe-trotting community-driven service expedition that few have imagined and even fewer have completed. Lee Spangler, a 63-year-old retired individual who keeps a daily photo blog in his hometown of Bend, Oregon, is only about a month away from embarking on a three-month journey during which he will serve and learn with Amizade in Brazil, Bolivia, Tanzania, Jamaica, and the Navajo Nation. Lee has already started blogging in preparation for his experience, mentioning the beautiful Pico Iyer travel essay that's part of the Amizade Journal.

Lee's journey also demonstrates a substantial commitment to giving one's time, energy, and resources in efforts to support communities worldwide. That commitment brings to mind another striking and important essay featured in the Amizade Journal, Princeton Philosopher Peter Singer's "What Should a Billionaire Give -  and What Should You?"

Check out Lee's Amizade Adventure blog and sign-in as a follower. It's sure to be an adventuresome several months!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Amizade Places 3rd in Rural Development Contest; Development Successes & Inspiration



Thank you all for voting! Amizade placed third in the November Africa Rural Connect contest for innovation in rural development efforts. 


Two articles appeared in the New York Times today that are directly related to Amizade success and rationale. One featured a region in Afghanistan that is seeing development success at rates unparalleled elsewhere in the country: "If there are lessons to be drawn from the still tentative successes here, they are that small projects often work best, that the consent and participation of local people are essential and that even baby steps take years." In other words, the successes in this region suggest what Amizade has found to be true over the past 15 years - development efforts that are locally-driven are the development efforts most likely to meet with success. 


On another page, Nicholas Kristof profiled a woman who went from being a Cattle herder in Zimbabwe to now pursuing a PhD at Western Michigan University. As Kristof correctly pointed out, while this woman's story is inspiring and unique, her kind of talent and drive are not in short supply in Africa; what is in short supply is opportunity. That is why Amizade continues to work to support access to water, to education, and to opportunity. 


Thank you all for helping us bring more water access to rural Africa by voting in the online contest!  

Friday, November 13, 2009

2nd Annual Amizade Exposed Photo Contest!




Amizade is thrilled to announce the 
2nd Annual Amizade Exposed Photo Contest


Showcase your photography skills and share your Amizade experiences! Prizes will be awarded to top winner of each of the following categories: 
  1. Landscape/Beauty,
  2. Cultural Immersion and Global Citizenship, and 
  3. Black & White.  
Photo entries may also be used in the 2010 Amizade Calendar, on the Amizade Website, or in other outreach materials!


Official Rules:



1. All returning Amizade Global-Service Learning students, volunteers, group leaders and faculty are encouraged to enter the Second Annual Amizade Exposed Photo Contest.



2. Images must have been photographed by an Amizade program participant, leader, faculty member, community member, or community partner.



3. Applicants agree to allow the use of their photo submission for Amizade Global Service-Learning & Volunteer Program promotional purposes and in related Amizade publications.



4. The top five winners will be displayed in West Virginia University’s Cultural & Arts Center.  Top prizes will be awarded in each category.



5. Photos will be judged by an open vote between December 23 and January 10, 2010 from all who access the Gallery on Amizade’s website ( http://www.amizade.org/ ) on the basis of their content and quality.



6. Winners will be announced on January 15, 2009.

Submission Guidelines:

There will be three categories in which participants may compete:


    1. Landscape & Beauty
    2. Cultural Immersion & Global Citizenship
    3. Black & White
Individuals may submit up to three (3) photos in each category.



Photos must be submitted by December 15, 2009 at midnight.


Voting will take place through the Amizade website between December 23 and January 10, 2010.

Any submissions missing required information may be eliminated from the competition.



Winners will receive recognition, a unique prize and a set of greeting cards hand-painted by individuals at Amizade’s Community Partner Site in Cochabamba, Bolivia, The Ceoli Center for People with Disabilities.



To enter:


Email a digital copy of the photo(s) to: anna@amizade.org



Include your name, email address, location/date of photo, and a brief description of the photo (no more than 3 sentences). 



We look forward to seeing your photos! 


Monday, November 9, 2009

Extremely Affordable Study Abroad: Amizade Cooperates with WVU to Ensure Access to Global Service-Learning for Everyone

Yes, it is true, it is possible to study abroad affordably - sometimes for even less than the cost of studying on campus. We want to make global service-learning as affordable and accessible as possible for all students. Though our semester costs are already below the average of semester college costs for out-of-state students, we have also worked to provide special opportunities for WVU and WV students. 

Amizade is pleased to be nearing its 5th year of partnership with West Virginia University, through which we cooperate to offer academically-rigorous, community-based, safe and secure global service-learning semesters and break programs

Three global service-learning semesters are currently offered through the partnership, and special scholarship opportunities apply to WVU students! Additionally, WV Promise Scholarships may be applied. Opportunities include: 
Amizade anticipates continuing to offer these semester programs in cooperation with WVU indefinitely. 

According to the College Board, the average semester cost of college attendance for an out-of-state student at a public institution this academic year is $13,370, including room, board and costs. ALL of the Amizade-WVU semester programs cost less than that national average. Additionally, through the Amizade-WVU partnership: 
  • Amizade guarantees special scholarships for WVU students participating in semester programs. The minimum scholarship provided to a WVU student entering a semester programs is $1,270. 
  • WV Promise Scholarship Funding may be applied to semester programs.  
Amizade is committed to making global service-learning as affordable and accessible as possible. 

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Helps in History Class


Populism. This is an important concept in the study of Latin American History, particularly during the last 60 years. The term is debated, but it tends to indicate a President who has a charismatic linkage with the people, who continuously suggests that he (it has always been a him, so far) knows the will of "the people" and he will exercise it against or in spite of "the elites" - usually at whatever cost.

President Chavez didn't actually come to class to talk with us about populism, but he was in Cochabamba for a recent ALBA summit. One of the Bolivia Semester Students, Bridget Winstanley, happened to be in the crowd as he left the conference hotel. He was connecting with the crowd when he saw her and said, in Spanish, "Where are you from?" Bridget froze. Chavez's rhetoric, and for that matter Bolivian President Evo Morales' rhetoric, has definitely not been US-friendly. He tried again, "You, white woman, where are you from?" Still frozen, Bridget was nudged into action by a few friends.

Los Estados Unidos - The United States, she told him. Ah! "Viva Los Estados Unidos! - Long Live the United States!" Chavez said. And then, in English, he exclaimed, "You are my sister!"


Connecting with the people, whoever the people are, whatever the rhetoric necessary, and not necessarily with any deep or consistent ideology - that's also populism, as President Chavez demonstrated. As it happened he was on the way to a rally in Cochabamba's stadium, where he proceeded to denounce the United States and refer to Americans as gorillas. Bridget blogs about this meeting and other class- and experience-related questions, including a recent post wrestling with the meaning of indigenous identity - on Bridget-in-Bolivia.  Actually several of the students are posting interesting blogs, all of which are linked on the right, along with the blog of Amizade Santarem, Brazil Long-Term Volunteer Coordinators Val Hess and Nathan Darity.


Val recently made an interesting, speculative post about the encroachment of soy farming into the Brazilian Amazon. Her post was extremely prescient as the New York Times seemed to follow her with a related, very popular, and controversial editorial by a livestock rancher suggesting local meat consumption may have less of an impact on the environment than vegetarianism, because of the environmental impact of soy farming.

Thank you, Mr. Chavez, for providing us with such a vivid example of populist political behavior. Thank you, Bridget and Val, for such interesting posts, and for the related pictures I linked from your sites.