Defining Development.

What is development? Progress? Access to basic needs: clean water, food? Or does it encompass much more: freedom from oppression, education, industrialism, and democracy? VSO sees development as a complex and continuous process that empowers people and communities to fight disadvantage, take control of their future and fulfill their potential. Human rights, including an education, a livelihood, health care, a safe environment, a say in the future and equal access to opportunity, are all vital for development. The United Nations Development Programme, www.undp.org has an alternate definition which looks at indicators such as education, health and wealth as a measure of human development. The UNDP uses the Human Development Index (HDI) to measure a country’s developmental progress over time. According to the 2007-2008 HDI report, Papua New Guinea ranked 145 with the United States ranking 12th. Iceland ranked highest (1) and Sierra Leone lowest (177).


VSO Canada provides two pre-departure trainings to educate its volunteers about VSO’s development goals and how volunteers’ work contributes to development. Last week I traveled to Ottawa, Canada’s capital city, for VSO’s Preparing for Change (PFC) and Skills for Working in Development (SkWID) trainings. During the PFC training we explored issues involving adapting to living and working in a new environment. We also examined the history of development, disadvantage, empowerment, debt and globalization. I learned a lot during the course, but I gained the most from my interactions with other volunteers. It felt great to be surrounded by like-minded people. I would like to take this time to note the diversity among VSO volunteers. Our group consisted of a university graduate searching to find a purpose for graduate school, the recently retired man wanting days filled with adventure and discovery, an international development worker, a deaf-blind interpreter, a couple who met while volunteering years ago, and other professionals like myself wanting to experience the world. Whether we were a journalist, an accountant, a mental health worker, an IT specialist, or a school psychologist, we all came together because we shared a common goal.

During the week between my trainings my dear friend Ben, whom I met while in Zambia and whom I reconnected with while attending VSO’s assessment day in Vancouver last November, flew to Ottawa to keep me company. We toured the Parliament building including the Senate, Library, House of Commons, and the Peace Tower. We walked across the bridge into Quebec to the Museum of Civilization to see an exhibition on Peru. Ben insisted that a visit to Ottawa would not be the same if I didn’t eat poutine and beaver tail. For my fellow Americans, poutine is a Canadian dish of french fries soaked in brown gravy topped with cheese curds and it’s very delicious. The avalanche beaver tail (also known as elephant ears) we ate was topped with cream cheese icing and skor chocolate bar. Both were equally fat free of course. Our adventure included a day trip to Montreal, mainly to visit Jazz a dear friend I met during the PFC training. We walked through Vieux-Port de Montreal, Old Port of Montreal and up Mount Royal to overlook the city. Back in Ottawa we celebrated Robbie Burns day with friends at their cottage outside the city. We ate the traditional Scottish dish haggis, drank single and double malt scotch, and Ben recited a Robbie Burns poem in his best Scottish accent. After a week filled with adventure, Ben and I said our good-bye after a long walk on the beautiful Rideau Canal.

I was able to practice my skills in patience and flexibility when my original offer in Wewak with the non-profit organization Callan National Unit was cancelled and considered not viable. Fortunately, I was given another offer in PNG the same day. The positions are remarkably similar. Instead of Inclusive Education Specialist, my title has shifted to Inclusive Education Officer. The major differences between the offers are the location, I will now live and work in Madang, and the employer, I will be working for Madang Provincial Education Department. Yet again, this is just an offer and I must wait for employer acceptance. Hopefully I can get my visa in time for my March 10th arrival date.