After 3 weeks here, I can safely say that I’ve learned as much in this little time as I learned in most of my last 2 years in graduate school. It’s a different type of learning, however…more “real life” learning. During my short time here, I’ve been exposed to enough to form the opinion that any Global Health program that doesn’t require its students to spend significant time overseas in a developing country working on public health projects is a MAJORLY crappy program.
I’ve come to the conclusion that all those fun little in-class activities and million page papers are pretty much worth jack out in the field. Sure they helped increase my knowledge of certain subject matter and improved my critical thinking skills, but out in the field, it’s back to the very basics and all this theory stuff that looks pretty on paper within the confines of an air-conditioned classroom is practically useless.
When I came to Madagascar, I had no idea what to expect as far as the national disaster management policy. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that at the national level, they actually have a fairly solid structure in place for disaster management. Had I not been thrown out into the bush my first days here I would probably still be sitting in our project headquarters here in Ambositra thinking to myself “so, what’s the problem here? There’s already a legit structure in place…” However, the second you step into the field, it becomes quite clear that there is a massive disconnect between what government officials at the national and regional levels say and what is actually done at the commune or fokontany (village) levels. When Charly and I travelled to the rural communes and talked with the Maires, while most knew the disaster preparedness system that was mandated by the government, no one in the communes or fokontany actually adopted that system and practiced it.
Much of that disconnect is due to the fact that the communes and fokontany are so remote and the roads to get in and out are horrible and sometimes not even passable with a vehicle (some villages it would take us 3-4 hours of practically 4-wheeling to get to the village, then 3-4 hours back). There is no electricity and there is little, if any, running water. People are more concerned about survival each and every day than they are about what might happen a week, a month, or even a year from now. I can’t say I blame them really, I’m sure I too would probably be focused more on the immediate future than long-term if I were in that situation.
Road to Vohilava Commune
Another factor is the way of thinking that is ingrained in many of the people. I don’t know if it comes from years of French colonialism or being used to socialism, but people seem content to wait for the government to come in and build solid buildings for them that can withstand high winds and flooding. They seem fine with letting the government take care of their problems instead of taking control of the situation and doing something about it themselves. It’s a way of thinking I cannot comprehend and it can be extremely frustrating to deal with. But that’s the reality of the situation and that’s the current mindset that we have to deal with and try to change.
Some homes on the way to Vohilava
Some school kids in Vohilava.
The first step will be to convince village leaders that it is good to prepare for disasters and bad to simply rely on the government to swoop in and take care of them (particularly with the volatility and widespread corruption of the current government that came to power essentially through a coup). This will be the most difficult part of this project. Once we get these leaders on board, we can help them set up plans specific to their fokontany, we can provide them basic materials to set up an early warning system, our infrastructure teams can help them build proper storm drains and shore up dams so their crops aren’t ruined every time a cyclone passes through. There is a lot we can do to help, it just all depends on how successful we are at altering their way of thinking and teaching them how to utilize their wealth of natural resources to build stronger communities. The first step is simply helping them see the benefits of taking charge of their lives and not relying on others to come in and do it for them.
The situation sounds quite dire, and it is, but one good thing is that we’ve been getting positive feedback from the Maires we’ve talked with. Additionally, many of the Malagasy people seem willing to take part in this effort. We aren't meeting the resistance you sometimes run up against when trying to implement new public health programs in a developing country. I believe a lot of this has to do with ADRA's approach to development. We don't just come in making demands and telling people this is what they have to do. We spent 2 months (prior to my arrival) sending agents into the field, talking with locals and ascertaining what the needs truly were (as they might be different than what we perceive the needs to be). Only after that did we finalize our plan and present it to commune maires and village leaders. After we received their support of our proposed plan did we proceed to attempt to implement this plan.
This approach is critical when working in the developing world. Us westerners like to come in with all the answers to everything. :) But that's not the way to gain people's support and implement successful, sustainable development programs. You first need to understand the needs in the region, the barriers to meeting those needs, the cultural mindset, and a million other things before you dive in with your perfect little programs.
Meeting with the Maire of Vohilava. Those benchs were fun to sit on for 2 hours!
Anyway, the maires and village leaders do seem interested in working with us to set up disaster preparedness and response plans. I think they want to do strengthen their communities but they just have no idea how. They need someone to help show them how to properly set up these types of systems and since the national government is not in any shape to do this, hopefully they will see the opportunity we are presenting to them and take advantage of the help we are able to offer. Should they choose to work with us (and it looks like they will), there definitely is hope, it’s just going to be a very long road. However, there absolutely is hope that things can improve here. This makes me happy for several reasons: that what I am doing is not in total vain as well as the fact that the Malagasy people on the whole are great people, they definitely deserve to have stronger communities and have a better quality of life.
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