It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with how much needs sorting out here. Gill and I visited two more schools in the last three days, just outside of Gondar. There comes a point where there isn’t much point in visiting schools unless you are actually working with them as there’s so much to feel depressed about.

We’ve been at the college for nearly two weeks now, and it’s been a microcosm of the whole VSO experience. Some of the time has been spent floundering around thinking “what am I supposed to be doing here?” and then there have been moments of clarity. The documentation from VSO is often a bit vague about the exact nature of the placement, or simply incorrect, and you have to accept that you will initially spend a lot of time figuring out how you can be useful, and how the expectations of your colleagues, employer and VSO match your own. Technically I have taken over from Janice, the previous VSO vol here in the Cluster Unit who finished and returned home to the UK in June, but I’ve realized that my role will be a bit different from hers. Janice, along with Meleshew and Mulugeta, achieved an amazing amount in only one academic year. However, the main thrust of the unit now is to expand the number of schools it is supporting and develop what has already been started. A lot of what Janice did was “setting up” type work, whereas a lot of the work I need to do, I think, is “advising and supporting” type work. The Cluster Unit staff and I met yesterday and agreed that really I’m needed to provide advice while the Unit staff continue their work. This suits me fine as I think this is how I can be most useful.

“Sustainability” is a much-used word by VSO, and is a cornerstone of the VSO approach. In practice what this means is that all VSO vols are supposed to have at least one Ethiopian counterpart who you work alongside with and train/develop/support so that they take over once the VSO vol leaves. In theory no further VSO support is needed as the trained counterpart(s) continues and develops the work so that it is fully owned, run and developed by Ethiopians. I fully support and agree with this idea. My experience of development so far is that it often has the effect of encouraging dependency so that local people become passive recipients. I’ve seen lots of evidence of this dependency culture, from complete strangers of all ages (many of whom are obviously in employment and have money) asking me for money in the streets, to the attitude of many professional colleagues who openly expect me to tell them what to do so they can unquestioningly do it. Another symptom is the idea of a Per Diem, a payment for attending training, workshops or meetings. At home if you are expected to travel anywhere for a meeting you would be paid reasonable expenses on production of a receipt. Here you are given a fixed amount of cash regardless of actual expenses e.g. if I have to go to Addis on VSO business, VSO give me 50 birr in cash for each full day in Addis to spend on my food. If I only spend 20 birr on food then I’ve pocketed 30 birr. Giving Per Diems is a lot less hassle to the giver than collecting receipts and paying expenses, but it has the nasty effect of encouraging people to push for Per Diem payments for attending almost any event and to push for bigger payments. Sometimes it gets utterly ridiculous and is simply a form of corruption. The People In Need NGO in Awassa had constant problems when they ran courses for school teachers. For each day of training they agreed to pay perhaps 45 birr (the course itself was free) but the teachers would complain and demand more. In Awassa I, even as a ferenji, would struggle to spend 45 birr on food in one day! Sadly many people here will not attend free training and development opportunities unless they are paid a Per Diem i.e. effectively a bribe. At Debub College, to get a school director from a school only 20 minutes WALK away to attend a meeting would cost the college more than 50 birr! At home as a teacher I’d often have to fight to receive training opportunities, here few people are interested unless they are paid to do it, even when the training is free and is in school time.