Up Close and Personal

I’ve been living in Poroto for over a year now, and with each passing day I find myself more immersed in the daily life of our community. Upon arriving in Poroto, I was quickly able to identify the typical adolescent issues- teen pregnancy, domestic violence, alcoholism, etc. However, during the first few months these community problems were evident only through simple observation or second-hand stories. The initial months were full of sensory-overload; new experiences, a foreign language, constant realizations, and cultural clashes. I was thrown into a completely foreign environment and did my best to embrace it, but I’m just now beginning to fully process it all. During the last 13+ months I’ve been able to form meaningful relationships with the members of my community and come to better understand the dynamic of their daily life. Poroto has become home, and simultaneously the intricacies of town politics have revealed themselves. I feel that I’ve earned the trust and friendship of many community members, which grants me greater access into the realm of local life.

Although I relish the deepening relationship with my town, this connection has opened my eyes to deeply personal troubles I was previously shielded from. It is one thing to recognize that alcoholism, teen pregnancy, malnutrition, and domestic abuse exists in your town, but it is an entirely different experience to witness the repercussions first-hand on people you’ve come to care deeply about. In the last several weeks there have been various encounters where I’ve been shocked by the information disclosed to me. It can be disheartening to realize how difficult it is to change deeply engrained societal problems. The cyclical nature of teen pregnancy, alcoholism, or even poverty as a whole can be daunting, especially when these issues are no longer statistics, but the faces of your neighbors, friends, and students.

Peace Corps is an incredibly unique opportunity because we are given the chance to live among a foreign community for two years, truly sharing in every aspect of their lives. Peace Corps volunteers understand how large-scale problems affect individual community members, offering powerful insight into development work in the most basic form. Unlike many other development agencies, Peace Corps volunteers are able to see and experience their community’s advancements, challenges, and downfalls first hand. Although seeing personal struggles first-hand is incredible opportunity, it can also be overwhelming and discouraging. Although we are living among our community members, we are still outsiders and our scope of assistance and true understanding will always be limited.

As these deeply-rooted societal problems become personal I think we have two choices. At times it can be tempting to resign to the power of poverty, corruption, or limited opportunities and grow cynical about the ability for change or to make even a minimal impact. However, we also have the option to embrace the situations we are given, taking advantage of our unique position as foreigners living as locals, and utilize the relationships we’ve formed and the trust we’ve gained to incite even the smallest positive changes in the community around us.