Closing roads is a common occurance in cities and towns everywhere during momentous occassions. I think it is more about the planning and communication to the masses that makes it different. The inefficiency can be overwhelming at times. The reliance on rumor and conjecture astounding. One of many moments where the difficulties involved in solving problems here becomes so clear and infuriating.
It is easy to feel useless. But I have been feeling hopeful in the face of some projects my class is working on. We've been writing plays about the environment- adapted fairy tales of the funny sort- and are planning a fundraising dinner. I've worked through most of my personal issues about the kind of giving we can do and am happy with our final solution- clean water.
I really get stuck on the issue of sustainability and am trying to accept that we are just one fifth grade class. It is unlikely we will change the world. It is with this contradictory mindset that I set out for the PO and some art in the village with the boys.
I admit to wishing I was more into the development side of things as I listened to my friend discussing programs, objectives and plans on the way out there. That ever increasing desire to be involved, to do something.
The boys were eager participants and came equipped with rulers, notepads and pencils. Some had already been drawing and were proud to show what they had done. We did a few excercises together and, with the help of a translator, I tried to explain the purpose of our group. I think it will require some compromise, as all good partnerships do. They are expecting a drawing teacher and I want to move them into drawing expression and self reflection.
We warmed up by drawing our names, with style, adding things we like. They were very precise, using rulers and taking their time. We managed to share and discuss a bit before moving on to create a collage of shapes. Getting them to think metaphorically or liberally will be a challenge I think. I want to show them it is not just the precise and perfect that makes good art. So I see I might use a bit of art instruction after all- lessons in technique and a bit of history. It will make us both happy.
As I stood there, watching these boys so focused on their drawing, I felt surreal. For one moment, I could not believe it was me there, doing this thing I have dreamed of for so long. It was a moment of success, a possibility realized. It's a beautiful village.
The program is quite intense. Educators rotate shifts staying with the kids for several nights. They are given a school program in the morning that includes French and reading. They are working on their alphabet, and I can see that while the boys joke about what they do not know, they are eager to learn.
It was only as we began the trek home that I was able to reflect on my position. Traffic on a Saturday evening in Kinshasa allows for plenty of reflection. I began to realize that as an educator of children of means, sons and daughters of policy makers and aid workers, I have the opportunity to illuminate the social and environmental plagues of Africa, inspire interest, and steer our study towards the exploration of solutions. Maybe this is how change is accomplished. Certainly it is through education. And by bridging the needy with the need nots maybe they will learn to make the connection on their own and continue the drive for improvement.
It is one of those far reaching goals that will come so far in the future it's intangible. Unguarenteed. But real change must be systemic. It must be a change in thinking. And it could take an entire generation to do that. On the optomistic side.
For now, I'll try to find comfort in these intangible rewards and calm my overreaching desire to be involved in immediate solutions. Sustainable things require time and patience. And a lot of faith. There's some kind of rumor out there that I have all these qualities, but I'm not sure I believe it.
