Development, Liberation, & Intentions

I have not been able to keep up to date over the past week or so, but I will attempt to do a rapid catch up before I return home.

Flowers for Mama Gilma

There were some key lessons and reminders that I learned during my week with Casita Copan, and talking with Emily (The Director), Carin (Local Artist, and former director of Arte Accion), and the rest of the students. First of all, good intentions really, really are not enough. This likely won’t be much of a surprise for those of you who know me fairly well, but there are just far too many examples of philanthropic “do-gooders” causing so much more harm than good. Some obvious examples are the gringos who help with the other orphanage in town. A little bit of research, and questioning around the community would prove very quickly that it is operated in an entirely unethical manner, that is hurting the children. The next most obvious example is the plethora of “mission brigades” or short-term mission groups who have built an incredible amount of hospitals and buildings, only to leave with no plan or structure for sustainability. A local Honduras estimate is that of 1500 medical buildings built by foreign groups only 700 of them are actually operating. What a waste! This could be avoided so easily if some simple questions were asked before such projects happened. In other words, asking a specific community what it is they need or prioritize . . . and how they envision those needs being provided in the future by people in their community.
It is also important to question your own motivations and reasons for doing a project. Do they conflict with what is best for the community? A good thing to remember is that we often teach what we need to learn most. (Dr. Gabor Mate)

Perhaps even more problematic is the discourse of “development.” For example in Copan there are three families with power and wealth, and in Honduras 10 families hold virtually all of the political and economic power. If this power structure context is not understood any kind of attempt at economic development is likely to be nullified. The power remains in the hands of few, and equality is temporary at best.

Another thing that Emily talked about at Casita Copan is the trouble with organizations that are dependent on a constant flow of foreign volunteer groups. The process of attachment and separation that many children have to go through creates many relational issues in their future. It is for this reason that foreign groups are not a regular occurrence at Casita Copan, and when people like our group do show up, the schedule doesn’t change. The daily routines remain the same which allows the children to have a certain amount of stability in their life. It was evident that the children understood we were only there temporarily, and although they engaged with us they did not become attached.  

For my own personal faith, it has becoming strikingly clear that any talk of “gospel” or good news separated from liberation of oppression (all kinds) is simply not good news. I cannot offer “freedom” without showing real and active compassion for the poor and oppressed. To be clear, I am not saying that the gospel is simply another form of social revolution (that will never redeem our brokenness), but rather it is simply far too easy to ignore the real economic oppression, structural violence, and emotional coercion that are at play in many people’s lives. A faith that talks about “sin” (or oppression) as only something abstract that we need to be “saved” from by repeating a simple verse has forgotten the message of Jesus. This may sound a bit harsh for some, but this is the same reason religious leaders felt their power threatened by the radical message that the meek shall inherit the Kingdom. “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom.”  (Matt 19:24)

Ps. If you want consistent updates please check out the students group blog. dam-happenings.blogspot.ca