Disappointment

As far as I know, every Peace Corps Volunteer goes through a time in which they are disappointed. They may be disappointed that no one showed up to a meeting, that a community goes back on their word, the municipality doesn’t support a project, no one is interested in the project proposal, etc. I went through various phases and moments of disappointment. However, I remember my first most intense disappointment. I was working in a specific community (pictured here), and my boss had come and visited; we went and visited the community. This community was made up of about 20 families, most of whom lived in houses made out of straw mats woven together; they had no bathrooms except for one community latrine built 17 years before, and their only source of water was a public pump and a public well. When I visited the community the first time, I thought, “Now this is why I joined Peace Corps.” When my boss visited the community he asked what my project plans were. I said I would like to do educational sessions to improve hygiene habits, build bathrooms and work with the municipality to improve the water situation. Jorge asked if community members had been attending meetings; I said, “not really.” We had had about 4 or 5 meetings, and only 2 or 3 people would show up to the meetings. Jorge told me I should consider working in a different community, because they did not have the desire to change their community, and there are many other people who are willing to work to improve their living situation. I was appalled by the thought on giving up on a community just because they presented a challenge; I was sure that I could change their minds. I was actually really bothered by the conversation. But after trying to hold a couple more meetings, Mery (my counterpart) told the community members that if they truly wanted to do some form of project, they had to come find me at the municipality with a meeting time set up, and we would come. No representative of the community ever showed up at the municipality. I was very disappointed; I thought I had failed the community—that I should have pushed harder. Being someone encouraging development requires a lot of persistence, but there also arrives a point in which others have to take initiative—it has to be a team effort. I was disappointed this community didn’t want to form a team and disappointed that I didn’t have the perseverance to keep trying to get them to work with me. But at the same time, it was a good lesson in that we can’t change everyone’s minds, but we can definitely work with the people who are ready to make changes—that’s where we have to start.