I have been told, "You do good work, like a man." This is the greatest compliment you can get as a woman from a rural Congolese man, and as much as it was nice and validated my ability to manage the base, it reminds me of the disheartened state of women in many developing nations.
At the risk of sounding stereotypically sentimental, I bring you this post. Please enjoy.
I have spent many of my life's hours writing, reading, debating and theorizing development strategies, womens' empowerment, community involvement, grassroots initiatives, signing petitions... blah, blah, blah... you get the picture. Being in Ango is a remarkable culmination of all my ideals fleshed out, tested and challenged.
Here in Ango, I get to actually do what I have talked about for years.
When we were recruiting staff for Ango's base, most of our technical positions had to be filled by Congolese staff from Bunia, as Ango has few to no skilled workers. The highest education level available here is about the US equivalent of high school, and as much as you can learn without sufficient books, facilities and no electricity. The staff I have from Ango all work as guards and kitchen staff.
Charlotte is changing that.
Last month, our kitchen staff was over stretched with a full base to feed and look after, so we took on Charlotte as a temporary worker. Her work cooking, cleaning and moping floors was so good, so detailed and so consistent that it stood out - not only to me, but to the others who stay in the base.
When I first came to Ango, I knew we had to hire an office assistant. I wanted to wait until I got into the swing of things and our team here gelled a bit before finding someone. I knew I wanted to hire a local young woman who had finished school. You see, if a family here can afford to send a child to school, they will most likely send a son.
NGOs, such as ours, spend a lot of time telling people to send their daughters to school. Reports have shown that when the mother of the household is educated, her children are healthier (this is for too many reasons to go into here, so just trust me on it for now), however, from the perspective of a population like the one found in Ango, there is no use in educating your girls if they are just going to get married and take care of the family. Educated boys, on the other hand, could get a job and support not only their immediate family, but extended as well.
So, when I saw Charlotte's work and learned that she had finished school, I knew exactly who our new office assistant would be. I also knew we had a lot of work ahead of us.
You see, Charlotte has never had electricity in her house, much less touched a computer.
I had a hard time knowing where to start...
"This is how you turn it on."
"This is the plug that gives it current to work."
"This is a mouse." - That one got a big smile out of her.
"This is a desk top."
"These are icons."
"This is google. Do you know what the internet is? No? Have you heard of it? No? OK. That's OK."
"Double click this. Oh, no, you only need to single click that. Why? I actually don't know why."
All things considered, she is doing brilliantly.
When I asked her if she knew what Medair was doing here, or what we did in general, she answered, "No." Other that being a clear sign we need to work on our community sensitizing, I realized it was time she read our ever-exciting project proposals.
I asked her thoughts after she read them. She said she thought what Medair was doing was good, that the heath, water, sanitation and hygiene projects were very much needed and that her family lived in the "vulnerable population". It must be strange to read such a report on your home, family, friends and neighbors. To see labels put on you, your way of life analyzed and broken down into NGO jargon...
Charlotte is now a part of the change that is happening in her community. She is now working along side Alphonse, Didier and I in project support with our fingers in every bit of the work that is done here.
I don't know. This just got me really excited. Seeing her every day in the office (she is actually currently sharing my desk), watching as each day she learns more, noticing that she is already changing the way other locals see her and themselves... it is amazing. I feel so humbled to be a part of it all.
I do not want to change the culture here. I think it is pretty great how it is. I do, though, want to change how women are perceived. That they can give more than children to society, that they can get a good job if they work hard and well, that they can and do work just as well as any man... and sometimes even better.
