Community Working Placement in the

¶ … Community Working Placement in the Ivory Coast To progress in life it is advantageous to have a well rounded personality, developed from a range of different types of experience which can supplement and support academic learning and achievement. Gaining exposure to differing environments, cultures and world views can be very useful in expanding the mind and increasing social and communications skills. These are benefits that can be realized when undertaking extracurricular activities and work placements.

A valuable experience has been undertaking 20 days of community service in Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) undertaken in May 2012 while studying in Switzerland. Cote d'Ivoire is a country located in West Africa. Although the country had been one of the more prosperous of the area, it remains very poor by western standards. This poverty has been exacerbated by a number of political challenges which have caused direct and indirect damage as a result of the civil war which started in 2003 and then post election fighting following the 2010 election.

The unrest had a knock in effect ion the economy and increased the level of poverty as many foreign investors withdrew from the area, as well as the cost incurred directly though damage. While reading the about the country one may realize the difficulties that many citizens face in a country where there has been such unrest and poverty where the GDP is less than $1,600 per person, it is difficult to fully comprehend the impact until seeing the problems first hand.

Travelling to the country in May 2012 to undertake community work was extremely humbling. At first there is shock emotional and cultural. The shock is felt as an emotional response after observing the conditions in which people are living and existing, and accepting as normal. It may be explained as a short and sharp reality check; the everyday worries of the western world immediately become irrelevant when faced with communities where there is a lack of all the living standards taken for granted in the developed.

Basic needs, such as food and water and access to healthcare, remain unmet. The culture continues after the initial emotional response to the plight of the people, including the difficulties which exist in communicating and relating to the people. To undertake community work it is essential that one is able to effectively communicate with those one is trying to help, as well as colleagues. The official language of the Ivory Cost is French.

Having learned and spoken French gives one an advantage but speaking it to native speakers can be challenging. The need to communicate in French resulted in a significant increased in French language skills which became more prolific and developed over the twenty day period. By the end of the placement both taking and thinking was taking place in French and confidence as well as effective communication was achieved.

However, when looking at the achievements and the tasks undertaken, the evolution of French language skills was a minor, but very necessary issue. The everyday interactions with the community included a number of tasks. Working in the community included getting to know the community and gaining their trust. As part of this we would visit different houses to talk to people, inviting them to the different activities which where being organized for them.

The more we saw people and more acclimatized one became with the local culture and values the easier the communications became and trust increased. The visits would also include the distribution of basic food items to help alleviate the food shortages and associated hunger in the area. The country is one that has a high reliance on agriculture and subsistence farming, but with the recent civil war the poverty is exacerbated with a need to recover.

Recovery is needed for both production and the access to funds that may be realized from the sale of agricultural goods. This is an ongoing issue which one is constantly aware of when handing out food, knowing it is a short-term solution to a long-term problem. However other projects do exist which are seeking to address this issues. The visits also involve medical checks, with doctors and healthcare workers visiting people in their homes to help with medical issues to carry out checks and to give advice.

This was also a learning experience, seeing the range of medical issues which are directly associated with poverty and the living conditions, and the lack of knowledge which is the direct result of a poor level of education. Three days of every week were spent working at a Mother Theresa of Calcutta orphanage. This was the most emotional experience, as all the children had different stories concerning their presence at the orphanage.

Children has lost parents due to the civil war and later fighting, to illnesses where they witnessed slow and painful deaths, and some who had been lost or abandoned and it was not known if their parents were still alive. This was a sad place, children had seen as felt things that one would not wish on any child, and an environment where all those who worked sought to try and increase the quality of life for the children with very few resources.

The conditions were shocking and work undertaken included cleaning the orphanage, helping with feeding the children and playing with.