Into the Real World

I have a passion for people.  And I have a strong belief in the equality of value of all people.  I realize the world is not fair, far from it, but I believe that part of humankind’s task is to make it as fair as possible.  I believe this will result in maximal benefit for all of us.  These views and interests are likely the source of my interest in human rights and my desire to become involved in the protection and promotion of these.  For the level at which I wish to become involved however, more than passion and interest are required.  Knowledge and understanding are also required.  But how to gain this knowledge and understanding?  Academic training is a good start.  It is useful to be able to think, to analyze, to be able to see a broader picture and note potential influencing factors, all of which higher level education purports to instill.  Basic background knowledge in areas such as history, human behaviour, political and legal structures, and so forth, is also important, serving as a framework for the actualities of our current existence and behaviours.  But this is not enough.  At least not for me.  I am a hands on type of individual, and I like to be involved in existence, not observing and commenting from afar.  I want to be able to have an effect - to change, to influence - and to be able to do this, whether it is on the ground with a grass roots organization or from further removed in a policy formation or research role, I need to have at least some awareness of the realities of situations as they are experienced by those of concern.  I need to have the capability to be able to conceptualize to some minimal capacity the difficulties faced by the individuals of concern as they struggle against or within their restrictions, by those who are trying to help them, and by those who are restricting them.  This requires some real life understanding  and can not be acquired through reading or academic learning.  I am therefore over the next few years embarking on a quest to broaden my applied understanding of various environments.  I anticipate this will be quite the adventure for me, I hope that I will be able to be as much benefit to those I am visiting as they will be to me.

My first excursion into this real life arena will be starting in just under seven weeks with a five month sojourn with my son first to Thailand and then to India.  Our first stop will be in Thai Mueang, Thailand, a small town along the Andaman Coast, where I will be working with Thai Mueang Volunteers, http://www.tmvolunteers.org/ .  My task there will be to teach English to primary school children, some of whom have never heard English before.  I am looking forward to the opportunity to experience living in this environment, as well as immersion in the culture, and, of course, teaching the children as this is something I truly enjoy doing!  This town is located quite close to some active tourist areas, from what I understand some facility in the English language greatly increases opportunities for individuals living in the area.  Generally the children would not have opportunity to be exposed to English language speakers so participation from English speaking volunteers is quite valuable.  It is wonderful that I have the skills and background to be able to contribute to this.      

After spending about a month in Thailand the intent was to head somewhere cooler to avoid the monsoons.  We didn’t quite succeed in this as our next stop is Jodhpur, India, where we will be located through the hot season, which is quite hot (for us!).  Here we will be working with Sambhali Trust, http://www.sambhali-trust.org/, an organization which seeks to empower lower caste women and girls so that they may improve their situation.  Sambhali Trust does a variety of work in pursuit of this goal and I am looking forward to contributing in whatever way I can.  I read an article, “The best places to be a woman – and the worst”, June 13, 2012, by Katrin Bennhold of IHT Rendezvous, http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/the-best-countries-to-be-a-woman-and-the-worst/?smid=fb-share,  reporting on the results of a survey by TrustLaw, a legal news service of Thomson Reuters Foundation, ranking the best places to be a woman within the world’s biggest economies.  According to this article Canada, which is where I reside, is ranked as the best place to be a woman, and India the worst.  I expect therefore that the women with whom I will be working will have experienced, and be experiencing, radically different circumstances and opportunities than I have.  Being directly exposed to their situation will be an enlightening experience I am sure.      

I expect that both of these sets of experiences will broaden my understanding of different living situations from the one to which I am accustomed, something that I anticipate will prove invaluable to me as I engage in the field of the protection and promotion of human rights.  Hopefully I will also be able to contribute in some meaningful way to those who are being generous enough to welcome me and my son into their communities and their lives.  I look forward to sharing my experiences on this blog, and hearing from others, in the hopes that my learning can enhance others’, and vice versa.