I was a girls education volunteer in West Africa

The Something Awful Forums > Main > General Bullshit > I was a girls education volunteer in West Africa

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Well done OP, cool thread.

In addition to supporting girls' education, what else do you think would make the biggest difference for the people there? Infrastructure? Tech? Healthcare?

I do like the idea of volunteering like this but at this point I don't think I could commit to 2 years, not in my 30s when time seems to be flying as it is.

unpacked robinhood posted:

Look for op here

Ran into one recently, but it's not the OP I think

# ¿ May 17, 2020 20:22

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 14, 2024 08:54

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

The_Continental posted:

I'm not really here to discuss the morality of tinder, or any other dating app. I'll say this bit and move on to some more substantive questions: It's the same as posting a picture of yourself in the gym, with a fish, with your dog, with your car, with the computer you just built, doing a beer bong, or at a baseball game. They are just the aspects of people's lives they choose to put out there while looking for a date, romance, a quickie, whatever. Anyone can look at that and say "THEY DON'T REALLY CARE ABOUT THE THING THEY ARE TRYING TO LOOK LIKE THEY CARE ABOUT". To which I say maybe, or maybe not. At the end of the day I don't really care about Tinder.

I'm not super mad about it or anything, but I think the issue is that it often feels like they're using the people as props to get laid. Obviously everyone knows the chosen photos are pretty staged/fake but no one is exploited in the gym mirror selfie (beside the viewer).

# ¿ May 18, 2020 01:20

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

How many other foreign volunteers were there at your site? Were you self-conscious at all about being (potentially) the only white dude for miles around?

It's probably just what it's like be a minority but it was very weird not only feeling out of place, but knowing that literally everyone in line of sight can tell you're out of place at first glance.

# ¿ May 19, 2020 08:58

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Did they have their own DIY movie posters?

# ¿ May 23, 2020 10:09

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

The_Continental posted:

...
You did have some people, usually Peuhl, or Tourag, who lived a truly nomadic lifestyle. Typically their kids would not be in school and stricter rules would be in place. In these extremely rural societies women are essentially property. I didn't really engage with these populations on a professional basis because it just didn't seem like my place to try to convince some nomadic herder that his daughters should be in school when he didn't see the value in it.
...

Yeah understandably you wouldn't want to appear as whitey coming over and telling the uncivilized natives how to live. But that said, how far does that gets extended? From some very brief research, it seems that FGM is very much a thing in West Africa and Burkina in particular. Have you observed it (I mean not thee actual process, more like consequences) in you region, or did it ever come up in discussion? Is this something that can or has to be brushed off when trying to promote girls' education?

# ¿ May 28, 2020 06:02

The Something Awful Forums > Main > General Bullshit > I was a girls education volunteer in West Africa