Practising what you preach for sustainable development

By Gloria Makafui Dovoh, 1st year MDP student

In my first blog, I made mention of the usefulness of considering both the context and culture of a community in understanding cultural practices as well as building relationships and having an open mind.  During my field placement with the Regional Advisory and Information Network Systems (RAINS), I realized these tools early enough to assist with my twelve-week journey.  At the end of the three months experience in the field, I have no doubt this placement was a good fit. I have personally enjoyed the journey of growth during this placement.

Gloria (R) with a student during a project evaluation session

Even though I come from Ghana (Southern Ghana), I have been blinded to the diversity of cultures in the Northern part of the country all this while. The Northern part of Ghana, where RAINS is located has a mind-blowing diversity in languages, dances, cuisine and dressing.  I was fortunately gifted with a beautiful Northern outfit called the “smock” at the end of my placement.

Aside from the organization’s work with rural communities in Northern Ghana, RAINS manages a day crèche to support working mothers, both staff and from the general public, which they seek to expand in future. The saying “Practice what you preach” is very evident with the organization. Staff also engage in Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA), (a livelihood intervention for a group of people who collectively support a structured process of saving money and collecting loans at a local level) to have practical experience of the saving and loans framework that has been adopted in many rural communities to build reliable sources of capital for women’s small businesses.

I am thankful to the Regional Advisory and Information Network Systems (RAINS) and Master’s in Development Practice: Indigenous Development (MDP), the University of Winnipeg for this adventurous and meaningful experience. I have learnt a lot and I am grateful for this opportunity of a lifetime. I had the opportunity of improving both my professional and personal skills. In the nutshell, I experienced hands-on learning and training in a field setting, an experience I have been looking forward to since the inception of my journey to the MDP.

Group photo on Gloria's last day in placement

 

The Classroom Experience vs the Field Experience

By Gloria Makafui Dovoh, 1st year MDP student

One of my greatest aspirations in my academic career is to apply my classroom knowledge to practical experiences. I consider this an essential background to suggest sustainable interventions for issues related to gender and education. I embarked on a journey to experience practical learning with the Regional Advisory and Information Systems (RAINS) in Ghana.

RAINS is a non-governmental organization that works with communities and development partners to improve the quality of life for vulnerable groups such as children, women, girls and people with disabilities. RAINS strengthens local structures to take actions to promote and ensure fairness for all people in society. The organization envisions a just society that is based on equity with equal opportunities for all and respect for diversity. 

RAINS logo - two interlocking horns

The interesting thing about RAINS is the variety of projects available, ranging from; alternative approaches to education, women and girls empowerment programs and supporting smallholder farmers’ adaptive capacities to climate change. Interestingly, all of these project activities have gender issues cutting across. My work here is simple - To participate and learn from the various activities the organization is undertaking with various communities in Northern Ghana.    

From interactions with some community members and project officers, the issue of female migration has been reported to be exceptionally difficult to tackle. Young females migrate independently of their families to urban and/or peri-urban areas in search of greener pastures. These young females are usually vulnerable since they have a low economic capacity, low education or training among other structural vulnerabilities. This practice of young girls migrating down south happens to be deeply rooted in the conventions of the people for many decades and seems too complex to eliminate.

Children at African Union Day of the African Child 

Based on this experiential learning, I realized the importance of considering the context and cultural principles of the said community in order to understand these practices. Relationship building and open-mindedness are also useful tools for working with community members. 

A striking report on the dynamics of migration explains how social status is gained as a result of migration. “Girls who return from urban areas are perceived to have higher social status than girls who have not migrated. Additionally, migrant females are more likely to be empowered and confident in comparison to their non-migrant counterparts.” - Female community member.   

"Also in some communities, returnee female migrants have higher bride prices as compared to their non-migrant counterparts.” - RAINS Project Officer.