{"id":669,"date":"2022-12-19T03:00:13","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T03:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thanassiscambanis.com\/sipa\/?p=669"},"modified":"2022-12-22T03:53:46","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T03:53:46","slug":"a-lack-of-reflection-cripples-nepals-aid-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thanassiscambanis.com\/sipa\/2022\/12\/a-lack-of-reflection-cripples-nepals-aid-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"A Lack of Reflection Cripples Nepal\u2019s Aid Industry<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Former expats in Nepal\u2019s foreign aid industry reflect on the identity crises that came with their careers<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Nick Kraft<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nepal is an aid-dependent country, with aid accounting for 23 percent of its national budget. The money translates into a heavy presence of foreign aid or development workers in Nepal. Many arrive with intentions to support communities and many become jaded or disillusioned along the way. I was one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To better understand the lifecycle of the development worker and my own experience in Nepal, I interviewed former colleagues, expats who have worked with various development actors and on various projects in Nepal. The common thread in their stories and mine: uncertainty about how appropriate it is for foreigners to be leading development work abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A critical assessment begins with the motivations expats have for moving to Nepal in the first place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than white savior<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The white savior complex is often used as an explanation for why foreigners end up in development work: the desire to rescue; to uplift; to impose solutions on a local community that have somehow remained out of reach, only attainable with the support of a foreigner.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The white savior phenomenon is nothing new. It has been documented and explored at length in publications like the Atlantic<\/a>, and it has been identified as an obsession of Hollywood scripts<\/a>. It is top of mind for development expats worried about absorbing the decision-making power of local communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this phenomenon has become well known and often referenced, what I\u2019ve found in my conversations is that motivations to contribute to a development project are more nuanced and frankly, spontaneous. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of resources went into the development of me as a person,\u201d Chris, an architect and former development professional who spent five years in Nepal tells me. \u201cI think everyone has a responsibility to pay it forward.\u201d

Chris\u2019 decision to accept a job with a nonprofit in Nepal was a reaction to his work in New York being unaligned with a deeper value system. The coincidence of the nonprofit founder being from his hometown, and her push to build a school as he was gaining skills as an architect provided a bridge at the right place and right time to explore a more fulfilling opportunity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Chris, it was also a practical choice.

\u201cAs an architect we have \u2018technical\u2019 skills or practical skills that translate into very literal built objects or interventions,\u201d Chris tells me. I heard something similar from Franny, a teacher who spent three years in Nepal\u2019s nonprofit industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI ended up going there because of a social connection and I ended up moving there because I felt that I had enough experience as an educator,\u201d Franny says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reflecting on her first offer to start teaching in Nepal, Franny tells me she was relieved that she initially said no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I arrived, it was more than being an enthusiastic volunteer. I had more of an intentional reason for being there. I felt I actually knew what I was doing. Even though, obviously, I didn\u2019t because you never know what\u2019s going to happen when you go there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The underbelly<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The uncertainty that Franny alludes to gets at the underbelly of development work in Nepal. Raj, a former expat in Nepal who spent three years in the country in varying capacities with the UN expands on this point.

\u201cInitially, you begin with such excitement,\u201d Raj says. \u201cBut then the more you dive in and the more you think about the values that you want to pursue, it feels almost hypocritical in terms of how institutions are built.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly after taking on a leadership role at my organization, I began attending higher-level meetings with my Nepali colleague. Representing a development organization as a six-foot tall white person, living in a primarily brown country where the average height is five-foot-one, sent a very loud, inescapable message. That message was returned with open doors our organization had never seen before. Scheduling a meeting with the Ministry of Health now simply took walking into the office, my height and color granting us an immediate audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was advantageous for our work, but I had failed to recognize and articulate what that downside of this message was until about a year into my new role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raj pinpointed my recognition exactly, \u201cthere was a lot of disillusionment from that perspective, of saying \u2018I\u2019m this young person from a different part of the world, who am I to come in and help people?\u2019\u201d

At that point, I understood I was perpetuating imbalances of power between what is known as the global north, which includes wealthier nations like the United States, and what is considered the global south, which includes poorer nations like Nepal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The value of reflection<\/em> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While the private sector gets the lionshare of criticism for being short-sighted, the development sector suffers from its own lack of patience. The story of the average nonprofit sounds similar to that of the average start-up. Perpetually understaffed, overworked, and under-resourced. Donors expect to see that their contributions are generating change. Failure to demonstrate this leads to a failure to secure funds. This story has no room for patience, reflection, the slow build of positive change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I speak explicitly of nonprofits, this also applies to more institutional development actors like the UN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of the way that aid is structured, a lot of the implementing organizations like the UN are accountable to the donors and not accountable to the people they are trying to serve,\u201d Raj tells me as he considers an improved development approach. He continues by asking a pertinent question, \u201cHow do we change those systemic structures?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A path forward: reflection at scale<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Evident in the stories I hear are patient and reflective exercises. I hear expats in the development space questioning whether or not they should have been or should continue to be there. I hear them expressing gratitude for their own personal growth, and yet guilt for perhaps benefiting more than the populations they set out to support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Removing the expat from the development sector altogether would be an overly simplistic conclusion. However, the expat\u2019s ability to improve outcomes in a struggling community is stunted when the difficult inner dialogue we experience is not acknowledged at the level of our organizations. This sheds light on a potential path towards a development sector that is positive for everyone involved. It is one whose institutions and organizations chose to engage in the same type of reflection that their employees are engaging in. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former expats in Nepal\u2019s foreign aid industry reflect on the identity crises that came with their careers By Nick Kraft Nepal is an aid-dependent country, with aid accounting for 23 percent of its national budget. The money translates into a…<\/p>\n

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