Navigating the Field of International Development as a Newcomer: Lessons Learned
By Chelsea Supawit
Last summer, I worked on my first development project ever: conducting participatory soil health workshops for smallholder farmers in Eastern Uganda. As a recent college graduate, the prospects of successfully organizing and facilitating these workshops was surely intimidating. This was my first real world development project I worked on, let alone managed. With it all behind me now, I learned so much about myself, working with others, and international development. Being in this unique position, I thought it would be interesting to share the many lessons I learned from this project as a newcomer to the field of development.
Practice and preparation makes perfect (eventually!)
Leading up to the workshops, I spent every spare moment preparing. Even though a lot of the material was not used, it was a necessary time investment. Those hours of preparation helped me recognize gaps and strengths in my knowledge base and solidified my own understanding of the information. This ultimately gave me more confidence as a facilitator, which was arguably the greatest benefit of preparing.
Preparation did not include the workshop material alone. For me, it was also taking time to get to know the culture and history. I spent my second day in Uganda exploring Kampala, getting tours of the National Museum, Lubiri’s Palace, and religious monuments. It made me aware of the lasting legacy of colonialism and the dictatorship that greatly impacted Uganda and its people. Knowing this background helped me better connect with Ugandans. That being said, you don’t need to go sightseeing to get a sense of this, but perhaps conducting some prior research or speaking with locals about their history is a good idea when conducting international field work.
Put your ego aside
The crazy thing about this work is how much you learn about yourself and the way you show up. One particular circumstance that helped me learn this was receiving feedback from my mentors on the trip. Initially when Kate and Abe provided workshop content feedback, I found myself taking it personally. Granted, this workshop was my very first project I conceived so it was hard to distancing myself from the material at first. But I had to remind myself of my place, and their positive intentions. Mentors like Kate and Abe helped me learn by providing feedback and sharing their experiences so that I didn’t have to realize some lessons the hard way. Staying open minded helped me adapt and accept the inevitable change and evolution of the workshops. Learning how to take constructive criticism is a difficult, but necessary experience.
Development is multifaceted -- you can’t do it all but that’s okay
There is an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness that sometimes shows up being surrounded by extreme poverty in a foreign place. This did not happen all the time for me, but rather in waves. As we drove from the capital to the east, I witnessed the drastic transition from urban to rural. As we left the city, I saw small pop up towns along the road with gradually less infrastructure. From brick buildings to clay huts with straw roofs. The further away we were from town centers, the more kids I saw without shoes walking to school. I felt an overwhelming feeling of sadness and sympathy. I saw remnants of former NGO pop-ups, reminders of perhaps failed projects. I wondered to myself, “how can we make NGOs do better? To make projects actually reach participants?” In moments like these, going into the field of development made me nervous, and even discouraged.
Soil health workshops are very valuable, but to be frank, it is not going to end poverty. Development interventions are not meant to be silver bullet solutions, and if it is marketed that way it is already not working. Small projects are not a bad thing, especially if you have realistic and tangible outcomes. It is better to walk away completing what you intended to do than to have a big project without real community impact. This work is not easy -- but these small victories helped me build personal resilience. Sometimes the best we can do is focus on one project, or even one outcome at a time -- remind oneself of the bigger picture and purpose at play, no matter how small the impact may feel.
Seek Support
There are going to be moments of frustration that naturally come with doing this work, especially as someone new to the field. In these moments of uncertainty and doubt, I sought support. I was reminded that my presence was not an imposition; that I was welcomed and invited into these communities. Also that this was a learning experience giving me exposure to some of the best development role models and practices with local partners who are well established and trusted community members who want us here. Identifying areas of support that you can turn to is critical to help you recover -- whether it be keeping a journal, speaking to a mentor, or maintaining contact with support back home. Do whatever it takes to keep yourself grounded and create opportunities that help you integrate your experiences.
Form local partnerships
Being an outsider, I knew that I could never fully comprehend the reality that Ugandan farmers face. There were so many areas outside of my scope of knowledge and experience that I was incapable of addressing. As a foreigner working in a different country, it is important to form local partnerships that can support you throughout the project. That support system for me was Helen Acuku -- the backbone of TEWDI Uganda, the local non-profit that supported our workshops and the former horticulture irrigation project. As a woman born and raised in eastern Uganda, she offered personal and logical support throughout. Another critical member of our team was Abe Soloman, the horticulture irrigation project manager. He had over eight years of farming experience in Uganda and a strong understanding of participatory learning methodology. Both Helen and Abe spent over five years working closely with these project groups and developing close relations. I credit much of the workshop series’ success to having these two amazing mentors and facilitators by my side.
Patience and flexibility
Different places and cultures have different relationships to punctuality...or should I say - different countries and cultures have different ways of organizing and utilizing their time. Uganda is one of them. Things usually do not go as planned. It was completely new for me to arrive sometimes hours late to professional events -- including my own soil workshops! I found myself increasingly frustrated about things moving slowly and not getting done efficiently. But I finally accepted that my impatience was causing me unnecessary stress. You can spend your energy getting frustrated and judging the situation, or you can accept it as practice of patience. This was an unexpected cultural adjustment that varies everywhere you go!
Learn by doing
As cliché as it sounds, I found that learning by doing was especially relevant in development projects. In my courses, I learned a wide range of development theories and practices, from Amayra Sen’s concept of agency to project needs assessments and evaluation tools. These were critical in expanding my view of development, but these precepts are empty without action. You can spend hours and hours studying participatory development, or how to teach, but the real value comes only when you actually do it. The same goes for development projects. I learned what participatory learning really means by reflecting on my own experiences as a student and seeing it in practice during this project.
Trust the process
As a newcomer to the field, it is easy to be critical of yourself. I frequently compared myself to other team members who were years ahead of me in experience. But I realized that I was not expected to know everything. If anything, it is better to be honest about your position so you can find support if it is needed. This was a powerful opportunity for me to adopt my own set of skills, witnessing good practices that would eventually become my own. These early experiences are meant to help you learn.
This project proved to be one of the most valuable experiences for my personal and professional life so far. I am amazed at how much I learned in just one short month. It feels interesting to be on the other side now. Feelings of self-doubt and uncertainty were common, but through it all was a lesson of trust. Trusting that our journey will take us where need to go, and that we learn something along the way. For that, I am forever grateful.
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