Page 354 - Volume 2_CHANGES_merged_with links

m̩ 'zuŋ u memories of NGO in Africa
ɡ

walk softly, go quietly and you will see...

Volunteer Teachers
It’s my first day in Kampala, Uganda. I am in one of the showers in the communal bathroom.

Suddenly I hear several English voices. We start talking. Bit by bit, they explain they are in
Uganda as paying volunteers teaching in a local NGO school in one of the provinces.

And bit by bit, they volunteer that apart from one who has not yet gone to 'uni' they are

simply university students with no teaching background let alone qualifications. One
describing his experiences states that if nothing else, he now knows he is unsuited to

teaching.
If you back pack around Sub-Saharan Africa and stay in the backpacker hostels, you will

frequently trip over NGO volunteers like this. They add nothing to Africa. They do more harm

than they realise. And time after time, place after place, you will see school after school set up
m̩
ɡ
and run by a 'zuŋ u who has their own unique approach to schooling (an approach almost
always based on not a single teacher training qualification).
m̩ 'zuŋ u would not allow such a thing in their own country, but hey, out of sight, out of
ɡ
mind. Who cares? In common with other African countries, Uganda has been trying for years

to impose a 'universal' standard of education throughout the country. How can they achieve
ɡ
m̩
this when the 'zuŋ u actively disrupts this?
And just in case you think an African government should be able to exercise control and

regulate matters. Think again. Read a little on and you will see how the Christian church has
ɡ
m̩
become a vehicle that 'zuŋ u use to make it easy for them to register an NGO, and to do it in
a way where the relevant official in the African government feels under pressure to authorise

m̩
ɡ
the 'zuŋ u NGO registration for fear of Christians in the local community creating social
unrest.
ɡ
m̩
No matter you say. It's an experience for the 'zuŋ u youth. Who cares that over many
m̩
ɡ
years they will entertain other 'zuŋ u with little anecdotes that will reinforce more and more
negative stereotypes? Who cares?
The NGO volunteer path in the UK is now a business. Little more than that. During the
time of the 2008 global financial crisis, one of the few sectors to flourish was the 'not for

profit' sector.