Truth be told, this is not so much a “political” entry; but its certainly a “reciprocal” one,  and as such it seems to me to be perfectly suited as the inaugural article for this blog.

I came across Qpid, a Queens University organization, purely by accident, bumping into Jocelyn, a student who will be participating in an outreach project this year in Guyana. here’s a bit about the group:

As of 2008, QPID has been involved in many development projects in Guyana, Bolivia, Northern Canada, Nicaragua, Peru, India, Burkina Faso and Ghana.


  • Summer Projects – In cooperation with host partners, QPID sends students on summer projects that provide an encouraging environment for development in marginalized communities.  QPID works on mutually beneficial projects that are desired by the community and have the capacity to make long term contributions to quality of life.  We believe that providing student knowledge and skill-sets is most valuable when accompanied by cross-cultural learning and reciprocity between QPID cooperants and their host communities.  Through this exchange, cooperants gain an appreciation for the complexities of development and the importance of active global and local citizenship.


One of the things that struck me about Qpid was the phrasing of its mandate. Participants are “cooperants” and to hear Jocelyn describe the group’s preparation it would seem that they are very aware of the danger of going into a situation and being perceived as “better” than the people they’re there to help. All cultures have value and worth, and the least of these are found in our material goods.

I have no doubt that the people who take part in this kind of outreach will move on into their lives with an entirely different attitude to national and global community and cooperation.

You can find out more about Qpid through their Facebook group -

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2202647977

David

David

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