When I
first visited Uganda in 2010, I was 20-years-old and chalk-full of the
white savior complex. I volunteered for 3 months at an orphanage in
Jinja, Uganda and I really believed I was making a difference. I fundraised for my trip, raising thousands of dollars from family and friends to fill a role that was absolutely not necessary,
even though I believed it was. The Ugandan women who cared for the
children in the home were far better equipped to love and care for these
children. They knew the culture, language and were a constant in the
lives of the at-risk kids who came into care.
One
of the hardest but most important lessons I have learned over the last 8
years has been that good intentions are not good enough. No matter how
well meaning I have been or continue to be, the impact of my actions on
the community I claim to be helping far outweighs my goodwill.
While
in Jinja my white savior complex was only reinforced as I met other
young, white American women who had moved to this same town. I watched
in awe of young women who moved halfway across the world at age 18 with
no experience, no college education. They were starting organizations
and adopting children. How amazing?
If they could do it, why not me? So I did. With only a bachelors degree
and little-to-no experience, I co-founded an NGO in the same town as
Renee Bach and her project - “Serving His Children.”
When White Saviorism Turns Deadly: American missionary played doctor, children died, when will…:
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