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Diaspora Volunteers and International Development

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Diaspora Volunteers and International Development Association for Higher Education and Development (AHEAD) Diaspora Volunteers and International Development An Autoethnographic Research Project Solomon Belay Faris (PhD) November 2013 Ottawa, Canada Funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) DIASPORA AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Association for Higher Education and Development (AHEAD), Ottawa, Canada ©2013 Association for Higher Education and Development (AHEAD), Ottawa, Canada ISBN 978-0-9783113-2-2 Parts of this report may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system as long as the source is properly referenced. Suggested citation: Faris, Solomon B. 2013. Diaspora volunteers and international development: an autoethnographic research report. Ottawa, Canada: Association for Higher Education and Development. Any question regarding this report can be sent to: Temesghen Hailu <[email protected]> or Solomon B. Faris <[email protected]> www.aheadonline.org 1 DIASPORA AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Acknowledgements I am deeply grateful to the President and Executive Director of the Association for Higher Education and Development (AHEAD), Temesghen Hailu, who, with diligence and tact, played a fundamental role from initiation to completion of this research. He is a fine symbol of diaspora volunteerism in its fullest sense. Additionally, my appreciation goes to the Board members of AHEAD, particularly to Mrs. Azieb Teferi, who always responded promptly and positively to the many demands of the research. If there is a person who has made a difference in seemingly routine work, it is Ms. Bathseba Belai, whose continued mentoring and support made the research journey much easier. As a researcher and writer on diaspora engagement herself, she was the ideal person to support my work and I attribute the good qualities of the research to her keen mind and attention to detail. I sincerely appreciate and commend the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) for partnering with AHEAD in so many ways. It has been consistently supporting the diaspora research and pilot project initiatives. Moreover, for this particular research it provided the funding and offered its seasoned expertise which highly improved the objectives and methods of the research. Once the report is completed its reviewers had done a commendable job in going through the report and forwarding valuable suggestions for further improvement. I would like to particularly salute Loredana Marchetti for her patient and tactful coordinating skill in this partnership. Cuso International and its partners VSO-Ethiopia and Cuso International in Guyana deserve my humble gratitude as they took upon themselves the responsibility of helping me in many ways to see the research through to completion. Besides their moral encouragement, all of them provided me with the necessary work space and office amenities as I collected data and wrote the report. Were it not for the diaspora volunteers, the Diaspora Volunteer Program and this research would not have come into being in the first place. I am greatly indebted to those who shared stories of their volunteer journey. As I have experienced the same journey, I was happy to have been part of their joy and pain. The challenge of doing what one loves is that there is a tendency to become so deeply absorbed in the work that one ignores the passage of time and results in neglecting one’s family and leisure. I offer heartfelt thanks to my beloved wife Meskerem Alemayehu and my son Brook Solomon as they sacrificed what is dear to them: my time and energy. Finally, honour to the unknown Enabler and Sustainer of the human spirit from Whom all creativity and storytelling flows. 2 DIASPORA AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................. 3 TABLES AND FIGURES ................................................................................................ 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................ 5 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 6 Background .................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Where we started ......................................................................................................................................................... 7 Benefits ......................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Limitations ................................................................................................................................................................... 9 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ...................................................................................... 9 Diaspora: the familiar and the unusual ..................................................................................................................... 9 The status of diaspora in the world .......................................................................................................................... 14 The AU and the CARICOM ..................................................................................................................................... 14 THE CURRENT INTEREST IN DIASPORA AND DEVELOPMENT............................. 17 Volunteerism .............................................................................................................................................................. 19 Diaspora volunteerism (DV) ................................................................................................................................... 19 METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................... 21 What is autoethnography? ........................................................................................................................................ 21 Narrative and its analysis .......................................................................................................................................... 22 Sources of data ........................................................................................................................................................... 23 DATA AND ANALYSIS ................................................................................................ 26 Views and practices of development ........................................................................................................................ 26 Stories...................................................................................................................................................................... 26 Findings ................................................................................................................................................................... 34 Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................... 35 3 DIASPORA AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Interactions among stakeholders .............................................................................................................................. 37 Stories...................................................................................................................................................................... 37 Findings ................................................................................................................................................................... 43 Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................... 44 Specific characteristics and contributions of DV .................................................................................................... 46 Stories...................................................................................................................................................................... 46 Findings ................................................................................................................................................................... 54 Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................... 55 The diaspora volunteer journey ............................................................................................................................... 57 Stories...................................................................................................................................................................... 57 Findings ..................................................................................................................................................................
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