Thank you again Lauren for pulling together this piece and all your insightful questions. I feel I could come back in a year and answer these differently. 🙂
I enjoyed reading this, thank you. I've worked abroad as a volunteer teacher but never through an aid organisation. Aid seems to me to be such a complex and convoluted thing. As I think you touch on in the interview, our motivations as young people are likely to be at least partly about wanting adventures for ourselves, which, as you say, can lead to a lot of complexity...
Actually, on reflection, perhaps knowing that you want an adventure for yourself while helping others (the latter possibly debatable in an aid context but that's a different discussion!) is a healthier position than thinking you're just being altruistic... In the sense that serving yourself at the same time as serving others may give you a better chance of avoiding burnout, particularly for women.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Tamsin and interesting to hear about your own volunteer experience. Yes, I agree that being transparent about our intentions, especially on going to places where there are power dynamics is important. And I think looking for an adventure is a good healthy thing to want and to go after. I also think if I had just been looking for an adventure I would have enjoyed my experiences more. If I interrogate my motives now I was looking for belonging, to know new cultures on a deeper level, to try to do something good and to unpack why things were or are the way they are. These are valid things to want too, but also much more complicated to find in the places I ended up.
Reading what you say I wonder how many of us would have been able to say clearly what our different motives were at that young age (I was 26). It took me at least 20 years before I understood that I had been looking for belonging, and I definitely had some kind if existential thirst for knowledge about places beyond my island home (UK). I also had no critical awareness of the psychological complexity of 'wanting to do good'. Interesting that you mention power dynamics, on the very local level of just myself, I got unwittingly pulled in to a very complicated political situation that it took me many years to recover from. I was completely politically naive...
Yes I agree. I was 24 when I started out in this career and began volunteering when I was 20. I had no clue what I was really looking for - it just seemed less boring than law and it got me out of career pressures from family to be a lawyer. It was also a bit glamourous - as it was unusual p and I though I would be doing something 'good'. I was so incredibly unprepared for the systems I would confront or the situation I would find myself in. It is only much later I learned about psychology and underlying desires which might drive our behaviour. And yes power - it always seems to come down to that - in every environment I have been in - it is always at play.
So interesting to meet you here, I don't know many people who have done this kind of thing! Don't know where you were this week in Scotland but let me know if you come to Edinburgh and fancy a coffee!
Oh you are in Edinburgh! I will definitely let you know next time I am back. I was just back last week for a flying visit. I work abroad at the moment but Edinburgh is where I feel is now my base in the UK. I grew up in Glasgow - so usually visit the Central Belt generally when I am back. I miss Scotland these days.
Great interview, well done both!
Thank you for reading Jana! 😊
Thank you Jana! 🙂
Thank you again Lauren for pulling together this piece and all your insightful questions. I feel I could come back in a year and answer these differently. 🙂
Thank you for being a part of the Career Compass series!
Absolutely, I can imagine, as we think of being on a journey, some of these sentiments can be quite transient.
Maybe we'll have to do a "where are you now" follow up ahaa :)
I enjoyed reading this, thank you. I've worked abroad as a volunteer teacher but never through an aid organisation. Aid seems to me to be such a complex and convoluted thing. As I think you touch on in the interview, our motivations as young people are likely to be at least partly about wanting adventures for ourselves, which, as you say, can lead to a lot of complexity...
Thank you for reading Tamsin - glad you enjoyed, and that it provided some food for thought too :)
Actually, on reflection, perhaps knowing that you want an adventure for yourself while helping others (the latter possibly debatable in an aid context but that's a different discussion!) is a healthier position than thinking you're just being altruistic... In the sense that serving yourself at the same time as serving others may give you a better chance of avoiding burnout, particularly for women.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Tamsin and interesting to hear about your own volunteer experience. Yes, I agree that being transparent about our intentions, especially on going to places where there are power dynamics is important. And I think looking for an adventure is a good healthy thing to want and to go after. I also think if I had just been looking for an adventure I would have enjoyed my experiences more. If I interrogate my motives now I was looking for belonging, to know new cultures on a deeper level, to try to do something good and to unpack why things were or are the way they are. These are valid things to want too, but also much more complicated to find in the places I ended up.
Reading what you say I wonder how many of us would have been able to say clearly what our different motives were at that young age (I was 26). It took me at least 20 years before I understood that I had been looking for belonging, and I definitely had some kind if existential thirst for knowledge about places beyond my island home (UK). I also had no critical awareness of the psychological complexity of 'wanting to do good'. Interesting that you mention power dynamics, on the very local level of just myself, I got unwittingly pulled in to a very complicated political situation that it took me many years to recover from. I was completely politically naive...
Yes I agree. I was 24 when I started out in this career and began volunteering when I was 20. I had no clue what I was really looking for - it just seemed less boring than law and it got me out of career pressures from family to be a lawyer. It was also a bit glamourous - as it was unusual p and I though I would be doing something 'good'. I was so incredibly unprepared for the systems I would confront or the situation I would find myself in. It is only much later I learned about psychology and underlying desires which might drive our behaviour. And yes power - it always seems to come down to that - in every environment I have been in - it is always at play.
So interesting to meet you here, I don't know many people who have done this kind of thing! Don't know where you were this week in Scotland but let me know if you come to Edinburgh and fancy a coffee!
Oh you are in Edinburgh! I will definitely let you know next time I am back. I was just back last week for a flying visit. I work abroad at the moment but Edinburgh is where I feel is now my base in the UK. I grew up in Glasgow - so usually visit the Central Belt generally when I am back. I miss Scotland these days.
It's so great to see connections growing from this platform!
And thank you both for this exchange - I definitely now want to explore more around the psychological complexity of 'wanting to do good'!
Lovely interview, anyone looking to work in aid/development sector will benefit from reading it.
Thank you for reading Liza! :)
Thank you Liza - I am sure you have your own reflections on the sector as well.
Yes, but am probably much more jaded and less eloquent.
Haha - I guess the jaded-ness is a common experience. I kept thinking I should be more positive when I was writing this. :D
Honesty is the best policy and all that! :D
😂