My work here in Ghana has brought many new questions to my mind... ones that I did not and could not anticipate, and also which have come from unexpected places. I am grateful for all the conversations I've had with my co-researchers, host family, and community members who have let me into their daily lives and welcomed a stranger with open arms.
I welcome people's comments and look forward to a fruitful dialogue...
Here are some questions which have illuminated themselves. Thanks to Tim for asking me: What are the important questions emerging from my inquiry?
Many conversations and observations have led me to ask: What legacy does colonialism leave (especially in Ghana, 50 years after political independence; many astutely observe that economic imperialism/colonialism is far from over).
How does the legacy of colonialism affect the individual psyche? The collective psyche? In Uganda, I was told by many African scholars that post-colonial thinking was over and that nobody wants to hear it anymore! But, I struggle with this, as people talk about the legacy colonialism left in many subtle and not so subtle ways.
How can/does a community psyche and/or identity influence children? Are children brought up - either intentionally or unintentionally - to accept their life and "prescribed future"?
What implicit and/or implicit messages do children receive about their history? About their future? I ask this question because it seems that children are told, in many ways, that poverty is a given and that one should just accept their "prescribed future"...
What are the rules, attitudes, and values of "the system" in Ghana - especially institutions which work with/for children?
As I ask these questions, I wonder how they all mesh together to create the circumstances which children find themselves. More and more I hear messages in people's speech which imply that children do not matter until they are adults - they are silly, they don't know, they can't make decisions... huge hurdles when my hope is that these children I am working with will be able to create meaningful and significant change in their communities. In the end, I wonder - do nations/communities which provide children with meaningful opportunities for participation in their society perform better on various 'quality of life' indicators? How does participation of all groups of people - obviously including children - benefit a nation?
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2 comments:
Hi Brenna,
I haven't been to your blog for a few weeks. Your questions are fascinating.
It would be interesting to determine which nations/ communities actually do "provide children with meaningful opportunities for participation in their society to perform better on various 'quality of life' indicators".
I'm not familiar with Africa and the way children are treated and thought of there. I have many questions as a North American parent. I think we let our children have lots of choices and more input into the direction of their lives than, say, when I was a child yet I rarely see "meaningful opportunities for participation" for children. The end result, to some extent, is that I see a lot more self-indulgent people with an attitude of entitlement and little social consciousness. In a way, this is devaluing children as well since it really isn't giving them what they need for their future to be the contributors that they could be. Of course, being the pregnancy, childbirth and early parenting activist that I am, to me, it always traces back to the first decisions that are made as a parent in terms of how we treat our children and the messages that gives them about their value.
It would also be interesting to look somewhere like Bhutan where they measure Gross National Happiness yet it ranks 134th on the United Nations Human Development Index.
This is all just pondering on my part as I'm avoiding my thesis work. I think if more people actually had the sustainability of the planet and its people as a heartfelt commitment that they lived out in their lives, it would just make sense that children would have a role to play in that no matter where they were in the world.
I guess I could go on all day. Thanks for the little break from my own studies. We will definitely have to have you and Leor and others up for dinner after you return so we can talk about these things.
Lots of love,
Lolly
Hi Brenna,
This is my first visit to your blog. Expecting to find a simple narrative on your time in Ghana, I instead find myself intigued by the complex issues you have posed.
Let me add my, admittedly, uninformed ruminations to the discussion. I believe that there is anecdotal evidence that children, when needed, can act maturely. I say anecdotal, since I am not a scholar in the field but rather only see (from the comfort of my armchair) news stories about children raising their siblings in the absence of a parent.
My question, however, is "do we even want them to"? While children can can act like adults and be capable, contributing members of society if needed, isn't allowing childern to be children one of the signs of a nurturing society? Isn't our role, as adults, to provide knowledge & guidance rather than to expect them to act as our peers?
Best wishes,
Rene
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