Having seen up close and personal what can be accomplished with relatively little in foreign aid, David Fafard despairs for regions feeling the pinch of Canadian government cutbacks.
Fafard returned from Sierra Leone, where he had spent eight months working as an intern on a CAUSE Canada waste management project in the town of Kabala, in January.
His work was cut short due to a broken leg he suffered in an Ocada (motorcycle taxi) crash, but from what he had seen in his time there with Canmore-based CAUSE Canada, he knows what some assistance can help accomplish.
Kabala is in an agricultural area in northern Sierra Leone, one of the poorest countries in the world. A town about the size of Canmore, it had very little infrastructure in place and waste was simply dumped in the bush surrounding the town.
That type of waste disposal, as one might expect, did cause outbreaks of disease. An outbreak in the capital of Freetown had occurred while Fafard was in Sierra Leone and the effects reached to Kambala.
“We were there to build a sanitary landfill and compost pits, with technical support, outside the town,” said Fafard. “Dumping waste in the bushes was not sustainable.
“We were getting recycling and composting going and with micro financing, it helped empower women in the area who made things out of recycled plastics and created small businesses to deal with it.
“We also helped the town design waste bins and a system of pickup. They have two trucks now and the workers have uniforms, boots and safety gear. They’re taking it seriously and you can tell they’re committed.”
After Fafard’s crash, he was taken to a hospital run by an Italian NGO (non-governmental organization) in the capital of Freetown, where he was treated for a broken femur, patella and ankle.
He arrived back in Canmore in mid-January, disappointed his work couldn’t continue. But, he said, he did hand off the project to another intern to see through.
He worries, though, that federal government cutbacks to CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) will hamper efforts like he was involved in.
“The Canadian government slashed funding to CIDA and now small NGOs are having a hard time,” said Fafard. “Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been cut.
“My message would be that generosity is a good thing and that people need to support groups like CAUSE. We need to support NGOs doing hard work overseas. I’ve seen the changes that can happen with my own eyes.
“In Kabala, throwing garbage outside of town, or burning, was causing typhoid, respiratory and skin problems. Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world and they need help to improve the people’s lifestyle.
“The good thing is, projects like I was working on are creating tangible change. But it’s tough when you see projects axed because people on the periphery who need the funding the most are seeing the cuts.
“North America is said to be in a recession, but we still have water and food to eat and CEOs are still getting bonuses. In Sierra Leone, people are getting by on a dollar or two a day.”
Fafard has volunteered with CAUSE for several years, in particular with the group’s marathon and Christmas tree sales. His trip to Sierra Leone was his first international excursion.
On the ground in Kabala, he found it to be an agricultural area where cattle were raised. Kabala-produced produce helped keep other areas going. “The vegetables were fresh and they used no pesticides,” he said.
“To be there, and see first-hand how funding helps was amazing. With CAUSE, the money is going where it needs to be and no cent is spent in the wrong place. CAUSE is very accountable, they have receipts for everything.”
Possibly what disturbs Fafard the most is that, where most Nordic countries are donating .7 per cent of their GDP (gross domestic product), Canada was at .35, “and that’s going down to .25. Clearly, it’s not a priority for this government.
“Other NGO workers shake their heads and say ‘what are you Canadians doing?’ There have been drastic changes since this government (Harper Conservatives) came to power.”
When he left Sierra Leone, Fafard said, construction of the landfill, designed for a decade’s use, was in progess. “We’d hired a bulldozer to dig a landfill. It was going to be sealed with clay so there was no leachate escaping and a water management and collection system was being built.
“Sheds were being built for compost that was being created. “In Sierra Leone, farmers’ eyes light up when you mention compost.” Eventually, the plan was to have compost bagged so farmers can buy it for their crops.
Recycling efforts, said Fafard, “were very difficult. There’s no machinery, so sorting manually is a challenge. But workers have sheds to work in, gloves, masks and a financial incentive. In Freetown, there’s a big market for metals, and profits made in Kabala by selling there could help with funding recycling.”
Future projects, he said, included using solar power, rather than a generator, for lighting.
Having now experienced a CAUSE Canada aid project, Fafard said he would love to go back. “It’s a fantastic experience, really eye opening. I think I’m addicted to working with NGOs now and I want to go again.
“I want to keep doing this kind of work. You see people suffering, but you also see them helping each other and by helping you empower them and it empowers you. It’s very rewarding work.”
Micro finance projects also show obvious rewards, said Fafard. “You can see a direct impact. When you give women some capital in small loans, money they can’t get from banks, they become empowered and gender equality increases. They can create small businesses, their kids go to school and eat better.
“The women work in groups of six and push each other to pay back the loans. And literacy projects are also important – there can be a huge impact in just having women able to write their name.”
As an example, Fafard relates an incident told to him by CAUSE intern Melissa Smith of a woman whose belongings were on a bus when a man tried to steal them. Typically, he said, things would have gone the man’s way after he claimed the items were his, but the woman in question was able to write her name, the same as on the belongings, and the story had a happy ending.
The highlight of Fafard’s CAUSE work in Sierra Leone was working with the locals.
“I really enjoyed working with people on the town council. They’re not getting the education we are, but they’re smart people who ‘get’ community development. Working with them empowered me to want to keep working with them. It’s a very powerful and rewarding feeling.”
