Growing as a Young Humanitarian
Sometimes the truth hurts but it’s necessary to face it head-on. Wealthy, industrial, western nations have historically taken advantage of less developed countries for economic gain. This has resulted in most western countries having less poverty and food insecurity than many former subsidiary colonial nations in the global south; this fact becomes even more apparent when one transitions from living in the capital of the UK to the capital region of India. I recently lived in London for four months. I now have been living in Gurugram, a city about 43 km from the capital of India, New Delhi. The difference between the two is stark due not only to cultural differences but from the exploitative effects of British colonialism.
Honduras is one of the countries in the global south that has seen the crippling effects of colonialism. When you see children on the streets, dirty, barely clothed, and begging passengers in their AC cars for money, it is easy to feel a sense of guilt or a need to help. I felt like this the first time I went to Honduras as a little boy and have wanted to do humanitarian work ever since. At university, I took an interest in global studies classes where I began to look at some of the literature on the white savior complex. Teju Cole, a well-known author on the subject says “The White Savior Industrial Complex is not about justice. It is about having a big emotional experience that validates privilege.” I never thought this applied to me. I wanted to do this work because it is important and it is the right thing to do. At least that is what I told myself.
From my time with the Sehgal Foundation, I have realized that I did originally get into this work because every time I gave a child on the street some money or food it made me feel good. But, I have also realized that I have grown and that the emotional experience is not at all what development or humanitarian work is about for me anymore. I think if you go into development work thinking you have some superior knowledge that you can give to the people you are working then you are in the wrong field. I have learned more from the farmers in Mewat then I could ever show them. I also think that any young person who wants to do development work needs to do an internship like this to really see if that’s what they want to do because your intentions need to be in the right place to be effective. I have had a chance at the Sehgal Foundation to have an honest look at myself and ask why I want to do humanitarian work. I have been truly humbled by my experience here in India and have not only become a better hunger-fighter because of it but a better man. My internship at the Sehgal Foundation has shown me how to connect with people I have never met who I have seemingly little in common with; it has shown me that development work is about meeting people and growing with them intellectually and spiritually, until together you create a more empowered person that develops into a more empowered village, country and eventually world.
