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Integrating Perspectives in International Development

This article was originally published in the September 1999 issue of A World Awaits You, a publication of Mobility International USA.

By Tina L. Singleton

When I joined the Peace Corps, little did I know that the experience would not only be a life-changing experience personally, but it would also change my career path. In 1992, I left my previous life of fashion merchandising in San Francisco for an eventful four years of personal and professional growth in Africa.

After one year in the Central African Republic as a Child Survival Health Specialist with the Peace Corps, I worked as Peace Corps' first Disability Specialist in Cotonou, Benin, through Benin's Service of Rehabilitation and Social Integration of People with Disabilities. Formerly Dahomey, Benin is a country of almost five million people, located between Togo and Nigeria on the west coast of Africa. French is the official language, but over 20 languages are spoken throughout this culturally rich country.

It was a very interesting time to work among the disability community, as there was a shift in philosophy from separate programs for people with disabilities to a more integrated approach. Examples of this include integrating young adults into existing job-training programs and including women with disabilities in economic development activities. I traveled throughout the country, meeting individuals and organizations of people with disabilities. Their activities ranged from supporting a national sports program for people with disabilities to community-based rehabilitation for young children. I had the pleasure of working with many of these organizations through my primary role of connecting people with disabilities with local, national and international technical assistance and funding resources. I also provided technical assistance on proposal writing, project development and implementation, and organizational management. I learned about development issues facing people with disabilities in Benin and in neighboring African countries. In addition, I acquired invaluable language, cross-cultural and interpersonal skills that would lead me in a new career direction in disability and international development that I never anticipated. These skills also proved critical as I negotiated my new world of international development as an African American woman with a hidden disability.

My hearing impairment occurred during infancy, and I did not require the use of sign language. During adolescence and young adulthood, I made the necessary adjustments in school, work and social situations. I did not think of myself as a person with a disability, and did not identify with the U.S. disability community. Nor did I think of disability as a possible career direction. Only as an adult did I become interested in disability issues. A sign language course during my senior year of college sparked an interest in sign language, and while working in fashion in San Francisco, I continued taking sign language courses and volunteered with the hearing impaired program at Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

What I found in Benin was a living and working environment that would bring awareness of myself as a multi-faceted person to a level I had never before experienced. My relationship with the local population was complex and sometimes difficult to understand. I experienced a certain amount of prejudice from the Beninese, something I neither expected nor was prepared to confront. I discovered that past colonial relationships with France affected the way foreigners were treated and interacted with the Beninese, and my interactions with the Beninese changed depending on whether I was alone or with white colleagues and friends. Since I was an American woman of color, I did not fit into the traditional hierarchical social structure. I was often not considered American because many Beninese had never met a black American before meeting me.

Due to the small number of minority development workers in tet a black American before meeting me.

Due to the small number of minority development workers in the field, I was often faced with challenging situations both socially and professionally. For example, some Beninese considered it more desirable to work with a white colleague than a person of color -- the status afforded many white people in the country was assumed to bring more benefits to the Beninese working alongside them. White volunteers were also considered to be more professionally competent. I think this perspective began to change, slowly, as my Beninese colleagues and I worked together. We shared frank and often intense discussions about race, racism and the lingering effects of colonialism. And they respected my work.

Because my disability is not visible, I was not immediately recognized as a person with a disability. People with disabilities wanted to know why I wanted to work with them, and what my motives entailed. When I told them I had a hearing impairment and that I knew sign language, there seemed to be an immediate sense of understanding, connection and trust. After my disclosure, my disability was never discussed again. This need to "disclose" was new and uncomfortable for me. I had never felt the need to use my disability to gain acceptance. This brought up many new and complex issues for me as to how I identify with the disability community and my role within it. This is an issue I continue to deal with. I do know that my colleagues appreciated the perspectives of a Peace Corps volunteer with a disability.

To reach targeted and often excluded population groups, diverse perspectives are needed in international development programs and activities. For example, when I worked with a French nongovernmental organization that managed a microcredit program targeting urban women, I noticed that women with disabilities were not participating in the program. After discussing this with the program directors and social workers, we developed strategies for inclusion of women with disabilities, which proved very successful. Some of these strategies included visiting local social centers to promote outreach to women with disabilities and meeting with local disability organizations to inform them about microcredit and the program.

Most international development organizations work primarily among non-white communities, and it is estimated that 80% of all people with disabilities live in less economically developed countries. When the development and implementation of community programs are drawn from a limited perspective of primarily non-disabled, white development workers, there is a narrower scope of ideas and creative strategies to draw from. From my experiences in the field, I learned that the lack of representation of people of color, people with disabilities and other marginalized groups in international development affects the development process and the way services and programs are delivered.

By the end of my Peace Corps service, I decided to pursue a career in international development and disability. To provide me with the academic qualifications and theoretical background in disability, I attended the Centre for International Child Health in London. In October 1997, I received a Master's degree in Community Disability Studies for Developing Countries. Upon my return to the United States, I worked at the National Council on Disability as a coordinator for the 1998 Youth Leadership Development Conference and am currently the International Development and Disability Program Coordinator at Mobility International USA. My work is committed to ensuring that non-governmental organizations and government agencies develop and implement strategies and policies that focus not only on assuring equal and accessible participation in programs, but also on the inclusion of people with disabilities at every level of develpment, from program planning and implementation to training and evaluation.

International developmepment, from program planning and implementation to training and evaluation.

International development work focuses on a variety of areas, such as forestry, small business development, youth development, maternal and child health, refugee assistance, education, rural community development, and microenterprise development. Whether one is interested in youth issues or environmentalism, building civil society or infrastructure, a person with a disability can work in any of these areas of expertise, and at the same time, work to ensure that people with disabilities and other marginalized groups are being included in the international development process.

Tina Singleton can be reached at: development@miusa.org.