Transient Relationships

July 18, 2011

By far, one of the most difficult things about being an African Programs Staff (APS) with EWB is being away from close family and friends who are back in Canada. You tend to miss out on a lot of changes in people’s lives back home, and there’s not much you can really do about it. However, another really difficult thing about this type of work is the transience in the relationships you build while overseas.

Since APS are on contracts of anywhere from 1-3 years it’s likely that during your tenure there will be times when great friends pack their bags and hop on the plane back to Canada (or wherever they’re going). This recently happened to me, as Brian Venne; a great friend, and colleague left Northern Ghana this afternoon to head down to Accra, and eventually back to Canada on Thursday. Brian and I both did our 1 month of pre-departure training together, and both arrived in Ghana together back in August 2010, nearly a year ago.

Seeing Brian leave this afternoon was really difficult because you realize how transient your relationships are when you’re working overseas. People are always coming and going, and you’re often left wondering where time went. You begin to realize how short time is when this happens, and I can’t believe that it’s been nearly a year since me and Brian landed in Ghana! It really sucks a lot of the time. I mean, imagine if your best friends packed up their bags every 6-12 months and left. There is a certain stability in these core relationships back in Canada that unfortunately you don’t have when you’re working overseas.

But there are also some amazing things about this transience too. Because almost every 4 months there are new APS arriving, excited to jump into the work of alleviating poverty, and ready to dive into building strong relationships and strong teams. I think this is one thing that is very unique to EWB as an organization – the emphasis on relationship building between team members, not just as colleagues, but more importantly as friends. And these relationships definitely last beyond the amount of time your overseas. Some of my best friends are the people I spent 3.5 months in Zambia with back in 2008!

What you also begin to realize is how different each individual APS’ life journey is. For example, although Brian and I both arrived in Ghana at the same time, after 1 year Brian has found himself going home to start a Masters degree in Anthropology whereas I’ve made the commitment to stick around Ghana for another year to continue to gain experience in the development sector.

The pace of life here often results in many high’s and low’s. Seeing Brian leave today was definitely a low point, but I can’t wait for August 2^nd to see 5 new APS join this amazing group of people in Ghana. Because that will definitely be a high!

As a tribute to a great friend and great colleague, check out the photo’s of Brian below!

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