協力隊とはJICAと相手国政府によって身分を保証された個人事業主のような存在である。具体的な職務内容を定めた契約書があるわけではなく、隊員が自ら発案し事業を立ち上げていかなければならない。その対価は金銭ではなく、あくまでも隊員本人の充足感や達成感だけだ。

そうした性質の活動は、主体性のない若者に大きな苦痛を与える一方で、自律的な人間には大きな成長を促す機会となる。ただ、後者のタイプは向上心が強いため、環境的な制約のせいで事業が遅々として進まない場合に、自己嫌悪に陥りやすいのも事実である。いずれにせよ、自律的な人間にとっては、紆余曲折や試行錯誤も含めて大きな学びとなる機会だ。

濵嶋の隊員生活は中盤に差し掛かり、多くの紆余曲折や試行錯誤を経験しているようだ。どう成長してくか大いに期待したい。

濵嶋の活動報告はこちらはhttps://sekiya-lab.xsrv.jp/plant/movies/

Self-Reliance

A JICA volunteer is like an independent contractor whose status is guaranteed by both JICA and the host country’s government. There is no contract that defines specific job duties; instead, volunteers must conceive and establish projects on their own initiative. The reward for this is not monetary, but rather the volunteer’s personal satisfaction and sense of achievement.

Such activities cause significant distress to young people who lack independence, while providing significant growth opportunities for self-reliant individuals. However, it’s also true that the latter type, being strongly motivated for self-improvement, can easily fall into self-loathing when projects progress slowly due to environmental constraints. In any case, for self-reliant individuals, the twists and turns and trial and error become major learning opportunities.

Hamajima’s volunteer life has reached its middle stage, and they seem to be experiencing many ups and downs and trial-and-error situations. I look forward to seeing how he will grow from here.

Hamajima’s activity reports can be found at　https://sekiya-lab.xsrv.jp/plant/movies/