In Peru, any time you meet with someone to discuss working together, their first request is that you draft a convenio (convenant/agreement) outlining how you will work together.
To the uninitiated, it seems like an innocuous - even promising - step. However, to the jaded volunteer, a convenio is somewhat of a black hole for your project. It can take weeks to complete and often times the convenio is seen as an end in itself.
A volunteer from Chiclayo, Peru described the enthusiasm his NGO co-workers had for convenios as a type of Facebook for governments and organizations. As in, "We can work with them, we already have a convenio." But that's about as far as it goes; people seem pretty content to get the convenio in place rather than get the work done. It's as though convenios are collectible status symbols rather than outline of obligations to be completed.
I've been waiting on a convenio - specifying how much the municipality will pay a designer for holding workshops - for about three weeks.
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