Its all about Community Ownership...

Following exert comes from an article in The Age, "Another tricky Howard ruse", Gregory Phillips, June 23, 2007

"Nobody denies that sexual abuse and alcoholic dysfunction in indigenous communities is a massive problem. Many Aborigines have long advocated for better services to deal with the issues, and have strongly asserted that alcoholism and sexual abuse are not a part of Aboriginal culture. It is, in fact, a learned behaviour.

Where did Aborigines learn it? It is partly a hangover of the missionary days only 20 and 30 years ago, where sexual violence was routinely perpetrated on Aborigines by police, pastoralists and missionaries, and where the church often forced people to marry against their social and cultural clan systems. This is not an excuse for abuse today, but it is part of the reason people are behaving this way now. Sure, the abuser must take responsibility for these terrible actions, and sure, society has a responsibility to protect children. But to do so only through the law has never worked either here or overseas.

There's no evidence that dealing with addictions and sexual abuse through legal, criminal or administrative systems alone works. It might help alleviate some physical injury and perhaps prevent a small amount of abuse, but it doesn't address the emotional and mental turmoil that gave rise to the behaviour in the first place.

By contrast, Native Canadian communities in crisis with sexual abuse have turned the issue around in 10 years by community-led action, by government being prepared to listen to and trust local community leaders, and by supporting communities themselves to make the abuse of alcohol a socially unacceptable behaviour. "

Apparently governments in developed countries have a clue...

Well I just recieved the link to this article from a friend, a little distressed about the approach that our wise government is taking to addressing aboriginal issues...

Check it out:
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=60407

Would LOVE to hear your thoughts!

What is Appreciative Inquiry?

Ap-pre’ci-ate, v., 1. valuing; the act of recognizing the best in people or the world around us; affirming past and present strengths, successes, and potentials; to perceive those things that give life (health, vitality, excellence) to living systems 2. to increase in value, e.g. the economy has appreciated in value. Synonyms: VALUING, PRIZING, ESTEEMING, and HONORING.

In-quire’ (kwir), v., 1. the act of exploration and discovery. 2. To ask questions; to be open to seeing new potentials and possibilities. Synonyms: DISCOVERY, SEARCH, and SYSTEMATIC EXPLORATION, STUDY.


"Appreciative Inquiry is about the coevolutionary search for the best in people, their organizations, and the relevant world around them. In its broadest focus, it involves systematic discovery of what gives "life" to a living system when it is most alive, most effective, and most constructively capable in economic, ecological, and human terms. AI involves, in a central way, the art and practice of asking questions that strengthen a system’s capacity to apprehend, anticipate, and heighten positive potential. It centrally involves the mobilization of inquiry through the crafting of the "unconditional positive question" often-involving hundreds or sometimes thousands of people.

In AI the arduous task of intervention gives way to the speed of imagination and innovation; instead of negation, criticism, and spiraling diagnosis, there is discovery, dream, and design. AI seeks, fundamentally, to build a constructive union between a whole people and the massive entirety of what people talk about as past and present capacities: achievements, assets, unexplored potentials, innovations, strengths, elevated thoughts, opportunities, benchmarks, high point moments, lived values, traditions, strategic competencies, stories, expressions of wisdom, insights into the deeper corporate spirit or soul-- and visions of valued and possible futures. Taking all of these together as a gestalt, AI deliberately, in everything it does, seeks to work from accounts of this "positive change core"—and it assumes that every living system has many untapped and rich and inspiring accounts of the positive. Link the energy of this core directly to any change agenda and changes never thought possible are suddenly and democratically mobilized. "

David L. Cooperrider and Diana Whitney
A Positive Revolution in Change: Appreciative Inquiry

bono's acceptance speech (edited)

Atmosphere of trust

" Poverty is a chronic disease. It cannot be cured with ad hoc measures. There may be short-run measures, but one must have a long-term strategy in mind when taking a quick tactical step.

One short programme is totally ineffective in this regard. Continuity of relationships creates an atmosphere of trust which helps to lay down the foundation of a higher level of relationship. Projects can have an impact only when a long-term commitment underlies them. "

Muhammad Yunus "Banker to the poor"
(Noble Peace Prize Winner 2006 for his work in microcredit with the Grameen Bank)

Memory Work

With an estimated 14 million children globally who have lost one or both parents due to HIV/AIDS and other factors, the challenge of care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) left behind is huge. To quote Meble, a teammate in Kenya, “children appear to be slipping through social safety nets or places of security, love and belonging, ending up in households with no resident adult, or as children living on the streets and silently be exploited, trafficked or abused. There is concern that there children might come to constitute a ‘lost generation’ of young people who have been marginalized and excluded for much of their lives”.

The African Regional Team have been doing a lot of Psycho-Social Support (PSS) with OVC’s, particularly through Youth Capacity Development, which originally emerged out of concerns related to future leadership in Africa. YCD is an important recognition that as the adults are hit hardest by HIV/AIDS, the youth have immense capacity to respond, care and support OVC’s. And it seems the same situation in Papua New Guinea is emerging. As HIV/AIDS infections continue to rise at a rapid pace, family structures are breaking down under stress and the numbers of street children is rising. And the youth want to respond.

(Adventure Based Learning at Masiye Camp - Zimbabwe)

One of the ways that the African teams are responding is through ‘Memory Work’ and it has really got me thinking lately, so….I thought I would share. (A big thanks goes out to Meble too!)

Memory Work
This is a key element in the concept of Psychosocial Support that strengthens family bonds, but also provides a chance for mourning, and dealing with the losses associated with death of a close relative, especially to children. A process of capturing family backgrounds and links through the memory box, gathering special items that remind you of family, traditions, ties, ongoing traditions, key things that stood out for family or communities. Story telling as facilitated by different generations, community time-lines, mapping out of experiences, memory boxes, writing letters and keeping them as memories, all contribute to reducing the long-term trend of incompetence and undealt with emotions for generations to come. The idea of memory linking to strengthening relationships between sick parents and their children, preparation for responsibility but also being aware of the roots and origin that adds value to family relationships. Memory work in this sense goes beyond children but for communities, and families to remember experiences that have stood out, activities, celebrations, events and changes in the weather and practices related to natural disasters. People that were present, significant behaviors of well known leaders, but also memories on moments for care and change in the communities. Memory keeping practices, then preserves communities’ memories and a transfer of knowledge, skills and information between the generations; to support children in expressing their feelings associated with grief.

A significant role for memory work is for facilitating and stimulating sick parents to talk to their children, in preparation for future through past experiences and finding pathways for parents and children to talk about issues within the household strongly; especially for sick parents who are ailing, on left relationships with the extended family and preservation of family ties; but not only preserving memory for children but also for families.

In reading that, it hit me how universal the need to be able to connect to family histories are in shaping our identity. And in particular, cultures where stories and beliefs are passed down orally through the generations, HIV/AIDS is robbing millions of children of this history. But it is not only important in Africa and PNG to do this same kind of work, perhaps it should be an important part of supporting and helping facilitate immigrant communities to be able to continue connecting to their home country/culture or Aboriginal communities preserving their stories for future generations as a means of preserving their identity. But I too have been on a journey the last two years learning about my own family background. After moving to Footscray last year where my grandparents and great-grandparents all lived, there was something liberating about learning more about my family in the smallest things such as driving past an old church at the end of my new street and my grandmother telling me that is where my great-grandfather went to primary school. A good friend in Footscray Marcus, is very passionate about connecting to his Cornish roots and helped me to have a much deeper and richer understanding of not only where I’ve come from but also what it means for my life. For Christians, we have a shared history where our identity is not only shaped by Jesus, but our understanding of him should be embedded in our understanding of the Exodus story where God liberated the oppressed Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

So I don’t really know how to finish these rambling thoughts, they continue to evolve as I talk to more people about them. I would love to hear what others think…whether they have experienced a need to connect to their roots, or perhaps they are still trying to find what those are??? Does it even matter to you??

Human Capacity Development (HCD)

Supporting communities as they make decisions for change

There are many issues in the world such as HIV/AIDS, drugs, suicide, violence to name a few, which require us to think about what we believe in, our attitudes and behaviours and how this impacts on our lives, our families lives, our friends lives and also our wider communities life. In many situations we are able to navigate decisions and actions for ourselves or with the support of others. Sometimes however we are not aware of our own strength to do this, or of the different choices available to us, in such situations additional support can be helpful.

The Salvation Army over the last 20 years has developed a network of teams that can support individuals/families/communities as they identify the key issues affecting them, discuss the root causes, make decisions for change and take action. There are some key beliefs and ways of working which is the foundation of how the teams form and function:

Key belief:
Decisions for change have to be taken and owned by those making the choice. If someone tells you to change, you may change of a short time as a mark of respect, but will it be lasting change? Change has to be wanted. People have strengths within them – this is sometimes called capacity. People have the capacity to talk with each other. They have the capacity to think through their options, they have the capacity to care for each other; they have the capacity to change. In this context, change is an internal process that comes about through knowing that you are not alone in facing the issues and have people that can be a source of support if required, that is, care leads to the hope for something different, and change.

What makes you own the decision to change/want to change?
Ø The issue relates to me personally
Ø I feel motivated to do something about it
Ø You ask yourself the question – what can I do? What are others doing?

Are there people who can support me as I look at what is really going on and what I can do?

Ø A supporting team may visit and open up discussion around the issue – they may go home to home and talk with people, talk to the leaders and ask people whoa re interested to gather to discuss the issue together

Ø The people running the discussion invite those who are interested to be involved and be part of ongoing support within the community, they suggest the volunteers could visit house to house and coordinate future community discussions. They offer to help the volunteers feel more confident in asking questions that open up issues that are affecting people beyond the physical, and listening to the responses.

Ø The team believe that the people involved can make a difference and can change – they support those involved to also believe this about themselves

Ø The visiting team keep visiting and letting the volunteers and community know they are supported and not alone

Ø As the decisions and changes occur, the volunteers are invited to come and share their experiences with other people and other communities to motivate and encourage others to also change.

This process is termed HUMAN CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT

Its simple silly.