First exercises - 7 Stretch energizer
Daniel is given the lead to “energize” the group. Small whisper from one of the facilitators and Daniel is all smiles to start. Everybody follows Daniel in stretching one limb at a time “7” times. This is followed by a stretch for “5” counts. The first day after a Mysore trip is tiring but all participants are ready to start on time.
Review of Saturday
o Screening of the movie – Dear Mom
o Stereotypes, Prejudices etc
o We can be discriminated
o We should not discriminate and put people in difficulty
o Adjustment, Adaptability and Accountability
o How will we adjust with the host country – culture, language
o Not to be nervous, but adjust using the skills taught during FK training
o Symbolic meaning through a drawing
o Maintaining personality – through funny games
Two names are picked at random for next review.
Poverty, Well-being & Sustainable Development
The second week of the program and the participants are asked to understand “thought processes” which influence how people respond in the real word.
The facilitator for the session is Mr Sharachchandra Lele, an Indian Institute of Science graduate with a Phd in Forest and Ecology from the U S.
Mr Sharad started off the session with a question. – What is development? Each participant had his or her own notions of development - Infrastructure, Education, Improving standards of living, moving towards peace. The next two questions formed the crux of the session - “Where to go” and “How do we want to get there”
The example given was everybody agrees that water for ‘A’ group is necessary but the question is should it be at the cost of group ‘B’ and therein lies the problem. The next question was – Should everyone have a car? No one seemed to agree in the group. A few felt that its “ok” to have a car as long as it doesn’t cause problems like pollution, extra consumption of fuel etc. Mr Sharad tried to make the participants question themselves with the thought. Is it “ok” to have solar powered cars? If “yes” can I have 10 cars because it is my requirement. If “no” are you not trying to impose your idea of well-being on me?
With these questioning examples the participants were made to understand the issues of poverty, well-being and sustainable development critically, instead of following set notions.
The classification of Material and Non-material things came into focus. The concept of “Good Life” being different for different people was brought to the forefront. While one participant noted that Food, Clothing and Shelter are basic necessities, the facilitator pointed out that the basic necessities apart from clothes are requirements of animals also. What differentiates us as human beings is that we like to have music, dance, culture, freedom, independence etc. “Good Life” and well-being have multi-dimensional aspects. The question is what is minimum for things like food, shelter etc for an individual.
The next topic was “how do we measure”. The common notion is to measure by per capita income. This is done because it can be “calculated”. The argument against income measurement is that it is difficult to measure. Women’s right issues, independence etc cannot be easily measured. A country with high per-capita income might have low on independence hence the term “good life” is relative to context and conditions. The topic of environment was brought in. In environment, the issue is not only air, water etc, but also access to these things, animals birds and their effects.
These issues - content, context and environment with their relativity need to be taken into consideration at the decision making level.
In the second part of the session four groups were made and each group asked to answer a question related to four dimensions of poverty, well-being and sustainable development.
Focusing on environment, it was pointed out that what is good for one person might not be good for the other and has to be checked in relation to context. A landslide for uphill farmers might be bad, but good because of the silt to the downhill farmer. This is also relative, because excess landslide is harmful anyway. People usually find a way around these things. E.g. how terrace farming reduces landslides.
While discussing developed areas the term “Global North” and “Global South” was highlighted. Global North refers to developed areas with Global South being underdeveloped areas. E.g. Bangalore being a “Global North” as compared to villages nearby which are “Global South”
Participants were asked to see how they would formulate policies at the national level or during implementation of programs at the NGO level itself.
Shoes
A circle was made with everyone’s footwear and participants were asked to stand outside the circle. The leader says “in” and “out” continuously and suddenly stops at one of the words – all participants have to jump in or out of the circle accordingly. The last person to do so is asked to come to the centre of the circle and be the leader repeat the instructions of “in” and “out”.
Participatory Approach in Community Development
Mr Jangal, one of the pioneers in the Participatory Rural Approaches (PRA) method, divided the participants into three groups to get their idea of “participation”. Concepts that emerged were - assessing the problem, preparing a plan, contribution, joining, working together, taking part in decision-making etc.
In the context of development PRA is defined as “ collective effort by people concerned to pool their effort and resources to attain objectives they set for themselves”. What interventions have to do is facilitate this process.
The types of participation highlighted were
o Passive participation
o Participation in information giving
o Participation of consultation
o Participation for Material incentives
o Functional participation
o Interactive participation
o Self-mobilization
Self-mobilization is considered the ultimate aim of PRA. The others are considered means towards achieving it.
Creation of Social Map with the help of the community is an important aspect of PRA. Social map is used to depict the habitation pattern of the region/village. It provides a useful base for understanding and identifying problems at various levels for intervention. The local people with the facilitators help do this. The three L’s to be followed are Look, Listen and Learn.
Suraj Ratna Shakya
Having spent his growing years in Kathmandu, Suraj likes everything except the uneasiness of politics. Having been a Sound Engineer for five years with an FM station, Suraj is at present helping establish the first student FM station in Kathmandu. Freelance photography, playing the keyboard and working on the computer keeps him excited. Suraj says he spends more time with this computer than with his family. He is ready for the adventure of going to his host country Bangladesh. A lover of music, he supports music for peace and has also composed two songs for his FM station.
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