Dream Building - Activity Programme for Peer Educators

[kshemendra kumar mishra]

We had organised a workshop for Peer Educators on December 20-21, 2010 bringing into focus sundry priority issues and plans of the target community at the Jhilmil ANCHAL Special School.

 

In the process of our discussions and problem solving exercise, we intiated a 'Dream Building' programme in the last phase of the training, for the entire gathering. We put forth certain issues and queries to the gathered participants.

 

1. What are your current goals/dreams in life and if or, whatever they are, what are the hurdles you face in their achievement?

In response to this query certain challenges surfaced. We asked the participants to come forward to the Board in front of the gathering and to put down the challenges that confronted them in the achievement of their objectives. The scenario that emerged presented a picture given below besides a large host of individual objectives which are not enumerated here.

 

1. The majority of these participants stated that their sole objective was to secure improved income sources and better returns for the extended hours of labour put in by them which, they found was not upto the mark.
2. Money appeared as the main issue since the particiapnts as a singe group wanted to provide their families with better living conditions and the assurance of a stable livelihood and future and assurance of food clothing and a roof over one's head.
3. There may be any number of things that one may desire but, the majority voted for the above two priorities.

With the identification of the above two priority issues, we once again queried as to what were the main hurdles they encountered in the pursuit of their dreams.

 

The response unanimously highlighted long hours of exploitative work, exploitative wages and social, civic and legal pressures that migrants and moving populations encounter. Continuous and perpetual exploitation by middlemen and employers which deprived them of not only large percentage of their wages but also compelled them to hundred percent extra work without payment.

 

The conclusion, that no matter how hard the whole family worked, it was always a story of being hand-to-mouth since there was no way to cover challenges like medical emergencies which in each and every case proved to ensure financial distress for the entire family, emergencies arising from challenges and issues in their native village/point of origin besides the cost of lving.

 

Our third query to this gathering was - Is there any solution you perceive to the challenges you have encountered so far?

 

The solution as envisaged emerged as follows:

 

The urgent need to develop a community based all encompassing organisation covering such essential issues pertaining to life like employment, regular hours, control over the total number of extra time put in, place of stay and access to basic civic and sanitation facilities compatible and in harmony for use by women, access to school and education/skill training and the issue most ignored and of which there was no hope was - HEALTH.

 

The majority and unanimous declaration was that unless the local Nepalese population could unite together and form an organisation dedicated to the welfare of the local Nepalese covering comprehensively, issues pertaining to employment, housing, medical needs, education and skill trainng, 80% of their hard labour was not receiving adequate remuneration causing severe lsses and dprivation of the dependent family members out of whom, women and children were the worst sufferers - i.e., 80% target population deprived and suffering in silence 

 

The 'Training Programme' concluded at this point with the promise to continue with the emerging issues at the next meeting, scheduled and concluded - tentatively, January 14, 2011 (Makar Sankranti) regarded as an extremely auspicious day throughout India as also with the mobile community.

 

Translated/interpreted and documented by Aurobindo Mukerji under instructions and guidance of Shri Kshemendra Kumar Mishra.

[kshemendra kumar mishra]

Dear Dr. Rafique

 

Thank you for your invaluable comments. It is our heartfelt desire and endeavour to achieve your levels of competence and conclusions but, that will be possible only with support from you. May I assure you that we look forward to more inputs from you since we are very new to this 'Dream Building' exercise and feel our lack/short-coming vis-a-vis your expertise.

 

Awaiting further inputs from you

 

K. K. Mishra & Aurobindo Mukerji in tandem

[kshemendra kumar mishra]

Dear Ma'am

 

Can we hope for anything better than to have the undiluted pleasure of your active guidance and participation in our programme and help us cover vast uncovered work areas in the achievement of the project goals.

 

We welcome your participation and look forward to your return with expectation and joy. Though belated, we hope you enjoyed A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and look forward to a smashing NEW YEAR.

 

K. K. Mishra & Aurobindo Mukerji 

[kshemendra kumar mishra]

 Dear Mr. Gaston

 

Thank you for the time you have so graciously extended to our very humble endeavour. I have no words to express my gratitude for your comments and experience in this matter. In response to your views I submit as under:

1.      Did the group identify and celebrate already their own strengths? The paragraphs about the challenges and obstacles seem to reflect a heavy - but probably
realistic - discussion. I was wondering how the energy in the group was during
the exercise? 

In response, I would like to credit the Nepalese mobile population as being a rather gutsy and open to quick adaptability to changing social environments. They have from their childhood
been exposed to a very hard, difficult and challenging social environment. They
understand the importance and urgency of quick adaptability and acceptance of
the new or altered rules of life.

Hence, during any workshop or discussion they express a keen drive as also the capablity of decision-making with their feet firmly planted on the path they have to walk.

Yes, these mobile Nepalese people do reflect an intrinsic energy surfacing as their family and community strength enabling them to achieve their goals under extremely challenging social
environments.

  

2.      In the communities I have worked with I have seen that Resource Mobilisation (money) actually never an end goal, nor a dream. People always want to meet
certain deeper needs with the money. If we can go deeper into these aspects
then perhaps other opportunities to solve those needs can arise. Money is only one way to meet certain needs. I learned a
lot lately on complementary
currencies from Bernard
Lietaer.

I wish to repeat that the specific groups that have developed with our on-going EMPHASIS Programme have people both young and old who are very realistic in enunciating the priorities
of their life’s goal and, above all, have their feet planted very firmly on the
ground.

The younger population would all love to enjoy the trappings of the much touted social status symbols like motorcycles and plasma television but, all, without exception, were in no hurry
to procure or secure such pleasures through anti-social activity likely to
upset the family and therefore the community life.

The younger generation accepted the fact that everything would come with an improved economic condition and improved stability in the work area. This was the reason that the need for a community
organisation emerged that would be entirely, totally dedicated to the
welfare of the community and its members maintaining a harmony with the
traditional values and pressures/commitments of the present life style. As
already highlighted, the men-folk were more interested in additional security
in the workplace to assure them of a stable income source bringing in stability
in the family. The need for money security was in every case linked to family
needs and family security. 

Also during my last trip to DR-Congo, the majority of communities choose practice 10 on the self-assessment on HIV (Mobilising Resources) as a priority practice. We always ask them: what is the
link between this practice and your local response to HIV? It always stimulated
an interesting discussion with links that I personally had never seen or
identified. The community also reflected on whether they could meet the same
needs by mobilising not money, but their own human resources. 

Issues relating to HIV/AIDS and other family related sanitation and health issues has been programmed to come up in the third meeting when this ‘Dream Building’ exercise will have
some further inputs and further conclusions as expected and experienced by you
and Dr. Rafique.  

 Assuring you of our commitment and further inputs in the ‘first person’, in a properly documented sequence.

 

K. K. Mishra and Aurobindo Mukerji in tandem.

[Gaston]

Thank you very much for sharing this. I am personally interested in how CLCP and peer education can strengthen each other. From my experience, I have two thoughts that come up when reading your blog: 

1. Did the group identify and celebrate already their own strengths? The paragraphs about the challenges and obstacles seem to reflect a heavy - but probably realistic - discussion. I was wondering how the energy in the group was during the exercise? 

2. In the communities I have worked with I have seen that Resource Mobilisation (money) actually never an end goal, nor a dream. People always want to meet certain deeper needs with the money. If we can go deeper into these aspects then perhaps other opportunities to solve those needs can arise. Money is only one way to meet certain needs. I learned a lot lately on complementary currencies from Bernard Lietaer.  

Also during my last trip to DR-Congo, the majority of communities choose practice 10 on the self-assessment on HIV (Mobilising Resources) as a priority practice. We always ask them: what is the link between this practice and your local response to HIV? It always stimulated an interesting discussion with links that I personally had never seen or identified. The community also reflected on whether they could meet the same needs by mobilising not money, but their own human resources. 

 

I hope this helps. Please keep on posting your experiences. I'd like to learn more from this initiative. 

[moushumi kundu]

Dear Mishraji,

Well done. I am glad to know that you have managed the PE training so well without any support from me. And Mukherji da my special thanks to you, for trasnletting the same.Once I rejoin office together we will decide a location, for model site. Hope you will agree with me.

[Dr. E. Mohamed Rafique]

Thank you Mishra ji. and Aurobindo Mukerji for this hard work. Resource Mobilization (Money) is the most recurring dream in most mobile communities that I have also had dreams and strengths sessions. Be it Saetberya in West Bengal; or Rajiv Gandhi Camp, Kingsway, Narain, or Navin Sahadra in Delhi; this is the number one theme. So, we have included this in the Migration/Mobility Competence Process - Self Assessment Framework that we are developing.

Thank you once again for this helpful posting,

[Sandhya Saxena]

Dear Mishra Ji,

 

Good to read the report of 2-day PE workshop.  From the account of events, it seems the session was very well conducted and it was interactive. We would be interested to know more about the issued emerged.  Thanks, Sandhya