“What is our motivation? What drives us at work?  What do we get out of our journey?”  These are questions for our reflection this week after a nun shared her motivation and challenges in journeying with under-aged girls exploited for prostitution.

So what is mine?  Shortly after I joined Beyond Social Service last June, I fell sick so often and I wonder why.  Looking back, I realised that one of the reasons was because I was not emotionally ready to handle the multiple…

By Beverly Bell

April 9, 2012

Welcome to Birthing Justice: Women Creating Economic and Social Alternatives. The series features twelve alternative social and economic models which expand the possibilities for justice, equity, and strong community. They are based in the US, Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Some are national-level, some global-level. Some are propelled by people’s movements, some forced or adopted into government policy.…

This journey began in May 2011 when I return from the learning experience applying CLCP to WASH in Suriname. I was aware of a similar project in Guyana being implemented by Red Cross. Now I understand that it as a collaboration of the French and Guyana Red Cross project but that had ended but that a new phase was about to begin. A casual conversation with Xavier Zimmerman and Suparna Bera-Narine resulted in “We are interested in you making us, our Facilitators SALTy or learn the…

Last week I was at an inspiring meeting in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  A dozen of us gathered from different parts of the US to continue an exploration of common ground.  There's a confluence happening.  Especially over the last decade people have been working with different words to explore the same questions: How do we create healthy communities?  Communities where happiness is pursued, not  consumption.  Communities where people live with the graceful bounty of this planet rather than…

Some time back in one of the meetings with an organization, we all were asked to describe what our regular work day is like. Well, after giving it a brief thought, I said I do not have a regular work day. My work days are rather medium or large!! I mean, not a day passes for me when I don’t learn anything. Every day I meet people, talk to them, learn so much from them and get inspired from them. Do u think it’s a regular work day.. Nah, don’t think so!! Consciously or unconsciously…

I have started to put content on a site called 'Constellation Learning'. The hope is that it will contain material for people who facilitate the Community Life Competence process.

I have added a section called 'Learning tools' to this site. It contains a description and discussion on the Constellation Learning tools. It is taken from the updated version of Blended Learning. The tools discussed are AAR, learn-and-share, story telling, peer assist, knowledge asset and knowledge…

GLoCon is travelling this year to many communities throughout the world, to say thank you for the courage, faith and resilience each has demonstrated, in the face of serious challenges to life and health. In 25 countries, over 30 communities will be visited, for up to a week.   The team that forms is drawn from AFFIRM facilitation associates and other people who want to explore the vision and direction of GLoCon. In short, every community counts and no neighbourhood should be…

The Indigenous People’s Commission (IPC) is one of four Rights Commissions established under Article 212 G of the Guyana Constitution and tasked, inter alia, with setting up mechanisms to enhance the status of Indigenous Peoples.2012 is the first year of effectively working and one of the major activity is outreaches to Amerindian villages helping them to know and understand why IPC, its functions and how they can benefit from the IPC’s existence. During the visit IPC wanted to also get some…

The question of how to develop and strengthen the social capital of the community has been on my mind over the past months as I walked around the neighbourhood of Henderson. It was by coincidence that two of my teammates chanced upon a small notice in the RC about an upcoming youth volunteers meeting.

Last Friday night, my colleague Anne and I attended the “Youth Volunteers Network” meeting that was initiated by a 15 year old Youth leader of the Henderson RC. We…

Les anciens résidents du centre de la Croix-Rouge pour demandeurs d’asile à Beho, Belgique, ont joyeusement souhaité la bienvenue à quatre nouveaux membres. Ces derniers résident actuellement à Beho. Ils ont trouvé soutien et encouragement auprès des 11 anciens dont Marie Camara qui a accueilli tout le monde chez elle à Malmédy. A l'agenda de cette après-midi du 3 mars 2012: renforcer la communauté et les liens entre les membres. La communauté grandit et pour passer du rêve à l'action, et…

BelCompetence a organisé une réunion pour préparer la mise à niveau de ses facilitateurs et la formation de nouveaux facilitateurs. A Vielsalm, dimanche 11 mars 2012, Marie Christine Swennen, Louis-Marie Butoyi, Fabien Manirafa et Jean-Louis Lamboray ont discuté du format du BL (Blended Learning), de son contenu, de la durée de la formation, de la validation et du calendrier. Après avoir fait le point sur les formations passées, ils ont élaboré une stratégie de formation. La première…

( Ian and Alison Campbell are re-visiting all the communities they have worked with in past two decades.  They will cover 25 countries in six phases. The local team mates join this team in their respective countries. The journey is called Global and local community conversations. Here are reflections from Ian after the first phase. Thanks Ian for sharing!)…

Hi there everyone, realised that the blog I sent was incomplete. So here is the other part which was missing.

Example 2.  Society may probably perceive them as "pitiful" and as though they have limited education and abilities, but these communities have proven that they have the capacity to respond to their life situation. Like one of them said, "Where there is a Will there's a Way." They build their own network, working with the police, govt. bodies, schools and also…

I was privileged to be a participant of the Inod Competence Salt Visits at Jogjakarta. SO, WHAT WAS MY LEARNING?

1.  I learnt that it is important to LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN, so that learning can take place.

     In order to Listen Attentively, I must be conscious of this - to be fully present for the other person(s), accepting, respecting the person(s) who is in front of me, as fellow human beings.

This I witnessed in all the communities…

I am in Prague waiting my connection flight to Barcelona and I wanted to share with you the feeling of excitement that still bathes me. It still persists a sense of joy and contentment that usually starts with the openness that propitiates dialogue, and a stimulating sensation that starts when I prepare for listening and persists in time every time I review what actually happens there.

I know about the power of appreciation through my own experience. I have learnt much about…

(Перевод Марии. Большое спасибо)

Я в Праге, ожидаю пересадки на самолет до Барселоны, и я бы хотела поделиться чувством восторга, которое до сих пор меня переполняет. По-прежнему я ощущаю радость и удовлетворение, которое обычно приходит вслед за откровенностью, позволяющей сделать общение более спокойным, и побуждающее чувство, которое…

Сегодня я общалась со слабовидящими людьми. Они невероятные. Избито, но я же ною без машины... Они берут за руку своими теплыми ладошками и разговаривают. Они говорят о себе опустив скромно голову... им незачем ее поднимать, они не видят. Они самостоятельные, они живут СЕГОДНЯ, они имеют ого-го какое чувство юмора. пару этих парней я бы отпраивла в стендап шоу. Вот это опыт!!!

I have never worked with communities and never heard the word SALT before. So what I saw being occasionally involved in learning SALT-approach (as an interpreter) confused me. In order to come to comprehension I've decided to describe the SALT-process.

The work in group confirms the idea that people are the same even being absolutely different. I was really amazed when I heard my story  word for word from another person. The stories of others correspond to your life and reflect your…

March 14, 2012

By Alexis Erkert, Photos by Ben Depp



"As activists, we commemorate this as a day of struggle, a day to make our voices heard until someone pays attention and helps provide solutions to our problems." Facing the Haitian parliament with a throng of banner-waving and singing women at her back, Rachelle Fondechaine of Women Fighting for the Development of Haiti continued, "Today is March 8th! It's a day when women workers in New York…