Appreciating people's strengths makes me happy

[Rituu B. Nanda]

I used to work in UNDP Solution Exchange when I was first exposed to SALT. Laurence from the Constellation interviewed me for the newsletter, find the extract here. At that time, CLCP was called Aids competence (ACP). I started facilitating much later, as it took a lot of time to process a strength-based approach and move from an expert mindset. I did not give up and I finally took the first step...still continue to unlearn every day.  I thank all those who have walked with me on this path, encouraging, nudging and challenging. Rafique, Steve and Megh from UNDP were the first ones who made me go!

Appreciating people's strengths makes me happy
India, April

“As I look back, I cannot believe that I did not want to go for the first event of the ADB-NGO Competence Process. I work for a Knowledge Management Project called, Solution Exchange, UNDP India. The advisor of our project asked one of the four-team members who work on health to attend the training. As nobody wanted to go, I had no choice but to go. Then, the magic of the AIDS Competence Process worked and I am so happy that it did.

I didn’t believe that people could do things by themselves. I thought NGOs needed to go and tell people what to do. However, I discovered the power of community responses and ownership!

Here are two examples of community visits that changed my way of thinking.
Firstly, I visited a community in Karnataka who has used the AIDS Competence Process, with the support of the NGO Samraksha. An old woman told me: “You know that it was a real taboo to talk about sex here. Now, we can openly discuss the issue. In the same way as we put on lipstick every day, we should use condoms!” The women initially excluded the younger women members of her family from such discussions. Eventually, the woman even brought her daughters to the meeting, where community members discussed issues related to HIV.
Secondly, I was impressed by a community in North-East India that had been working with The Salvation Army. The Dinthar community in Aizawl refused funds from the government and preferred to mobilize their funds, bought a piece of land and set up their own rehabilitation centre. Young people in that community were very active with an excellent prevention programme for Injection Drug Users.

The AIDS Competence approach has helped me a lot in my professional work, as it entwines Knowledge management with fieldwork. I now look for the strengths of the members of the Solution Exchange network. The focus now is on experiences rather than opinions.

Apart from professional growth, ACP tugs an emotional chord in me. ACP has reinforced the value of appreciation in my personal life. The best outcome has been that I have found one of the nicest and highly professional teams in the Constellation. The team practices what it preaches, which is very inspiring and motivating. Above all, I found a bunch of friends in the Constellation whom I can bank upon. ACP makes me happy! Cheers!”