Knowledge Fair in Delhi

[Sanghamitra Iyengar]

Last week, I was in Delhi learning from an amazing effort of bringing the CLCP and SALT approach into an extremely difficult environment of cross border migration attempted by the Care Emphasis team inspired by Mohammed Rafique.. The teams were working within the constraints of a highly structured programme with largely quantitative deliverables. They were pushed, challenged by the donors and felt dejected about what they could do. Yet when the community stories began to be shared, they were extraordinary. A group of rickshaw pullers who had been overcharging cross-border migrants got together and decided not to increase the vulnerability of these individuals. They passed a resolution in their union about this, and even decided that there would be a fine on whoever overcharged. Understanding led to action and basic human response!!

Another story was of a police station with a water filter. The police who had initially been suspicious of the team interacting with the migrants and been rough with them, started looking at their role as members of the local community.They started offering access to cold filtered water to the migrants. Small changes, but community led and born out of a feeling of fellowship.

I could go on and on, with examples, which the team itself could often miss seeing in the immediacy of the targets.These experiences need to be learnt from and the team supported to appreciate itself!!

 

[Gaston]

yes, exactly. Thanks for pointing out those 2 essential factors to consider.

[Sanghamitra Iyengar]

Gaston, I am also caught in this web of document and connect. Somehow, we need to look at facilitating different mediums. In our communities with limited internet access and issues of literacy , what works is coming together and sharing face to face. So maybe the old idea of yours and Phil's to have people telling their stories online will work better. What we need to look at is in this age of information overload, how can people in different settings find time for this? How can they be drawn to this?

[Gaston]

This sounds like a real Knowledge Festival! So many interesting local responses. A part of me is so eager to document these more structurally and make them accessible through a database that is easy to use and intuitive for communities around the world. Also for the partners and donors, but primarily a website for community members to get inspired by other local responses. Your ideas are more than welcome for such an initiative.