Our collective harvest

[Rituu B. Nanda]

10 am on 31st March..Insitute of Social Studies Trust office, Delhi

About 20 of us from different backgrounds and profiles ( medical doctors, researchers, evaluators, managers, implementing agency staff, librariarn, accountant, private sector consultant, development sector consultant, etc!) met  for Jean Louis Lamboray’s book presentation. This was followed by some deep discussions. Here is what we harvested together. I have the privilege to post it. 

Dr. Nayanjeet Chaudhury, Medtronic Foundation - My key takeaway was, in Jean Louis' words, "Development follows public discussion, reflection and action." This means volumes...

Monica Jain, Senior Evaluation Specialist, 3ie- I also loved meeting and learning from other participants. I loved the phrase “Social Vaccine” and its meaning!

Neena Verma, PhD, Private sector consultant and author
I have brought home quite a bit. Here is what touched me really deep -
(1) SHRUTI .. Good is God
(2) One of the stories that Jean shared , essence being - Anger & bitterness are to be & can be transcended
(3) Trust in human process & relationships

Augustine Veliath, ex- UNICEF and independent consultant
Stars are the communities
We will not preach, we will not teach. We are here to appreciate strengths.
Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) comes from Coca-cola.
Put Community Leaders on the Drivers' seat.
Dogma is not rational, it is biased and it is rigid.
Dreams Create Communities
Once we were radios. Now we are recorders. (this one is in the book)

Dr Rashmi Agrawal, retired government official and independent consultant My take away:
1. Individual dreams have capacity to become common dream and this
can bring communities together to work for themselves as energy
circulates.
Experience sharing leads to learning from each other

Anne Marie Moeller, Humana People to People - I believe that we all have a job to do or a role to fulfil as part of a whole. The ‘modern’ development is most of all steered by big business, and in that process we are becoming increasingly individualised and objects in competition. No need to mention examples.

Let us not forget, that the first windmills which were developed in the 1970es for production of renewable energy were produced by blacksmiths, farmers, carpenters, engineers, young aerodynamics enthusiasts and others, who firmly believed that renewable energy was the way forward (in Denmark this was the case). When we come together and we use our combined knowledge, experiences we can make a change.

During the session yesterday I was reminded, that each of us hold great values that we should build on.

Dr Shruti, Humana People to People
It was indeed inspiring to listen to the changes that can happen triggered by appreciating and listening to communities. My biggest take away was the gratitude that an “expert” should feel for being allowed to be a participant in the lives of the community.

As we continue our individual journeys of “what makes us human”, I would like to get more closely involved with SALT. Look forward to many more such articulations and discussions.

Sanjoy Hazarika, CNES and Director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) The gift of listening and mining the deepest concerns and hopes of othersand  thinking together of ways to meet those challenges, of lending a shoulder and being always open to change, correction and connecting the individual to the community.

Komal Khanna , HealthRise, Abt Associates- My takeaways with SALT approach was that on the basis of TRUST, any institution/group can be
looked at as a COMMUNITY to reconnect people (beyond its boundaries and differences) to their deepest aspiration, make them the drivers of change to create and fulfill their our own dreams .
As development workers our role is to trust them, participate in the life of these communities and empower them to create that change for themselves.

Dr Rajib Nandi, Research Fellow and Officer in charge, Institute of Social Studies Trust- My key take away is : All answers are there in our lived experiences. One must look inside for those answers and gain strength to fulfil larger dreams.

And here is a pearl ( she listened deeply) from Amita Joshi, Institute of Social Studies Trust - It was heart stirring to be with the group and Dr. Louis on that day. In silence I absorbed how worth is persuing dialogue for peace and happiness of humanity. Precisely because it is filled with challenges. Now I firmly understand SALT is all about creating a wonderful dialogue with our very own fellow humans.

Akila Ramesh, Librarian, Institute of Social Studies Trust
I liked the meeting because it was not only about work but also about life. We connected because we shared our personal stories. I think in every phase of life we can learn from others even youngsters. 

Nitin Shukla, Accountant, Institute of Social Studies Trust There are strengths in everyone.  We take actions based on our strength. That is why we are all human.

Dr Jean Louis Lamboray, Constellation-"Mom, which god should I pray? The Hindus' or the Muslims'?"-- "My daughter, originally people were looking for good. Then somehow they lost an 'o' and started looking for god. Do add the missing 'o' and  look for the good" Shruti shared her conversation with her daughter in closing our beautiful meeting this
morning. Thanks Shruti . I'll add this story in my treasure chest

Rituu B Nanda, Constellation/ISST
I quote Jean Louis Whatever participatory approach you take, its important to keep the spirit. It could be I ‘engage’  you in a project I manage...or I am collecting data with community to prepare a report for someone else.
Can we turn around? Can we as social workers/researchers/managers participate in your life (life of communities)?
Can we let go off as experts and be in the service of communities we work with?

[Masekhanya Meme Matsie]

Great harvested stories (take aways).  

"My daughter, originally people were looking for good. Then somehow they lost an 'o' and started looking for god. Do add the missing 'o' and  look for the good" - this is so profound

[Jean-Louis Lamboray]

Blessed to have been part of this wonderful meeting. Thanks to Rituu Connector Extraordinaire!