Building a community

Hard to believe that it’s a year down the road I took in April last year, oops, March 2007. Old dogs do learn new tricks, believe you me. I look back to my marketing days and have problems recollecting the day today musings of deadlines and crazy targets! Change happens.

Its such genuflection that has borne today’s blog. After the March 21^st incident I had in Baragoi with the bandits the old lenses through which I looked at life just didn’t do the trick any more. I found myself looking at life and realizing that all that I saw around had actually been created! Someone labored to bring to reality the idea that is the road I drove on. It took perseverance and dedication to create the freedom that I took for granted. Someone lays their life on the line to guarantee me the security I always took for granted. It takes guts to invest hard earned cash to build the house I rent and so forth. Equally, it appeared as such a clear reflection that it takes concerted effort to design the systems that keep a society going. Efforts to weave enduring relations, and patience beyond what I had exhibited this far to see fruition of communal objectives! Thus was born the community developer in me.

After the two years in Ghana with VSO I came back full of ideals, fears and aspirations. I must admit that I came back to my community as a stranger of sorts. I have spent a year unlearning a lot of what I thought it took to make things work. Apparently a community is a lot about relations, sharing ideas, meeting physically and mentally, trading ideas, accepting and discarding notions and perceptions. It’s a continuous endeavor that once realized I have found I cannot negate.

Low moments abound, with nay sayers taking every opportunity to pull my pants down. Critical lessons from PFC (preparing for change) have however kept my focus on the true North however; focus on positivity! Sell your ideas to a critical mass and step aside!

After a while I have learned to hold back my opinion balance a raft of opinions, cajole my way through mined paths and ultimately offer leadership in quick sand situations.

The biggest project in my life so far, an hospital for my rural community is what keeps me believing currently. I must at times stand out as an oddity with my enthusiasm and call to get back to the objective on all parties. This project has brought me side to side with common people, churches and their leaders, ministry officials, contractors, suppliers, village headmen, schools, district wide health stakeholders, politicians as well as the donors and the donor representatives.

The challenge I pass to my friends from my past always is; who is building your community?