the niche in the groove - community

Our most recent Beyond Borders class at the Working Center was one that really opened my mind to begin to think more about development, and primarily that of community development.

Community development can be both empowering and harmful. Dividing these two very opposing sides is a often faint line. With many different parties often involved in community development it can become a tug-of-war as each side pulls to create the community they see best fit. Business owners, community planners, government officials, students and residence come upon this rope (ie. their opportunity to make community) with varying motives. This tug-of-war scenario takes place all over the world, however the strength of certain parties may be  overpoweringly strong compared to others. This dominant pulling force in many developing countries is the government, who's motives and views take precedence over that of the people whom which community aims to serve.

But who should really win this tug-of-war???

To answer this question, a new question must be posed. What is is community?

I believe community is hard to define in concrete terms for it is my belief that community is a personal connection built on a sense of belonging to a group and/or area, and thus it is unique to each person. I also believe that community development should set out on a route which aims to best serve the People of the community.

There is no finite agreed upon definition of community development, showing its great complexity.
With the quick strike of 21 keys google provides me with multiple definitions of community development. I have listed the first 4 of these definitions bellow. From these definitions some observations can be made: while many of the definitions have various similar aspects they are all slightly different. Different bodies (meaning the different sources: wikipedia, envision.ca ect.) appear to have different motives and opinions. These motives and opinions come from varying agendas.  Community Development can involve various bodies of people and can effect both the individual experience and the built environment.

Definitions of 'Community Development'

Community development (CD), informally called community building, is a broad term applied to the practices and academic disciplines of civic leaders, activists, involved citizens and professionals to improve various aspects of local communities.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_development


is more than just economic development (although economic development is included). Community development is the process or effort of building communities on a local level with emphasis on building the economy, forging and strengthening social ties, and developing the non-profit sector.
www.envision.ca/templates/profile.asp


A process of developing or building up communities of men and women to enable empowerment, self-sufficiency and control over their environment.
www.acil.com.au/glossary.htm


Technical Version: a process involving the conception, planning, and implementation of projects or activities which create improvements in (or reduce the extent of declines in) the living standards of people in a particular community
www.ccd.net/resources/guide/glosary/glossary1.html

Service Canada states an additional remark about community development in their community development handbook which I found of significant importance as well, stating:  'the two [community development and capacity] are interrelated but distinct. Combined or separate, they both have a great deal to do with developing potential and enhancing community living.'
I believe development and capacity come hand in hand and if developed correctly one should lead to the other, for a stronger more vibrant, healthier and knowledgeable (developed) community should in turn have a greater capacity. It is possible for capacity to come before community development too for instance if capital is given to a community, jobs are made and government is well running this may lead to the ability do develop community.

The assimilationist attitude of the Canadian Government in the 19th century towards Aboriginals is an example of community development gone wrong. The goals of the residential schools was to develop a community but this view of community was imposed by the government onto the people. This is not at all what the people wanted in the way of development and resulted in... the disempowerment of the people and a disconnect felt between these people and their true community.

This haunting tale is a reminder to not impose community rather to assist it in its development as the people wish it to be. Although it is a very extreme example of the negatives results of an externally imposed community aid workers and students like myself who travel to other nations in hopes of assisting the people can be faced with similar, although most likely less extreme, scenarios where their ideas of assisting the people may conflict with ideal community of the locals. While I believe myself and others in similar work with NGOs do have the ability to assist and empower the people, providing them with the resources, new knowledge and materials (ie. capacity) community development must come from the community members.






Read Service Canada's Handbook to Community Development here:

http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/epb/sid/cia/comm_deve/cdhbooke.pdf

Kenyan News Stories of the Day

Topic: treatment of women in Kenya
Specifics: Sunday Marked the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation but unjust treatment still exists in many areas 
http://allafrica.com/stories/201102070003.html


Topic: the natural world
Specifics: Rising Forest Fire Incidents
http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate%20News/Kenya%20Forest%20Service%20sounds%20the%20alarm%20over%20rising%20fire%20incidents/-/539550/1102946/-/dp9531z/-/


Topic: Removing the slums of Kenya
Specifics: Ministry of Housing aims to eradicate all slums
http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/business/Kenyabusiness/Sh800b-needed-to-purge-Kenya-slums-5236.html

*this is an older news article. Very little news is available on the slums and in fact close to nothing comes up for Kariobangi in a google news search
*none the less I found this article very interesting and relevant to my latest post and one of our class readings  (http://www.theworkingcentre.org/wscd/pubs/understanding-canada.pdf - chapter 1: What is Development?). Will the changes involve speaking with the people themselves? Will new housing become occupied by the people of the slums or others of greater wealth? What is the aim of eradicating the slums?


Enjoy the reading :)
And don't worry .. their not all that long

the culture of a slum

Conor, one of the three Beyond Borders students who I will be traveling with had posted last week about  slums, where he provided some statistics and definitions as to what slums are and the shear numbers of people living in them. The piece which I found most powerful in his blog was his reflection on his nurturing upbringing and seeing how this upbringing may vary for people raised in the slums we will be living.

I think Conor's post will be fueling a few blogs of mine to come as these slums are fascinating to me in so many ways - and in looking at them there are so many questions to ask: why do they exist? why can people not escape them? are people content in them? how do the people living in the slums view themselves? what is the culture of the/a slum? and many many many more. While I hope to touch on these topics in future posts and attempt to answer what I can of them from research I am quite sure the answers will not be found in books or web documents, and I may need to find the answers myself from the very people that live there.

On this note - if you have a question which you might like me to shed insight on and pay attention to during my time in Kariobangi please do let me know, as I would like to extend as much knowledge as I can from my placement to others so that awareness and understanding can spread.

In any case, I had said that I was not going to be blogging on those topics as of yet, as interesting as they are.
In this post I wish to speak about what sets Canadians and Kenyans apart and even more importantly what ties us together. It was suggested to us as a group that we get comfortable feeling uncomfortable - and to me the most uncomfortable situation which I could find myself in is being the odd man out. Being surrounded by like minded people and those with similar experiences myself is comforting!... being removed from this security blanket .... not so much, and I believe this is because I feel as though I cannot related as easily to a group of people who are unlike myself (age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, ability and religion are things that often set us apart).....They won't understand how I feel, they won't like the things I like, they wont understand the things I say or why I am the way I am.

Sometimes I worry about relating to the people living in the slums and being able to connect to them as there is so much that sets up apart. This is why.. with some brainstorming and critical analysis I hope to find strength and become aware of what connects myself and these Kenyans.

Here is a breakdown of my life so far
- I was born in a hospital to two loving parents on November 24th, 1989
- I spent my first couple of years at home with my mom and then went to a daycare 
- At the age of 4 I began schooling (JK). 
- somewhere in the time between here to my entrance to high school I .... learned to play the recorder, had a pet gunnie pig, learned to play volleyball, soccer, baseball, floor hockey, basketball and participate in track and field, changed outfits and hairstyles, flown to Calgary many times, had many themed birthday parties and many many other things.
- then I entered into high school: at this time I got to travel far distances with competitive teams, travel to cottages, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, the Dominican Republic and many areas in the States, got a part time job making something like $9/hr, went to school dances and desired an interest in nice clothes.
- next came University - where I am now: I got to choose the program of study which interests me most, I have support if I want to change my program, I work in a higher paying job, and live in a comfortable house away from my parents.

... I have led a fairly 'normal' Canadian life in my ways, and I am sure many of my readers can related to the order of these events.... but can the people in Kenya.

I can't admit to know much about what life in the slums would be like, however through the film which I have watched and a interview I have read - looking at the lives of people in Kibera, a very large slum outside of Nairobi I have made the following theoretical life line. Looking at this I can easily find contrasts between the life of a young adult who has grown up in Kariobangi and myself.

A parallel existence in Kenya

- I was born at home in a rural village with little to know medical support
- My mother passes away shortly after child birth due to complications
- From age 6-8 I attend elementary school, but often am away from school for long periods to help my father in the fields or at the market.
- Our rural house is modest but provides good shelter for my family
- The year I turn 10 our father cannot support our family of 4 and we pack up all of our belongings and head to Nairobi in the hopes of a better future and a good job for my father
- There is a long waiting list for houses in Nairobi, my father has a hard time securing a job with very little education
- We move to the slums which are on the outskirts of Nairobi. Here we can live for very little money which we pay in rent to the slum lord.
- While we build our house we are offered temporary residence with another family. There are 7 of us living in their house now.
- brown green water flows through the open ditch outside of their house- this is sewage.
- My dad has been hired as a security guard from a well off household in Nairobi, and we have income for the first time in a long time
- While my dad is at work me and my brothers sort garbage for recycling to make money
- The government tore down our friends house less than 5 houses away with no warning so that they could develop that area into housing for the rich - we are worried that our house may be next.
- My future lays uncertain

The differences in experiences are clear
The differences in fears are clear
The differences in living conditions are clear
The difference in immediate aspirations are clear

Although it is hard to believe I can find a line of connection between myself and the people of Kariobangi I think I have two beliefs that are helping me see the possibility:

1. Life is relative: while my woes, such as having water damage in my ceiling is nothing in direct comparison to the woes of having your house or your friends house torn down without notice, my worries, concerns and stress resulting from this is large in comparison to the normals of my life. Similarly, although not at all just fair, the threat of having their house torn down in Kariobangi may seem less frightening to them, because in relation to the constant turmoil and uncertainty they face daily this issue may seem less frightening.
Although my issues are clearly trivial compared to those of persons in Kariobangi the feelings of worry, concern and stress are similar to these people. Similarly my feelings of joy, while they may come from different sources than the joy of these people -  I experience joy as they too experience joy
This ties directly into my second belief

2. Simply, humans in their simplest form are the same all over the world.

Although I may feel uncomfortable at times knowing that my worries are nothing compared to the people in Kariobangi I know if I just act with my heart and relate to the people of the area as friends and simply humans I will have no problem becoming comfortable. I am sure I will also be able to find AMAZING inspiration in seeing the strength of the people of Kariobangi in the times of hardship and find humility in the small pleasures of life which are cherished and celebrated there.

While many things will separate us more will pull us together.



If you are interested in reading the interview from which I learned much about the lives of people in the slums follow the link below
http://www.pri.org/theworld/?q=node/6669

some facts to leave you with

The number of slum dwellers is increasing at rates which lead many to believe that the population residing in slums may soon be greater than that of people living in cities.

Nairobi has almost 2 million slum dwellers (although this number is very debatable)