Charis Around the World

Tidbits from Ebony
Elizabeth Carmichael

The Anatomy and Physiology of a Community Development Project

How do you do what you do? This is a question I get a lot.  Sometimes, people don’t even get to this question because it seems so unthinkable to live in a place like Ebony, let alone accomplish any productive work there. But, productive work is going on all over the country. And, when done well, the development efforts end in a sustainable harvest of strengthened communities and individuals.

This month, I wanted to give you a little glimpse into “what I do.” The first, and most important point, is that I do nothing alone. I not only rely on Christ’s strength just to get out of bed in the morning (as well as everything else I do!), but I also do not work alone in any aspect of life in Ebony. I am a team member. My team is not a group of individuals with different tasks, simply identifying themselves as a team because they work for the same company or have the same background, expertise or experience. We are a team because we are interdependent on each other, mutually submissive, working together for a common goal that depends upon 100 percent participation from ALL team members.

We are a community development team. The purpose of community based development work is to facilitate a given community so that they can meet their own needs in a sustainable way. We are in Ebony to meet and honor our host communities, to learn from them, to help them help themselves, and to offer what we have for their good. This includes offering all that we have and know that is for their eternal good. Here in this article, however, I am sticking to the physical development work that we do so that you can begin to envision what my “work life” is like. It’s so meaningful for me to share this with you this month since I am returning to Ebony in mid-March. I invite you to pray for my travel back in-country, for my language acquisition and for my team as we seek to re-establish ourselves in the development efforts in our beloved country of service. I also invite you to pray for the host communities that our Father will lead us to. Pray that He would prepare the way and give us favor and an ability to offer help and love to people hungry for Him.

There are many communities in Ebony living in tents. Some live in this condition because of situations that have kept them in poverty. Others are in this condition because they are displaced due to drought, war, or other problems motivating them to flee their home towns. Tent communities in Ebony are in desperate need of community development.

The perspective that I hold is that this kind of charitable work is a responsible use of our stewardship of monetary resources as well as our talents and our time. It is the kind of life Christ has called us to on this earth. Instead of just throwing money “down” to those less fortunate than us, we are coming alongside them, taking the time to sit, listen and learn and offering what we have available to us for their empowerment….for their good.

Hypothetically speaking, what if this were a shot of four trained community development workers heading off to their host communities in order to teach a lesson about the benefits of breast feeding and how to make sure a woman is producing a good amount of milk for her baby? Wouldn’t that be wonderful! This is a picture of my dream. A development program that does not revolve around or depend entirely upon myself or my team, but that becomes “owned” and carries forth from the local people themselves. Many they also carry forth much more important news (yes, even more important than breast feeding!) to those around them!

Although every community development project is unique with its own set of rewards and challenges, there are some common elements inherent in a good development process. Some given qualities of a well done, community based project are:

--IT WILL TAKE TIME

--IT WILL TAKE PATIENCE

--IT WILL TAKE TRUST

--IT WILL TAKE CROSS CULTURAL EFFORT

--EVERYONE WILL LEARN SOMETHING

--THE OUTCOME BELONGS TO THE LORD

As much as I want to dive into detail on each of these characteristics, I will spare us all for now.  Books could be written, and in fact many have, on each of these topics. Perhaps, as my team heads back and we begin our work again, I can update you on how each of these components is going with regards to our project work.

A well done community based development project can be done using any number of methodologies, but I will share with you the general steps we intend to take as we prepare to approach a host community within the coming year.

1. Our first step is to come in contact with a host community. Sometimes this is accomplished through an awareness project where we offer short term relief work as a means of spreading the word that “we are here and we want to serve you.” Sometimes, this step can be bypassed for a more simplified approach in which community leadership is contacted directly and an open dialog begins. Please pray for our organization as we seek establishment in a new city, Glory Land, and as we pray for the Father to reveal the communities within the city that are ready for a development project.
    

2. After establishing our presence and earning some report with a host community, a project team then conducts a needs analysis discussion including components of problem solving and brainstorming. In Ebony, this kind of dialog MUST happen among community leadership in order to take root and flourish within the community. But, the discussion will also, hopefully, include input from community “lay people”—the actual people in dire need of help, the people who will do the actual work of the project, the people who will be most affected or make significant investment in the project. Individuals at all these levels of interaction with the development project are called the project’s “stakeholders.” Within this kind of discussion, our team/organization will ask the community, “What are your needs? What can be developed within your community to make you stronger, more stable, and healthier?” As they discover and identify their own needs, we offer our help and facilitation in helping them meet their own needs. For example, if a community says, “Our women and babies keep dying during or after childbirth.” Our response would be to share that we are equipped to train people in the community to be trainers themselves, teaching the entire community (over time) about issues related to pregnancy and childbirth. We would allow the stakeholders to decide if this resolution is appealing to them. Then, the project begins.
    

3. When the stakeholders have offered input and engaged in meaningful discussion of community needs and resources available that will enable the community to meet their own needs, the next step is to get the word out to the entire community. This is an especially important step if the development project involves education efforts (such as childbirth education). The support of the community as a whole is crucial to accomplishing lasting change for the entire community.
    

4. Our next step involves actually equipping the community to meet their needs—training trainers, education groups, action groups. Participatory learning is crucial to this part of the process. We don’t follow a traditional classroom model in sharing information with our host communities. Instead, we have been trained in participatory learning methods which allow group trainers to “facilitate a process that helps people analyze problems, discover solutions, and define positive action steps. Participatory learning helps people discover they are capable of much more than they thought. It gives dignity by mobilizing the greatest resource of all for overcoming poverty—the God given resourcefulness of people who live in difficult circumstances.” (Source: Lifewind International) Are these concepts ringing a bell for any childbirth educators out there?!
    

5. Along the way and at a clear “ending point” to the project, the community and any additional stakeholders need to evaluate the effectiveness and sustainability of the project. Failure to evaluate in this matter can lead to disastrous results in a cross cultural environment. Part of truly empowering a community mean also trusting them to evaluate their work, to reflect, and to make choices about the next steps they need to take in order to move forward into further development. Sometimes, communities who have been truly empowered and developed through the whole process, gain a vision for being facilitators (community development workers) for other communities in need!!! It is always so exciting to me when I meet men and women who have become community development workers because of the development work they have been a part of in their own communities first.
   
   Next month, I plan to summarize a hypothetical project for you in story form, applying the steps I mentioned above.
   
   To learn even more about community development principles and projects around the world, or to seek training for yourself, I highly recommend Lifewind International.
   
   Love and Blessings,
   
   Elizabeth Carmichael

A local fruit stand. Agricultural development and animal husbandry are some of the most promising types of community development projects offering hopeful change throughout the country of Ebony.

 A view from the sky. This picture and the next show the types of narrow, green valleys that exist throughout the mountainous regions of Ebony. Each green strip represents villages of impoverished people who are far from access to education, health care, and economic development. Guess what else they are far from/have little access to? Truth. Hope.

Who will dare to go where they are so that lives may change and eternal destinies might be impacted for His glory?!