Working Together

Last May, I had the opportunity to travel to a completely new world for me. I spent two, life-changing, months in Kenya. Kenya is on the east coast of Africa and draws all sorts of people year around. We realized most tourists were there to go on a Safari (which translates to journey in Swahili). But, we saw a number of muzungus (white people) that were in Kenya to volunteer their time for the Kenyan people. At first, I did not know what to expect when we got to this country. I had my preconceived notions about developing countries and the pictures I have seen online or in documentaries. But, I wanted to experience first hand what it was like to be in this country. My friend and I met people from all walks of life. We met businesspeople, pastors, school children, women dying of AIDS, and homeless and orphaned children. This trip was not easy to enjoy. I did not realize how impoverished these people were and the true meaning of what it means to go hungry until I met people from this country. But, there was something else, something on the other side of the spectrum. These people were the most giving, thankful, and faithful people I had ever met. You really see what is important to you, when you do not have much of anything.

I kept asking how Kenya, and most of Africa, got into this cycle of poverty that they can never seem to stop. There obviously isn’t one simple answer or even just one answer. But, obviously us muzungus coming into their land and trying to “fix” them was not working very well. What was a system or way of doing things that could really help these people? I got some answers to my questions when we helped out with one organization while we were there. This organization, ZOE, helps orphans sustain themselves and helps them with accumulating a skill to make an income.  We talked to orphans that successfully went through this program and now are able to feed themselves and their siblings. One boy we met, who was only eighteen, starting tearing up when he said because of the business he started, he could afford the school uniform and shoes for his siblings. They had never had shoes until he got this opportunity. But, what was special about THIS particular program? It wasn’t an idea that had never been tried before and it wasn’t hard to teach people a skill. So what made this organization so successful?

This is one of the orphans that this organization has helped in creating a better life for himself and his siblings.

The key to this success was that they worked with people from the community the orphans came from. These people were taught specific tools and trades from “professionals” and then could help these kids help themselves. Once I realized that people from the United States were funding the project and teaching people in the community how to go out and help these kids, this all made sense. How can we expect to go in and change this cycle if we do not even know the first thing behind their lives, their hardships, and their culture?

The role of non-professionals AND professionals, in this setting, was the only thing that would have worked. I do not even know how people think of a program without including the people they want to help. Just because you received an education, have money, and the right resources, does not mean that your target population cannot contribute to your efforts.

This is not only for organizations and endeavors abroad, this is relevant for problem solving in the United States as well. In the words of Richard Florida, “we’d be much better off enabling residents to take control of and build on community assets, engaging them in community-based organizations that can spearhead revitalization and build real quality of place.” This is what the organization in Kenya did, and now it is helping children in over six African countries. They were not afraid to take a step back and realize that the “professionals” did not have all the answers.

When professionals and non-professionals work together, a population can be assisted with gaining greater access to vital resources. The orphans in Kenya have this access now. Not only do they just have access to food, clothing, and shelter, they are creating the resources to give them these basic needs. It’s fine to go into a community, where people are starving or being taken advantage of, and bring them temporary supplies. But, when you teach people the tools to create the     resources for themselves is how you really improve their lives.    Image Credit: Digitalgroundup

In the article, “Culture of Poverty Makes a Comeback,” it is interesting to note that the writer argues that there is something to be said for the idea that people’s attitudes and behaviors keep them poor. She quotes William Julius Wilson’s definition of culture. He says culture is when “individuals in a community develop an understanding of how the world works and make decisions based on that understanding.” This point does make sense, but I believe people’s understanding of the world can change. This can happen when professionals work with people in the community they want to help. By working together, people can change the perception of what they think they can accomplish to what they can actually accomplish. The culture of poverty is one of the theories of poverty. But, what if people took the time to change this culture to one of success and I can do this, and not failure and I can’t do this. I cannot imagine growing up in a community or area that people do not believe in themselves and think that this is the life that they were meant to live. If just a few of those people’s mindsets changed, this culture of poverty could be dramatically reduced. This brings up the theme that Maurice Isserman writes about in his article, “Poverty of an Idea.” Isserman shies away from the idea of poverty as a culture. Instead, he argues that poverty is situational and that poverty is more about society and larger institutions. No matter the take on poverty you agree with, people have to work together to rise from poverty. The professionals that have the resources, the education, and the money can spread it amongst the non-professionals with the love and knowledge of the community and it’s people. Together is the only way to fight poverty and completely transform people’s lives.

Image Credit: Cleaningcredit

Links to get more information from the issues touched upon:

Zoe Ministries Website- an overlook on what this organization's mission and accomplishments are. It highlights their programs around the world and what they are doing to help orphans in many countries in Africa.

A blog about the Culture of Poverty from an organization called iOnPoverty, an organization that participates in impact videos to help spread the word about poverty and what we can do to stop it.

A very interesting article from Mother Jones, that breaks down the Culture of Poverty theory and asks for a contemporary take on this idea.

Then Versus Now

When I visited Los Angeles a few years ago, all I could think about was how independent everyone lived. It seemed like everyone lived in a sort of bubble away from everyone. If you did not want to interact with another person, you didn’t have to. How many other places are like this in the United States? People just get in their cars everyday and go from their home to work and back home again. It does not surprise me why parents are scared to have their kids play outside and the lack of knowledge neighbors have of one another. No one knows each other anymore. There is no sense of togetherness and unity amongst people that live in a community. Is there even such thing as a “community” anymore?

Image Credit: Calendow

I always hear my grandparents say, “Everyone use to know everyone.” I grew up hearing stories of my parents getting in trouble because their teacher would seek out my grandparents at church on Sunday and explain something they did wrong during that school week. This would probably be very rare now. When and why did this change? It seems that people use to be at the forefront of a community. People use to define a community and make it what it was. Now, a community seems to be labeled on geographic constrictions. We define our community by our zip code. We have fallen out of touch with our surroundings and the people that make up the area we live in. This can have several repercussions. Our community can be safer, more economically resilient, our children can have a better future, and many other factors can come about if we try to strengthen our communities.

Growing up in the suburbs, this sense of “unattached community” was all around me. I walked to school when I was older and played outside with the neighbors that were the same age as me, but this was pretty much the only interaction I got with my community. I was involved with church and band, but this only included certain people in the community and definitely wasn’t very diverse. We had a community center with a swimming pool, tennis courts, and community events. Sounds great, right? It was great, if you could afford to pay a membership fee every month. I grew up always wanting to go to the swimming pool because people at my school went or going to a concert that was coming there. But, the people that could afford to use it were the only ones who used the community center. This definitely didn’t create a unified community.

Image Credit: Forbes

John McKnight and Peter Block’s article, “Abundant Community,” brings up the idea that our lives would be more fulfilled if we created a community amongst each other. They argue that seven elements create an abundant community and help everyone in all areas of their lives. These elements bring up very important factors that not all communities possess. One of the elements that stuck out to me was “we are local people who must raise our children.” This was a very interesting point to make in our current communities, if they are communities at all. The writers say that we pay professionals that do not even know our children, to raise them. It used to be that family members or close neighbors would raise our children. Now, we are so out of touch     with people around us, we don’t allow our children to be immersed in our surrounding areas. I kind of took this element differently than what they describe. I think of it as how children use to be outside from the moment they came home from school until darkness or dinner was ready. I barely see children playing outside anymore, if at all. There are a lot of reasons this has happened, but a major one is that no one knows each other anymore. And if people in a community do not know each other, there is no trust. Parents do not trust the people in their neighborhood to look out for their children and therefore do not let the children play outside, away from their parent’s awareness. Children miss out on so many things because of the lack of trust in their communities. They miss out on meeting people different from them. They miss out on learning about where they live and the beauty that is all around them. They miss out on being independent and making up games in the street. 

Even though this element is only one of seven, I think it paints a picture of what McKnight and Block are trying to accomplish with this article. They end the article by saying, “when we fail, no organization or government can succeed.” This is a very powerful statement. Is it true? How can we make sure that an abundant community becomes relevant today?

I started thinking about current situations that could be defined as communities in today’s terms, and in McKnight and Block’s terms. I thought of university and college campuses and of retirement communities. The video clip is pretty cheesy, but it puts the idea of retirement communities into plain terms. Basing off of the seven elements of an abundant community, it seems that retirement communities possess most of these. Is this the future of our communities? Fake, and pre-structured places of living? 

This piece of literature talks about how retirement communities historically came about and the need that the elderly population needed this sense of community. They would rather live in these places with people acting, looking, and living exactly as they do. But, these might be the future of “community”, as we know it, if we do not start changing how we live. We are missing out on important and life changing aspects because we, as citizens, are not making an abundant community a priority. 

John McKnight and Peter Block's website is also a useful tool to learning more about the "Abundant Community."

Image Credit: PLPNetwork 

Links to go more in-depth on the issues:

An article from the "LA Times" about the history of some retirement communities and the progress they have made over the years.

A short bio on John McKnight and what he is currently involved in at Northwestern University.

Blog posts by John McKnight and Peter Block in association with the "Huffington Post."

When will it stop?

I am currently interning at a major non-profit organization that has offices in every major city in the United States. At our branch we help anywhere from senior services to budgeting and networking classes. It is safe to say that there are a lot of clients in and out of those doors on a daily basis. I am assisting with starting a weekend feeding lunch program for high school students, working with new refugees in the resettlement process, and helping seniors receive funds to pay for their various needs. I am never bored and always busy. But, I was thinking the other day about why social service agencies exist, and if they will always be around. The existence of social services makes my current career plans, to become a social worker, possible. I was thinking about how people come into our agency and receive, lets say money to pay their electric bill. There is a whole process between the client, the electric company, and our agency to get this job done. It is not a fast process and it is not an easy process. And I would like to note that probably 60% of the people that come in for some sort of help have had an unforeseen circumstance come up. They might have lost their job, had a loved one pass away or had medical expenses they had to pay for. But, the other 40% of people have no income, except for maybe food stamps, and go to social service agencies for help on a monthly or weekly basis.  I was trying to put myself in that situation and could not imagine a harder life. Why do they need to go from agency to church to family member constantly for help? Was it something they did? What is paying one bill going to really help their situation? Nonetheless, most of these people do not know how they are going to find food to put on the dinner table and need help from somewhere, but where? We come across these people everyday. They are living amongst us and contributing to our society. How can we help them?

I cannot imagine how many people all over the United States live like this and what they go through on a daily basis. I was trying to think of what the agency I work for is doing, and how it only provided temporary support. What if we changed the whole system so people could live on a long-term basis, not a short-term one? I’m sure I am not the only one, no I know I am not the only one that has thought like this before.

                                                   Image Credit: Productive Flourishing

The first thing that came into my head was the cycle of poverty I learned about in school, and how if we do not break this cycle then people will be eternally in poverty. There are some people that have the will and the way to overcome the terrible situation they were born into and to say good-bye to poverty. But, this is very hard and maybe impossible to do by yourself. How can we make it easier for people to be forever helped and escape the life they were “given”?

In David K. Shipler’s article, "Total Poverty Awareness", he talks about how poverty is closer to an ecological system than a culture. He brings up great points about how every person in this system needs to work together to help get people out of poverty. He states:

But poverty is not a culture. It's more like an ecological system of relationships among individuals, families and the environment of schools, neighborhoods, jobs and government services. Professionals who aid the poor witness the toxic interactions every day. Doctors see patients affected by dangerous housing, erratic work schedules, transportation difficulties and poor child-rearing skills. Teachers see pupils undermined by violence at home and malnutrition.

                                                            Image Credit: Tucson Sentinel 

                                                        

He then brings up that we need to change the system and make services interlinked. I completely agree. People go from one agency to another and have to fill out application after application. Apparently, there were community action centers that did just this. These were developed under a program in the War on Poverty. Shipler talks about this in his article and says that politicians disliked these centers because they “were doing something very good.” The money eventually ran out. This goes to another reason I was thinking on why people are still living in poverty. Maybe, there are people that do not want the system to change and think that the class system is not only fitting, but also essential to keeping the world as it “should be.” Messed up as that might be, I cannot think of another overarching reason why there are still people living this way in the richest country in the world. 

An interview with David K. Shipler talks about his book,The Working Poor, Invisible in America, and more about the ecology of poverty. In this interview a quote jumped out to me that went along with this blog subject. He said, "We can afford a lot of things that we could not probably afford if people were paid a living wage, a much higher wage." This is a big motive for the system not changing because it will impair the middle and upper classes from living how they want to live. 

I also thought it was interesting to see where David Shipler came from and how he got involved in researching people in poverty. This blog gives a brief history of David Shipler and a time line on what he has been involved in during his life.


Links to go more in-depth in the issue:

The Shipler Report- David Shipler's very own blog updated frequently. This is where he shares some of his thoughts, ideas, and insights.

A recent interview with David Shipler by "Guernica" an art and political magazine. Very interesting interview about his thoughts on our current president, everyone having a right, and power.

A book review by the "New York Times" on David Shipler's book, The Rights of the People. Talks all about this book that Shipler has written and gives a good insight into the reviewers thoughts.