Blog #4: Priorities

     

            Action expresses priority.

                                 – Mahatma Gandhi

 ‘NSTEP is the definition of a community. The operation of this organization is dependent on maintaining its delivery, which would require identifying the building partnerships with other organizations that understand the need of having the health of Calgarian youth as a priority.

The Process

The initiation of connecting with ‘NSTEP is multidirectional. Organizations have approached ‘NSTEP to include them in development of some objectives. More likely, ‘NSTEP has approached other organizations such as The Running Room and the University of Calgary to engage these groups in the program, what they are expecting and discussing relationships that can be built as a result of shared appreciation for this need. There are two priorities that ‘NSTEP will act on are varied and vast; which is dependent on how the ideas are presented. The priorities must include funding activities to enable ‘NSTEP to continue to be sustainable, or must promote the development of healthy lifestyles in children. These priorities are made evident by the quote by Mahatma Gandhi; ‘NSTEP acts on activities that connect the organization to these two outcomes.

Once the engagement to the idea has taken place, the next step is communication of innovative methods available to execute the idea. This phase requires open minds and creative thinking; both skills are encouraged and supported within this community. If there is missing information or a lack of manpower, additional involvement is sought. This can include expert consultation based on experience or providing a new perspective to determine the feasibility of the project. There is no limit to the connections that will be made in aid of the cause. An example of this is the founder being on a morning run in Vancouver and finding the head of a major grocery chain, so she approached him to identify the organization, the mandate and her involvement.

After all necessary parties are on board, the execution stage is in effect. All members collectively make these ideas a priority and contribute their expertise to the project.

These steps reinforce the quote above, and reiterate the community aspect of the ‘NSTEP program. This program could not exist without a community of support or well identified priorities. As priorities gives the organization direction and leads to action. Priorities are necessary. Without priorities, nothing would get accomplished.

 Everyone has different priorities. What are yours? 

- Dawn

Blog #3: My Community Group

The Community that I belong to is a program called ‘NSTEP, which I contribute to as a volunteer program facilitator. ‘NSTEP’s mission is to promote nutrition and health to young children in schools. It is a very simple concept of encouraging the use of the Canada’s food guide and physical activity to enrich the lives of children.  

My role of the volunteers is to deliver educational lessons in an interactive experiential learning model that treats each school as an educational and holistic community. It is not enough to teach the students health class, it is equally important to reinforce these lessons on a daily basis in class, with snacks and at lunch. ‘NSTEP also takes opportunities to inform parent about the program and the benefits of encouraging healthy eating and fitness habits on their children’s ability to learn and succeed in life. This program is a great example of a community because it requires the cooperation of program facilitators and reinforcement of lessons by the teachers.

I suggest that this organization although aimed at improving the nutrition of the students that it serves, has a greater power. As a result of the communities that the program targets, which are low-income communities, it is often the case that the parents of these students have very limited knowledge regarding the importance of eating well or living actively. Even if these parents do receive these messages, it is unlikely that they understand the potential positive impact that implementing behavioral changes could have on their children’s health and ability to learn.

The students are very much a part of this community development process as well because they then act as ambassadors to pass what they have learned to their parents, siblings and friends that are outside of their educational community. The student’s ownership of the program increases the effectiveness of the program beyond the classroom and the organizations mission of developing the healthy lifestyle skills in youth. These students are setting themselves up for their futures to be better learners because they will be able to concentrate better on lessons in high school and beyond. In addition, these students are becoming experts in an area that they are proud to share with their families and friends.  The long terms affects will lead to increased confidence in their own abilities and skills that will lead them to contributing further in their communities as leaders.

“The more hands the lighter the load”

Additionally, resources are an area of constant strain on most community-oriented programs. The challenge is that there is so many programs and organizations out there competing for charity and sponsorship dollars that it is difficult on companies and government representatives to decide on which causes to support. The sad reality is that the companies that we have supporting us, are not able to support others, as they too have limited resources available for charitable contributions. These companies and their representatives including the government must make choices about where to lend their support. This lesson translates to us as community leaders also. There is not unlimited time or money that we can give to a community in need. It is necessary to determine where best to utilize the resources that are available and determine, as an empowered group, where the attention is most needed.

In the case of the community of all nonprofit organizations, the ideal resolution would be if we could get everyone together as a community and pool resources and funds. Through the creation of this kind of symbiotic relationship, all similar organizations could create a great community that would be more willing to share creative ideas and efficient use of pooled resources due to better understand of each organizations needs and what strengths each group brings to the table. Currently there is a competitive mentality between organizations, which each group holding their resources and knowledge close to their hearts to avoid sharing their knowledge. If a community like this could develop, the end result would be greater impact on all programs and agencies by conserving man power from sharing established protocols rather then having to make up their own, testing them, and then implementing them all independently.

“A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.”

Henrik Ibsen (Major Norwegian playwright of the late 19th century, 1828-1906)

 - and that is my two cents

Dawn

Blog #2: Movie Review - Invictus (2009)

Summary:

The movie Invictus is based on true events in South Africa; beginning with the release of Nelson Mandela from prison (1990) and concluded with the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The film chronicles Nelson Mandela as he attempts to unite South Africa as President shortly after the abolition of apartheid. This movie observes the tough decisions that Mandela made and the relationships that he foraged to reach his ultimate goal of unification and equality. One of the most significant steps (tools) that he made was by utilizing the 1995 Rugby World Cup and the Springboks team as a vehicle to support the change in value and belief of the South American people. The Springboks Rugby team had mostly white South Africans palyers, his support of the team and their success was the necessary vehicle to illicit change and to create a sense of community.

How sports can unite a community

At its core, the movie Invictus has two main themes that support the community development concept that we have been discussing in class. The first noticeable theme is the qualities of a great and influential leader. Nelson Mandela personifies great leadership characteristics through his actions.  He recognizes that everyone has different experiences and therefore different opinions, he exemplifies a great leader by seeking to understand before he acts. He understood that being elected by the people meant that he was now responsible to take care everyone within the community. His words were influential to the community as they were always inline with his actions, which made him credible to his followers. Mandela knew that it was necessary to risk popularity to do what is right for the community. His believe in the public's support was great, he felt that they were capable of understanding that he was doing what was best for everyone. The most significant aspect of Mandela's leadership was his ability to take small actions and realize the big picture outcomes. This is evident from the conversation that Mandela had with his secretary when she suggests that there are other concerns that require his attention including poverty, and unemployment during their trip to a vote against the Springboks representing all of South Africa. Understanding the effect that these other community issues will never truly be resolved until the people  unite as country to contribute to solving the other problems.

The second theme of this movie is the reliance relationships to aid change.  The mutual respect and understanding between Nelson Mandela and Francois Pineaar created an opportunity for change. It was necessary for Mandela to use his position and his personal experience to inspire others to act; including Francois. Mandela knew that Francois and the Springboks had the support of the white South Africans, and if the team was able to show compassion and equality to the black South Africans, then equality was possible. This relationship required Francois to act as follower to Mandela's ultimate vision of uniting the country. I imagine that accepting Mandela's request for the Springboks to win the Rugby World Cup with the intention of using this event as a vehicle to unite the country was more difficult than the movie made it out to be. The introduction of the movie suggested that Francois grew up in a society that was with strongly prejudice on both sides.  Once Francois was engaged in vision, it was necessary for him to lead the South African Springbok rugby team to redefine the parameters of the community to which they belong. Francois was able to show his leadership abilities by stressing the similarities between the two groups of people to help them to relate to all South Africans.

I related to his movie, because I am in a leadership role where I work. I often have to make challenging decisions that are not popular. When considering important decisions, I have always given more consideration to the decisions that I recognize will be unpopular, but have always felt that I have made the decisions with the best of intentions. It is not always easy to do what is right, but as a leader I am able to recognize that making the right decision is most important thing.

I am inspired by this movie and Nelson Mandela as an leader because I recognize that he had to overcome hardship with a positive attitude and the ability to inspire others. Mandela was a great leader because he believed in a better community and that he could make a difference. He was willing to risk everything,  including 27 years of freedom to see it through.


EVERYONE should see this movie, it is not a rugby movie, it is a movie about the ability to change or impact the community that you live in.

- and that is my two cents

Dawn


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FozhZHuAcCs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mKku1_RRqs

Blog #1: Article Review - Lessons Learned from Kenya

Community-based Tourism Enterprises Development in Kenya. An Exploration of their potential as Avenues of Poverty Reduction. (Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 2007. Vol. 15, No. 6)

Summary:

The article’s main theme was ability to make Kenyan communities self-sustainable through ownership and involvement in the process. The research regarding Kenyan communities was conducted through interviews with community members from a variety of villages. This article concentrates on the tourism industry, as a potential source of income and independence for its people through Community Based Enterprises (CBE) that Kenya is attempting to development and support. This is of great importance for the people as there is a limited choice of industries available to the country. In the past the major industry was sport hunting, but since a ban has been placed in 1977, to prevent poaching due to the increase in endangered species. This law has also created more protected areas which has limited the amount of area available for agriculture. Since the beginning of the tourism industry in Kenya, there has been reliance on external Western investors that are profit driven, which does not allow the people of the area to benefit financially or in skill development that could leave the people able to be self sustainable and independent from other nations. The position of this article suggests that assistance is necessary, to provide tools and knowledge, but limited control to ensure that they will be able to prosper once the external assistance is no longer needed.

Bridging the Gap between the Kenya Communities and the Calgary Classroom:

This article relates to the conversation that we had in class recently regarding the framework that is used in the planning process of community development. The steps that the Kenyan people have taken part in were briefly outlined and there were many similarities between how they were attempting to create the Community Based Enterprises and the steps of the framework that we covered. The steps of the process that were evident included: sharing strengths and successes, their prioritizing are clear, they are willing to work hard, gained assistance of knowledgeable experts and they understand the needs of their own community.  These steps are evidence that there is potential for this community to utilize the community development framework. There were also some noticeable gaps in their processes that I believe to be the root of their continued struggles to create sustainable businesses to support and grow their community.  The most significant step of the community development frame work that would benefit the communities plan to develop small enterprises would be to educate the community leaders of this framework and the necessary skills to take control of the enterprises, Give empowerment to the community and gain the support of the government. It would also be beneficial to create concrete goals and facilitate good decision making by the community members.  

This article is both a message of warning and hope. It also stresses the importance of good intentions for the people who choose to provide aid. This can be translated to any developing communities in the world, despite the countries economic state. These same concerns and expectations could be easily applied to underdeveloped aboriginal communities in Canada. It is not that they expect organizations and the government to come in and take over; they merely require assistance to get the knowledge and tools that they lack. It would be of greater benefit to communities in financial need to provide the training to the people to create their own lucrative business models, and then provide the financial assistance with the initial startup.

This article is relevant to our society and the world today as continued efforts are given by developed nations to aid countries and people that are less fortunate. The lessons learned by this example prove to reinforce the need for assistance in making nations, such as Kenya, self-sustainable. This article indicates that the people are not looking for continued foreign aid; they are need of assistance and knowledge of the developed world to get them started. It also imperative that those that are in a position to assist others, they must do so from a place of selflessness, and not with expectations for personal gain. 

- and that is my 2 cents. 

Dawn