November 22, 2004

Dear Friends,

Sirwa is a small hamlet in the foothills of the Himalayas consisting of four shops, a school, and a dozen houses. Don’t bother looking for it on any map. It is about 25 miles from Mussoorie, where we live. I (Scott) found myself there the first week of November attending a workshop the Bhawan Project was holding for a group of community leaders. There were 12 men and 5 women, all newly elected and not really sure of their roles, responsibilities, or authority.

It took a full hour to get there on a winding, narrow, mountain road. At points during the journey great vistas of miles of snow-capped Himalayas came into view. Halfway to the village I was treated by the project staff to a small glass of sweet milky tea at a roadside teashop.

We started out in the project jeep at 8:00 a.m. in order to get to the village by 9:30 for a meeting scheduled for 10:00 a.m. We arrived on time, but no one was there for the meeting, so the project staff set about getting ready. Still no one was there by 10:00, or by 10:30, or by 11:00. By then the staff began to get nervous. They had brought me there as the Community Organizing Consultant. What if no one shows up? I was trying to remain a little out of the way.

I did not want a “loss of face” for the staff, so I put on an interested, confident outward appearance. Of course, inwardly, I’m thinking, “Where is everyone! Is this a wasted trip? What have these people been doing? Reports have all been so glowing. Has this all been smoke and mirrors?”

By 11:30 the first of the community leaders arrived. By 12:30 most are there and we begin the workshop by 1:00 p.m., “right on time,” (village time). Just when I thought “now we’ll get down to business,” the special guest, a high school headmaster, is asked to open the workshop with a few appropriate words. A long thirty minutes later he is still talking and I am going crazy! “When will this guy stop?” I am sure he can hear my thoughts, they are so intense. He finally does stop after about a 40 minutes of extemporaneous speech. I could not tell what he said, because even though I started out listening for the meaning, I could not maintain the effort. Once he stopped, we only had about half the time we had planned for.

The staff had brought a TV, video player, and a generator to show a short video meant to start the meeting and focus the discussion (not a method I endorse, by the way, as the technology is often distracting or doesn’t work) The video described some of the responsibilities and authority of elected community leaders using experts from Delhi who tell how critical the role of local elected people are is for India. I thought it was a waste of time. Ten minutes into the video people started talking among themselves, obviously not very engaged. Again I thought, “disaster!”

So, with less than an hour to go in the day’s schedule, they began talking about their own communities and what they could do to make them better. Then a miracle happened. Community leaders from three different communities divided up into their own groups and in about 30 minutes had thoughtfully identified goals that they thought would improve their community. They even produced an action plan to accomplish some of these goals. To tell the whole truth, the Action Plans weren’t technically very good, no SMART objectives, no impact indicators. But, it was an action that said “We can!” rather than the normal “We can not” way of thinking of many poor communities I have seen.

I felt great. I felt scared. I felt proud of them and of the staff. I also felt very honored to be present to have watched this transformation, or at least partial transformation, take place. Often, development projects, in their rush to prove how indispensable they are to the “beneficiaries” so their funders will keep giving, convince community people who they are working with that they, the people, can do nothing on their own to effect a better life. The people at this meeting, on the other hand, were energized and confident in themselves. It was very much an empowering moment.

There is plenty more to do. Skills and attitudes need to be strengthened so these newly elected leaders will not only be empowering and active leaders but also have the skills and knowledge to follow through on their dreams and goals. But what a wonderful start! It was a great Christmas gift for me.

I trust this description of a “day in the life of Scott” gives you some hope and encouragement in a time when conflict still dominates the news.

Christmas greetings to all our family, friends, and those we do not know so well, that get this letter.

Scott and Melanie Smith

The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 182