Amplifying Grassroots Voices

Mama Lucy - it's an honor to (virtually) meet you. I took part in last year's Tweetsgiving and enjoyed seeing my name on the classroom wall, and the pictures and video of the children involved in the project.

My question is this: are those children aware of the cultural connectedness to folks like me, who took part in a social media campaign in the United States? How can we become more connected - and change or enhance the traditional donor/recipient relationship?

I know that I'd rather stand on equal footing, and take part in a conversation, than to write a check. This was something of a theme in my book - the infancy of peer-to-peer fundraising. (Stacey, your thoughts too of course!)

This is a great conversation and honored to meet you Mama Lucy! How exciting for you to participate and connect with donors virtually as well as travel to Europe and US and connect with donors face-to-face.


And as Tom suggests, many donors want to be involved more deeply than writing a check. Engaging with donors online and keeping them connecting takes time and capacity. I wonder how you will sustain this work of online donor stewardship beyond the 48 hour campaign or is this the role that Epic Change will continue to fulfill?

Beth,

I'm so glad to meet you. Stacey tells me that you taught them how to use blogs, twitter and other things - it has been of great help to our project. Asante sana (which means thank you very much)!

I would like to assure you that this project will be sustainable as we are having computers and the parents are ready to cover the small running costs of the technology lab. As I now know how to blog, and to tweet, it has been so interesting to me, so it's easier for me to continue collaborating with donors and people all over the world. I know they will be happy to know how the project goes on even after Epic Change is no longer raising funds for us.

It has been so interesting - the blogging & tweeting - and everyone likes to do it, the teachers, parents & students - and we are friends now with people across the world, so we will keep in touch.

This is also another way of learning and exploring more things in Tanzania and outside our community, so now it has become part of our curriculum because we have computer lessons as a subject in the Tanzanian syllabus. By doing this, we're not just communicating, but learning too.

I'm glad to meet you too! Thank you for your question! Thank you very much for your support in building a classroom on TweetsGiving last year. I'm glad that you got the photos we sent.

In fact, the children understand that people across the globe are supporting their education by collaborating with me, our parents committee and teachers. Now, after getting the computer training, and now they know how to tweet, they know that those are the people on Twitter who donated so that we could build the classroom.

We can be more connected by keeping in touch by tweeting, by email, by visiting each other, by sending photos and blogging - like me and Gideon, for example: http://gideongidori.tumblr.com/ - because everyone is getting awareness of what's going on on both sides. Through this it has been easier to make things more transparent and also this helps even at our side. Because we are having our voices heard - the parents, the teachers, the students and the community as a whole - we know we are a real part of the project.

With the traditional donor/recipient relationship, the students, teachers and community won't feel that the work is theirs, and they won't feel proud as they feel now.

You know when you are participating in doing something and there is success on what you are doing, you feel good. I'm glad that you feel good about the project and we feel good - so we are together. We're all on the same side.

Tom,

Thanks so much for engaging in the conversation - and for being such a supporter of the work we've done with Mama Lucy to date!!

As for your question - I second Mama Lucy ;) Of course, I can't bear not to add my two cents...

For so long, there has been a perceived (perhaps even purposefully engineered) division between "donors" and "recipients" or "beneficiaries". This distinction fails to recognize two important things:

1) We are ALL beneficiaries when every human is able to realize his or her full potential.
2) ALL participants are donors of some kind when real change is created. Who's more the donor - a contributor of $10 cash in the US or someone like Mama Lucy, who has dedicated her time & income since 2003 to create this change? What about parents, teachers & students who are working hard & using their resources to build an esteemed school in their community?

I hope instead of creating & cultivating arbitrary distinctions between donor & beneficiary, we'll evolve toward changemaking communities in which we all work as partners and collaborators to create a better world for us all.

To do so, though, we must avoid creating and supporting nonprofits and organizations that benefit by distorting and expanding the gaps between us and instead work to build organizations that "get out of the way" and help us build communities in which we *directly* interact, collaborate & partner with those whose lives are most immediately impacted by the investments we make.

Perhaps that was more than two cents ;)

Thanks!
Stacey

It's absolutely, crucially important that local voices are not just amplified, but given power. Mama Lucy is the one living her life doing this work. As outsiders, we should do everything we can just to provide people like her with the resources they need, then get out of the way with our incessant need to "have an experience" in a developing country. In one not-so-humble-today opinion, people like Mama Lucy should be writing a far greater share of this blog than their cozy San Francisco body doubles.

Last week we had economics debates about patents for AIDs drugs and loan forgiveness and had spent a great deal of time discussing the multitude of distribution issues, government problems, etc. in Africa. Our class is taught by Pedro Videla, a very knowledgeable economist with a great understanding of the world. He always knows what to say to make sure we're all learning the right lessons. In what I remember of his words, he said, "Do not think for a second that these guys, because they are dealing with AIDs and war and other things, cannot think or help themselves. These guys are smart and they will solve these issues."

The message was: don't think because you were lucky enough to be born in a country that is perhaps more developed that you know exactly what's right for others. We can and should help where and when it makes sense, but we must first know our limits and the limits of our understanding and second, be humble enough to know that there are smart people who are doing the right things and they will succeed. What we can do to help is empower them, not look for our own glory or try to do what we think is right. They know what's right.

That is also the message of this post and I don't think this message is heard in much of the Western social world. Perhaps it was simply the title, "Amplifying grassroots voices" that made me queasy, and I am of course, just one voice. Mama Lucy is not just 'grassroots', she's change, she's power, she's worth investing in. This message was very well intentioned and it is quite an important one.

I agree completely with Ashley that it's all about attitude. People have survived and will survive by themselves but it helps to work together and we can only complement what people are doing. It is a great privilege to be invited into people's lives and we should treat that with respect and humility.

Ashley,

Thank you very much for your nice response. I'm glad that you recognize and appreciate what we are doing. I wish everyone could think as you do.

I believe I'm having power, because with whatever resources we have gotten with help from Epic Change and others, we (me, the parents, teachers and community) are the decision-makers. We set the priorities for spending and the running and development of the school. What I am lacking is all the resources I need to implement my full vision for this school and our community. You are very right.

As for the word grassroots, the way I understand the word, I want to stay that way. Working on a grassroots level gives me more connection to the community as I'll be in direct contact, which I think is the most effective way of doing my work of bringing changes to my community. If I will shift from there and move to a more high class or to another level, or if I'll shift from serving the community directly, I won't be able to achieve what we need. If I were to be the Minister of Education or a Regional Education Officer, I won't be able to deal directly with the community, I'll only be dealing with the leaders of the schools and the educational sector. I believe change happens from the grassroots, from the community itself - which is where I intend to stay.

Ashley,

Thanks for your comment! I think Mama Lucy offered a great response. The only thing I'd add is that our original title for this post was "Getting out of the Way" - perhaps that would have been even better.

That said, I do believe it's necessary for us not only to get out of the way (which is good!), but even to use our voices to amplify those, like Mama Lucy's, that may otherwise go unheard. Do you agree? Especially with the advent of social media, we can use our voices in unprecedented ways to shine light on the extraordinary work that changemakers like her are doing across the globe.

Thanks!
Stacey

Today I talked to a social entrepreneur in Vellore, India. I wanted to get him to come to IESE for our Social Entrepreneurship Workshop, but I'm afraid we may not have the budget. It really breaks my heart to think that someone who understands the local market and can benefit the most from business world advice and connection to resources, while simultaneously provide a crucial resource - real life experience and understanding, may not be able to come. If you or your company is interested in sponsoring the Social Entrepreneurship Workshop at the Doing Good & Doing Well Conference (dgdw.org), please connect with me. Ashley.Metz@iese.net

I agree with you. By attending these types of meetings we as the people who are serving the community directly are able to to share ideas and learn from each other, which helps give us more strength on performing what we're doing. Just this past weekend, I attended a similar conference, my first one, the European Summit for Global Transformation, and it was a very good experience for me.

To continue, though attending these conferences gives us more strength, and our voices need to be heard, it is very costly and we are lacking the resources to be there. I hope you find the resources you need.

Hello!

The name of your discussion caught my eye, as my organisation describes itself as "amplifying the voices of small-scale producers". We work in fair trade, which is all about giving power and visibility to farmers from the South.

A particular focus for us has been working with the children of fair trade cocoa farmers in Ghana (working with Kuapa Kokoo, the fair trade co-operative), facilitating conversations between them and young people in the UK.

As new media technology has become better and more affordable, particularly in Ghana, we've been able to have more genuinely open and "unmediated" conversations, although they are alawys managed and structured to some extent.

One project is about a group of schoolchildren from a cocoa farming community making their own webcasts for UK schools: they have been planning, presenting and filming regular webcasts in response to questions from UK children. They are not producing particularly slick products, but it is a genuine conversation. http://www.papapaalive.org/broadcast/taster

We've also tried doing YouTube vlogs from another rural school and, now that they are getting better at typing, having text updates and exchanges in the forums of our Dubble (www.dubble.co.uk) website. These work well.

We have considered using Twitter, but it seems to be quite a difficult medium for anything more than quite trivial conversation if you are not comfortable and immersed in computers and social networking. Plus, when we only have one or two computers between many dozens of students in Ghana it's hard to have any one student constantly doing lots of little updates. Perhaps we haven't hit on the right way to do it yet though.

Tom Allen
Trading Visions

Sorry Tom for our delayed reply! It looks like you're doing some very interesting things to bridge geographical distance using technology.

As for your questions about Twitter, I actually think it's the easiest and least "techie" form of communication I've experienced - though there's certainly no right way to use it. At 140 characters per interaction, it's been a great tool so far for those for whom English is a second language to engage in real conversation with those with no understanding of Swahili.

Finally, I wouldn't underestimate the value of facilitating "trivial" conversation. How are you? What are you up to today? - simple interactions like these are experienced so many times daily between friends. Real friends aren't always pondering issues - they're just comfortable in one another's presence. IMHO, cultivating everyday conversation & connection between people whose experiences are radically different can be some of the most important work we can do.

Thanks for engaging in the discussion!

Hello Mama Lucy and Stacey,

Ashley talks about empowering, not just amplifying voices. If you were to write a how-to book for wazungu social entrepreneurs, in addition to listening well, what would be your essential steps or the attributes an organization should strive for in order to fully engage, nurture, and empower grassroots social entrepreneurs?

How can social ventures help, and then get out of the way? What valuable assets can benefit grassroots social entrepreneurs, beyond monetary resources, and help them become more impactful? What can wazungu "bring to the table" - is it help removing barriers, ensuring local ownership & responsibility, transferring knowledge, providing training, generating jobs and income...?

What do both find to be the most rewarding aspects of your partnership?
Thanks,
Jill

Jill,

Sorry for the delayed reply! You can tell I waited a few days to answer your question because it's really the crux of the matter, isn't it? And it's a toughie.

When I first read your question, I wanted so much to answer from my brain with a quick list of bulletpoints - but the real answer is in my heart. I love Mama Lucy and the children at her school. Love. That is my only answer. I treat Mama Lucy and her students no differently than I would my own mother, and my own children.

This means alot of things. It means I listen. I share beautiful photos. I won't bury her story in a database of thousands of projects never to be seen; I won't commodify them for the sake of "scale." I do not speak of Mama Lucy or the children as a cause or dehumanize this effort by making it about an issue education or poverty. It's not. It's about the remarkable story of my friend Lucy and 350 kids named Gideon, Glory, Leah, Norbert and so many more. It means I want everyone I know to meet them, and take every opportunity I have to make an introduction - via blog, tweet, skype or in person. I'm not intent on tailoring our efforts to meet the sexiness and scalability criteria of so many funders - my priority is helping my friend realize the vision she's worked so long, and so hard to manifest.

I don't manufacture arbitrary divisions where there is none. It never occurred to me to create an online community that excluded them - instead, our donors & beneficiaries (if we must use some silly, ambiguous, unfit terms to create differentiation where none exists) collaborate together and exchange ideas directly. I consistently affirm the contributions of all of the people who are making Epic Change possible in Tanzania - this includes our donors, of course, but also the people who are living and creating this change in Tanzania.

I would never say or portray ANYTHING - and I mean ANYTHING - on my blog or when I speak - that would be questionable to a parent, teacher or student, or make them feel bad, weak or inferior. Our community in Arusha and across the world get all of the same emails and information about our work. I do not manipulate their story for the sake of marketing. Instead, I look for ways they can share their own true story in their own authentic voices.

In every forum in which I speak, I know my audience is everyone I serve. I believe our work serves equally the community in Arusha and people around the world who otherwise might not have the opportunity to learn from, participate in and be inspired by their efforts to create a better future for us all.

It means I recognize that Mama Lucy and the children have a powerful gift to offer the world, and I don't devalue it by valuing monetary contributions to the project more than I value contributions of time, effort, hope & hard work.

I respect Mama Lucy enough to know that she knows better than I do about the needs and desired future for her community. I trust her implicitly, to set direction, choose priorities and invest every dime we raise in the best possible way to serve her community. She trusts me to do the best I know how to support her, and to share her story with respect, tenderness and all the love I can muster.

I listen. I am led. We are a team. Truly.

Most importantly, I'm letting myself be changed by this experience, and by my friendship with the students, teachers, parents and leaders of this remarkable community. And this change in my own heart is the very most I can offer to create change in the world.

Thanks for all you do to amplify voices like Mama Lucy's - and mine ;)
Stacey

It's great to see how a forum like Social Edge can be a platform where creative ideas of people like Mama Lucy can connect with others from around the world who might help her.

However, there are many people working with kids, in Africa, and in other places, who are also trying to be heard. And there are people working with health and environmental issues who also have voices that need to be heard.

In Chicago I operate one of these programs, along with more than 200 other organizations. We all need to be heard, but not each of us is as creative an innovative at communicating their message. Thus, we started building a database in 1993, so we could act as an intermediary to connect more of the people who could help with each of these programs, even though they might not be able to communicate that message. Now at http://www.tutormentorprogramlocator.net you can search a map of the Chicago region to find different tutor/mentor programs. This is still only a first step, because there are not enough people raising their voices every day saying "look at the map" and "be a volunteer, donor, or resource provider at one or more of these places.

I've been contacted by people from Africa who are working with kids and I've encourage them to try to set up some sort of information hub, that would draw visitors from many places on a daily basis, who would then shop and chose what country, what part of the country, what organization they wanted to help, based on information provided on web sites or blogs.

In a Ning group I host a sub-group of programs from Africa is gathering. It's at http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com/[…]/africatutormentorconnection

I hope you'll connect, and share your information, and work toward creating a more powerful way to draw consistent, flexible and on-going resources to each of your organizations.

Daniel,

Thanks so much for your comment! It seems like you're doing great work in Chicago, and you're right, too few grassroots are effective at making their voices heard.

I looked briefly at your database tool, and am always interested to see these aggregations of good work and good ideas. Like Google, often by aggregating and providing tools to filter information, we can offer greater insight into the programs & services that are already available and even highlight potential partnership opportunities.

There are so many information hubs now, though, that I wonder if each successive effort to create a new database is diminishing the effectiveness of another existing effort. I know for us, too, it's difficult to keep up with all the lists on which we should appear.

To be honest, I often wonder whether people like Mama Lucy are well served by being listed in the the many databases of changemakers, nonprofits and NGOS. Does it somehow even diminish her story, and dilute her voice? If she and her effort are just one of thousands or millions in a database, can she really be seen or heard? Do databases like these make efforts more visible - or more invisible?

Thanks for the link to your Ning group!! And good luck on your effort!

Stacey

Because of the free-market economy, I feel there will be a constant expansion of new people launching new tools to "do good" and raise the revenue they need to support their efforts. I think people are constantly borrow ideas from me and others, and most I don't ever know about. Thus, I keep adding links to these people on my site when I learn about them, which makes my "hub" a more comprehensive resource than those who launch new ideas, but don't link to others doing similar work.

To answer you question about how well-served Mama Lucy would be if listed in all of these databases, my hope would be that this causes one or two people who visit these to visit her site, see what she does, and offer to help. Out of all of those visitors, maybe one or two will be "tipping point" type people who give her whatever resources she needs to keep doing her work.

I know that's what I hope for.

The reality is that there is not enough time to maintain your presence on more than a few forums. Thus, to me the secret is to recruit others who care about your work, know about your organization, and are willing to take the time, to be your surrogate in some of these forums. Instead of one person, or a few staff people at Mama Lucy's organization (or other small orgs), there could be hundreds of people acting as network builders, drawing attention, and support, directly to Mama Lucy and other non profits or SE's that they care about.

I'm trying to make this happen in drawing attention, volunteers and donors to tutor/mentor programs. Follow the articles on http://tutormentor.blogspot.com and you'll see progress we make toward this goal over the coming months and perhaps years.

Mama Lucy, I have just become aware of your blog. It is very good and I appreciate you sharing your impressions of the United States both good and less good - in particular this quote was very interesting!
"On the other side of a coin, I’ve noted some things which I think we’re better than here (US).
    * The way the young kids can just call by names the elders and they’re not greeting the elders like our kids do. For our culture, this we can call it’s misbehaving. The way our kids respect elders, is awesome!
    * The way people here (US) they treat the old people is NOT good at all. The members of the family are taking old people to live far from them. For me I think this is not good. After the whole tough job they (parents) did to their children, to raise them up now they see and consider them as a burden to them is NOT good. To me, I think the old ones need special care and love as children do.

Now I agree with what someone wise once said: No one is perfect - even though sometimes in my country some people are thinking the US is so. It is certainly wonderful, but nothing is perfect."

Thanks for sharing! And for those who would like to read the full blog:
http://mamalucy.tumblr.com/