democracy and young thinkers

Dugnad – Working for the common good

idasa — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 20:34:41 +0000

“Democracy is not something you believe in or a place to hang your hat, but it’s something you do. You participate. If you stop doing it, democracy crumbles.”(Abbie Hoffman)

By Solveig Leland

One of the sessions in iLEDA’s Citizen Leadership Training for African community leaders deals with the question of what a citizen is. Citizens can be seen as voters (recipients of government services), volunteers (the neighbourly citizen, favouring interaction with other citizens) and co-creators (citizens working in partnership with government to solve societal problems). The notion of the citizen as a co-creator is emphasised in the training, and the participants learn how they, as citizens, can work together to identify specific issues in the community that need to be addressed, develop strategies to solve problems and create things of public importance.

Instead of being a passive citizen complaining about the services government provide, a co-creator will engage both government and other citizens in working to find ways to improve the services. Active citizenry enables bottom-up decision making. Some problems are just easier to understand and to deal with when you’re close to them. When government is unaware of or unable to solve a problem in a particular community, ordinary citizens can choose to solve the problem themselves. When everyone partipates – with their own sets of skills, talents and insights – solutions can be developed that will be of lasting, public value. In short, citizen participation builds a better democracy.

In Norway, where I grew up, democracy has been around for quite some time, most prominently in the form of social democracy. We have a well-functioning welfare system, people have equal access to education, health- and social services, and it’s all very comfortable. Yet, we complain. We have become used to a system where we pay our taxes (though not without grumbling), and in return we expect the state to provide us with excellent services. Perhaps it is the strong individualist focus that is making us behave more like customers than engaged citizens. Perhaps democracy has become too matter-of-fact for us, and we have forgotten that we have to participate in order to solve societal problems. We have forgotten how to be active citizens.

Or have we?

Although individualism is on the increase, and the every-man-for-himself mentality seems to be growing, the spirit of solidarity and community is still present around the country. In fact, we have long traditions of community organising in Norway. Our concept and practice of ’dugnad’ is a manifestation of this. ‘Dugnad’ refers to work that is done on a voluntary basis, unpaid, and that has significance either for individuals or the greater community. In short – community service.

The concept of ‘dugnad’ is inherent to the Norwegian language and culture, and even little children will talk about going to ‘dugnad’, proudly carrying spades and buckets in their hands. ‘Dugnad’ is such a familiar and dear word for Norwegians that we voted it the national word in Norway in 2004.

In the village where I grew up, which has just about 800 people, there is little more than an old-people’s home, a primary school and an upper secondary school, a grocery shop and a church. The biggest building by far is the sports hall. It seems almost too large for a village of this size. You might be wondering what 800 people – of which 20% live in the old people’s home – might be doing with a giant sports hall, but you’d be surprised.

The people in the village decided they needed a space for the youth to play sports and for cultural events. The school hall was not big enough, as people from neighbouring villages would often show up for events as well. In cooperation with the municipality, the villagers took it upon themselves to construct this huge building. Funds were provided by the municipality, but this was not sufficient to cover all costs. Every weekend, for months, villagers would donate their time and resources and spend hour after hour at the construction site, contributing where it was needed. Some would build, some would provide food and others materials.

All around Norway, even in the cities, this phenomenon is present. When spring finally comes after a long winter, residents of apartment blocks will gather on a Saturday to clean up the garden and put a fresh coat of paint on the building. The local football club needs a new pitch, and players, parents and the rest of the community show up to help. The man next door is having a new garage built, but is short of resources, so neighbours come to help with the construction. Or, in the case of my village, we needed a place where the children and youth could play sports indoors, and all the villagers donated time and money and spent every weekend helping out at the construction site.

In 2007, Statistics Norway estimated that the value of the work in the voluntary sector, paid and unpaid, amounts to almost 4% of GDP. But as much as this is about pooling resources and contributing time or money, it is also about creating a sense of community and building relationships with neighbours and community members. And – it’s about solving problems.

The tradition of dugnad in Norway shows that although Norwegians at times may take the role of a passive, complaining customer, most of us will not hesitate to participate in these activities that help foster change at the local – and sometimes national – level.

This tradition for community organising is not unique to Norway – barnraising in the US, talkoot in Finland and naffir in Sudan are all traditions that bring the community together to carry out tasks for the common good. It is the essence of these ‘traditions of change’ that iLEDA is trying to communicate to civil society in Africa through its leadership programme.

People have to come together – not just to protest – but to solve problems and build their own futures. Participation and active involvement from the citizenry is immensly important for the deepening of democracy, but even in democratic countries this cannot be taken for granted. In societies where traditions of communal work are present, people must be made aware of the democratic significance of this type of work, and the importance of keeping the practice alive. These traditions are essential to preserve democracy, and will – if cultivated – be a valuable resource for people in coming to terms with what it means to be an active citizen. Ultimately, democracy does not come from the state, but from the people.

Citizen leaders in Malawi eager to work on community organising

idasa — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:20:29 +0000

In April 2010, Idasa’s iLEDA programme completed the last week of the iLEDA School citizen leadership training course in Malawi. 29 out of 30 participants graduated. They are community leaders from the Mangochi and Zomba areas. However you look at it, these participants, mostly just matric graduates, had been asked to learn a lot during the four weeks of training.

by Amy Eaglestone

The iLEDA Schools course teaches the participants skills, knowledge and values through which they can improve community organising. A number of abstract and concrete issues are covered, including ethics, conflict resolution and advocacy, but also local government structures and project planning. To put their new found competencies into practice, each participant is expected to hold an awareness campaign for their community.

Besides the above, participants also grow as a group, learning to trust one another and work together, encouraging and supporting each other along the way. On the final day of the training course in Malawi students expressed their wishes to keep in touch.

“Coming together is just the beginning, staying together is actual progress” is how one participant in Malawi put it.

The participants all agreed that their role from now on is not only to implement their new skills and knowledge but to encourage others in their communities to adopt their new approach as well. Starting a movement to change and strengthen the way civil society deals with community issues. To do this, they all agreed, they needed each other’s support.

This view is not just shared by Malawian participants; it is shared among most former training course attendants. The wishes and needs of these former participants to keep in touch and support each other in future endeavors is how the idea of the iLEDA Alumni Network was born.

This network is now being designed to offer a platform to alumni and their organisations for sharing information and experiences. The core of the network will be built around a number of innovative and more traditional communication tools that are widely available to all members.

By tapping into each others and iLEDA’s resources graduates will empower each other to address the challenges they face as active citizens, with the support of the iLEDA community. This continued support and development means that the impact of the training courses is enhanced and extended.

Building long term relationships with former participants and their organizations also means that iLEDA has the opportunity to engage members of the network in monitoring and evaluation and improving the effectiveness of our programme.

One participant from Malawi concluded a discussion on this topic, remarking appropriately “The movement we are creating should [...] produce a network of alumni, organizations and community organizers that keeps our work alive!”

In the coming months the iLEDA Alumni Network will be carefully designed and implemented to offer hundreds of alumni, CBOs and other NGOs an independent networking platform in support of democracy.

A visit to iLEDA Schools for democracy in Malawi

idasa — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:15:26 +0000

iLEDA Volunteer Amy Eaglestone from the Netherlands visits Idasa’s iLEDA School for citizen leadership for democracy in Malawi. She travelled to the southern African country with iLEDA School head Noxolo Mgudlwa and trainers Auburn Daniels and Lesley Adams. She discovers several development challenges and argues for citizen leadership training.

By Amy Eaglestone

It was raining when my colleagues and I landed on the only flight that day into Lilongwe International Airport in Malawi. It wasn’t the tropical rain that buckets down to offer a short respite from the African heat and humidity, but that European drizzle, that does nothing but make your clothes and hair damp and uncomfortable. So as we ran across the tarmac to the shuttle bus, I mentioned to my colleague that this wasn’t exactly what I was expecting in the heart of Africa.

But to a westerner like me, Malawi met my expectations. The women wear colorful traditional African dresses, they carry heavy buckets of water and other necessities on their heads, food is sold from small stalls or just off the ground along the main roads, the red soil stains everything, coca-cola in little glass bottles is so sweet it makes your teeth stick together, you need a 4×4 to get from one town to the next and the best place in town to eat is the café behind the petrol station. But above all it is where natural beauty, cultural diversity and extreme poverty go hand in hand.

Yet in our line of work of African development, Malawi is not at all typical. It ranks number one in Africa for per capita international Development Aid. It is overrun with international NGOs vying for space and attention. At the conference centre where we were working on Lake Malawi every car in the car park was a white SUV with UN, EU or another international organization logo on the door. Every room in the building was used by one of these organisations for a workshop or conference.

Malawi is an attractive destination for development aid and the idyllic views, the night sky, the sunset cruises and the Malawi gin add to that attraction. Above all the people are friendly and fun loving. However, the presence of all these international development NGO’s and massive state budget support do not yet seem to have produced the intended results.

The UNDP finds that over 65% of Malawians are still living in severe poverty and the UNDP human development index ranks Malawi at 160 out of 182 countries. Major issues like corruption, HIV/AIDS and domestic and sexual violence are also prevalent .

Unfortunately the presence of so much Aid also seems to have negative effects on society in Malawi. Two examples of negative Aid side effects caught my eye.

Within civil society a per diem culture has developed whereby local charity workers and community leaders expect and even demand to be financially remunerated for attending any kind of event or activity. This culture was created when rivaling NGO’s measured their success on the number of attendants to their events and therefore offered an added incentive. Unfortunately this has led to these events becoming a source of income which makes people’s motivations to attend questionable.

There is also the broader issue of an Aid mentality. Citizens seem to have become reliant on Aid and do not see it as a temporary solution. This has caused citizens to become inactive within civil society and for them to stop helping themselves or voicing their views, because eventually a charity will come along and take care of it for them anyway.

After just a few days in Malawi I started to question why we were even there, did I want to be party to these development aid faux-pas? But the causes for my concerns are the exact reasons why the iLEDA programme should be in Malawi.

To end this cycle of aid a new generation of community leaders is needed that act as change makers at a local level. These community leaders will assist with rebuilding a vibrant civil society to act in the interest of communities and participate in decision making that affects them. Only then can sustainable development be achieved.

During this visit we completed iLEDA’s first Community Leadership Training course in Malawi. Participants of the course, 29 community leaders from the Mangochi and Zomba areas, spent over 9 months developing skills and knowledge that will change their approach to development and their relationship with the development community. Most importantly the community leaders developed an understanding for what they could achieve in order to ensure sustainable development of their communities.

Mining – how civil society sees it

idasa — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 07:51:18 +0000

- By Martine Roberts –

While the global elite of mining professionals gathered for their annual Mining Indaba at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) from the 1st – 4th of Feb 2010, a network of civil society organisations, including Idasa, hosted an Alternative Mining Indaba (AMI) of their own.

The Mining Indaba attracts mining analysts and investors as well as government actors from around the world to discuss the newest developments in the industry. Attendance is limited to professional investors and the industry, effectively excluding the communities in which mining takes place.

The Alternative Mining Indaba, which took place just a stone’s throw from the CTICC, was hosted by a number of civil society organisations including: Economic Justice Network (EJN), Benchmarks Foundation, ESSET, Afrodad, Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) and Idasa, supported by religious leaders from Southern Africa. Reverend Malcolm Damon, executive director of EJN, made opening remarks, which captured the objectives of the event; “We want to create a platform for the communities and share stories of the atrocities perpetrated by the mining industry. We want to say that we are watching you.” The reverend did however also emphasise that constructive engagement with government and companies is absolutely necessary to strengthen policies and improve conditions for communities affected by mining activities.

Guest speaker, Archbishop Ndungane, highlighted the dilemmas of natural resource extraction by emphasising that “the only point of integration of SADC economies into the global economy has been, and remains, through the export of natural resources. Despite all the abundance of natural resources, citizens of SADC are among the poorest in the world, meaning that the management of resources has not been beneficial to the ordinary people.” He continued highlighting the fact that governments had failed to protect their citizens as “…human rights is the baseline expectation. Companies cannot compensate for human rights harm by performing good deeds elsewhere. These gross human rights atrocities that are a result of irresponsible mining practices should not be allowed to continue, not on our watch.”

Testimonies were given by community members from the Moroke and Mokopane communities in Limpopo and Luka in Rustenburg. These areas hold some of the richest reserves of platinum in the world and attract major mining companies like Anglo Platinum and Implats. The stories from the communities painted a very different picture to what the mining industry likes to portray. Evidence was given of unethical mining practices including, but not limited to: serious ecological damage, relocation, disruption of heritage sites, lack of economic benefits, and destruction of livelihoods.

The Royal Bafokeng case in Rustenburg is seen as a shining example of corporate accountability with the Traditional Authorities owning shares in the mining companies. However, no significant wealth distribution is taking place and the community exert little or no control over their resources. “The control of the resources is in the hands of the few. The decision making system is flawed. Decisions are made from the top and trickling down to the bottom. It’s not a bottom up approach. The community has no control on making decisions around their wealth. Consultations are being done with consultants and some elites but when the bigger meetings are held, the decisions are already taken,” explained Eric Mokoua from the Luka Environmental Forum.

The testimonies were supported by Brown Motsau, project manager at Benchmarks Foundation, who pointed to research which reveals the secrecy surrounding mining contracts and government revenues generated from these agreements. The lack of transparency and access to information poses one of the most serious challenges in terms of the ability of civil society and citizens to hold government and mining companies to account.

The Alternative Mining Indaba demanded that the UN Declaration on Free, Prior and Informed Consent is adopted and implemented. Communities should be properly informed about the consequences of mining and be free to decide whether or not they will allow mining activities in their area. If and when the communities welcome mining companies, the principles of transparency, accountability and participation should always guide the interaction between them.

What drives government and politicians?

idasa — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:59:01 +0000

By Mvuyisi April

As Tanzania approaches its national elections in a years’ time, it is worth looking back at what holds our democracy so that moving forward as a nation we can strengthen our loose ends and build on the pillars that our liberty was found on. We have seen a number of politicians campaigning and mobilizing voters for the recent local elections that took place in Tanzania. With little less than a handful of campaigns in the urban areas one can only assume that very few people have come out to exercise their constitutional right and voted, while in the rural areas where there’s lack of education and information one can also assume that the voters only voted for whom ever promised them milk and honey.

With the newspapers full of stories on corruption and lack of accountability of leaders, one just can’t stop asking as to whether voters are conscious of what their votes mean, and whether they really understand the power that lies in their hands as they cast those ballots? Can they feel the democracy they are voting for during each election?

Many countries profess to be democratic with democratically elected governments while the majority of their citizens live in poverty and underdevelopment. Definitions of democracy vary from country to country and so does its meaning from person to person. Many believe that a simple casting of a ballot serves the purpose while others believe that voting alone is not sufficient for democracy to hold. Despite these differences, the word democracy is much used around the world with comparisons being made between democratic and undemocratic countries. The word democracy which comes from two Greek words: demos and kratos, meaning people and power is indeed at its roots about people’s power yet for many countries, “government of the people, by the people and for the people,” remains a tantalizing, elusive ideal.

Democracy enjoys high levels of support amongst Africans, averaging 73% across 19 countries. Even higher numbers reject one-party rule (73%), military rule (75%) and strongman rule (79%) respectively but how much of this does actually translate to popular governance? How much of the millions of citizens in the continent influence what their governments do? Is there enough will and space between the elected leaders and their constituencies to engage on the issues that affect the daily lives of citizens? Is the democracy we have actually democratic?

These are the questions that each citizen should ask as means of understanding the effectiveness of our governments in fulfilling the will and aspirations of the people.

A recent Afrobarometer study has shown that the development of democratic citizenship among Africans is still relatively weak.

While a sizeable majority of Africans are both interested in politics (64 %) and discuss politics with friends and family on a regular basis (68%), interest in politics does not appear to translate into high levels of political knowledge.

Tanzania is rich with all kind of minerals, agriculture, tourism but unfortunately majority of its citizens live in extreme poverty while the government is dependent on foreign aid for to deliver its services. You would even believe there is a total lack of political will for development if the country enriches foreigners more than its own people. And if it is so then where is the heart of the leaders?

It is also an unfortunate interest of some leaders to keep their constituencies in a less advantageous position so that they don’t challenge nor engage them because of their low levels of education and income. By fostering greater participation, transparency, and availability of information, increasing citizen’s voice in politics and public life, they can improve the impact of policies and programs, reduce corruption, and strengthen governance.

It is thus the obligation of the citizens of Tanzania to take advantage of their sovereignty as the source of power of the state and engage in all levels of governance as a united voice, to ensure that the leaders take account and deliver on their promises.

Is the democracy we have actually democratic?

idasa — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:35:05 +0000

By Mvuyisi April

Many countries profess to be democratic with democratically elected governments while the majority of their citizens live in poverty and underdevelopment. Are voters are conscious of what their votes mean, and whether they really understand the power that lies in their hands as they cast those ballots? Can they feel the democracy they are voting for during each election?

Democracy enjoys high levels of support amongst Africans but how much of this does actually translate to popular governance? How many of the millions of citizens on the continent influence what their governments do? Is there enough will and space between the elected leaders and their constituencies to engage on the issues that affect the daily lives of citizens? Is the democracy we have actually democratic?

As Tanzania approaches its national elections in a years’ time, it is worth looking back at what holds our democracy so that moving forward as a nation we can strengthen and build on the pillars that our liberty was found on.

During the past couple of weeks we have seen a number of politicians campaigning and mobilizing voters for the recent local elections that took place. With little less than a handful of campaigns in the urban areas one can only assume that very few people have come out to exercise their constitutional right and vote, while in the rural areas where there’s lack of education and information, one can also assume that voters chose whoever promised them milk and honey.

Democracy enjoys high levels of support amongst Africans, averaging 73% across 19 countries. Even higher numbers reject one-party rule (73%), military rule (75%) and strongman rule (79%) respectively (Afrobarometer, www.afrobarometer.org) but how much of this does actually translate to popular governance? How many of the millions of citizens in the continent influence what their governments do? Is there enough will and space between the elected leaders and their constituencies to engage on the issues that affect the daily lives of citizens? Is the democracy we have actually democratic?

These are the questions that each citizen should ask as means of understanding the effectiveness of our governments in fulfilling the will and aspirations of the people.

A recent Afrobarometer study has shown that the development of democratic citizenship among Africans is still relatively weak. While a sizeable majority of Africans are both interested in politics (64 %) and discuss politics with friends and family on a regular basis (68%), interest in politics does not appear to translate into high levels of political knowledge.

Tanzania is rich with all kind of minerals, agriculture, tourism but unfortunately the majority of its citizens live in extreme poverty while the government is dependent on foreign aid to deliver services. You would almost believe there is a total lack of political will for development if the country enriches foreigners more than its own people. And if it is so then where is the heart of the leaders?

About the Author:
Mvuyisi is a Facilitator for the Community and Citizen Empowerment Programme of Idasa and currently in Tanzania on a ten months programme with the Norwegian Church Aid working on Accountable Governance and Economic Justice.

Just the beginning

idasa — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:26:49 +0000

By Shingai Maphosa

When I found out that I had been selected for the FK Fellowship I was both excited and nervous, mainly because I had never been to any country in West Africa or done much travelling. I was not sure of a lot of things but I was sure I wanted to do it and that I would make this a worthwhile experience come what may. My family asked difficult questions to make sure I knew what I was doing while some were worried and not reluctant to tell me how they felt. In the end I had their blessings and soon advice and information about Ghana was coming from all over. My preparation for Ghana was now underway but first there was a preparatory course in Cape Town.
Cape Town was an opportunity to explore Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Tanzania, Uganda and even Norway. It’s a fact when people from different countries meet and get to know each other, it gives rise to knowledge, understanding and empathy… and the world does get smaller. The initial sessions were fun, interesting yet informative. Our facilitator did a good job making sure that everyone participated, got to know one another and was engaged. I felt ready for Ghana until we had a session on mental health. I thought long and hard about going to Ghana and asked myself questions that I had not thought about much. The fascination of exploring was met with the reality of leaving all our support systems and all we knew and held dear. It was going to be difficult so we had to be prepared and know that while we learn, grow and help bring about change in the different places we were going so would there be change in the places and people we were leaving behind, some for the better, some for the worse, and it would be alien to us. The realisation made many sad but thanks to our facilitator we came up with solutions to our fears and ways to maintain and even create new support systems.

The preparation was good, it was fun, it was informative and new friendships were created. The 20th of July came and I got on a plane to Accra. I was welcomed by a wave of hot, heavy and humid air as I got out of the airport. The next day I reported for work and since then it has been a learning curve from work to the social aspects of Ghana. I now know some of my colleagues by name; even have a favourite Ghanaian meal among many I like and know much about CDD as an organisation. I am already working with different groups in the CDD Change Management project, assisting with Project Monitoring and Evaluation as well as helping with different surveys that CDD is currently carrying out – and this is just the beginning. There is so much to learn, experience to gain and impact to make as I exchange ideas, knowledge and views with colleagues and CDD at large. It is just the beginning.

Shingai Maphosa is Idasa’s FK Participant at CDD-Ghana

Learning from conversations

idasa — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:24:25 +0000

By Theophilous Chiviru

Many people believe in learning from their mistakes and previous encounters with situations and events. Some people believe that this is why people make mistakes so that they learn about life, about human resilience, about human frailty. And you can see them sometimes, searching for that lesson; they ask probing questions, they try to make connections.

But I have learnt through the Fredskorpset (FK) initiative that there is more exposure in listening and conversation. The FK exchange programme and preparation course stimulates a learning process for individuals, not from themselves and their experiences, but from those of others. The interaction of minds of conflicting backgrounds transfers information, creating a mind that is open-minded and receptive to other people’s viewpoints.

Though it is true that age and the accumulation of experiences accompanies vast knowledge, better understanding of life and its aspects, I have learned through the FK programme that young people too have many things they can teach each other, such as about new environments, the fast-moving world and its changing traditions and cultures.

The exchange process has demonstrated to me that young people in a resourced environment do improve individual and community performance and motivation when engaged in meaningful learning and conversation opportunities. The experience has proven that life is a continual process of circular learning from our own and other’s experiences, trials and triumphs. You never know from whom you are going to learn. I now believe the key to lifelong learning is having a student mindset, which allows conversations to teach us at any given opportunity while we are open to new ideas and possibilities. Part of being human is to learn from one another. Knowledge, skills, and even philosophy are passed on not only from generation to generation, but from culture to culture.
When I graduated from college, I thought that I was done with learning. I really thought I knew all that I needed to know and was ready to move on into adulthood and become the person I was supposed to be. The FK programme has taught me that the entire world and its inhabitants is a huge resource for learning and that I can take part in this great collaboration of knowledge. I am excited that everywhere I go, and every person I come across, has the potential to expand my perspective and add to my knowledge in some way. Yes, lessons are waiting for us just about everywhere – we just need to take notice.

Theo Chiviru is Idasa’s FK Participant at TRC-Lesotho

Learning about Parliament – from Ghana to Zimbabwe

idasa — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:09:55 +0000

By Adu Kakra Duayeden

Early in 2009, when I heard that I had been selected to take part in the Fredskorpet (FK) exchange programme and that my host organisation was going to be the Public Affairs and Parliamentary Support Trust (PAPST) based in Harare, Zimbabwe, I faced the task of convincing family members and friends who wanted me to withdraw from the programme due to the highly condemned political practices in Zimbabwe.
However, after a two-week preparatory course in Cape Town, South Africa, I learnt that Zimbabwe is not only a safe place to live and work but that there are a whole lot of new experiences and challenges ahead of me that I can learn and share after completion of the FK programme. I also believe that it is not every day that a person gets an opportunity to experience different cultural and societal perspectives of another country, and in my case, a country struck by high inflation, diseases and disaster.
The preparatory course held in June-July was an eye-opener for all the participants. It served as a tool arming us for living and working in our various host organisations. Furthermore, we were made aware of things that we would not have deemed to be important without them being pointed out by the lecturers.
Being a person who enjoys travelling and experiencing new things, my first month of fellowship in Harare was great. I arrived at the airport and was met by the Executive Director of PAPST. First, he took me to the office, and afterwards to a nice place that will be my residence for the next 10 months.
PAPST is a small organisation made up of nice and easy-going people willing to share their experiences and also learn from mine. With their mission and vision, PAPST is just like my home organisation (CDD-Ghana), where we are into promoting democracy and good governance. I found myself settling in with ease at my host organisation due to the similarities between PAPST and CDD-Ghana.

For me, any obstacles that I encounter in my everyday life and in my line of duty, I perceive as a challenge. Already, I am enjoying the exchange programme and I am looking forward to the rest of the months that I will be with PAPST and the experiences that lie ahead.

Thank you FK for promoting and funding such a programme to build the capacity of citizens who aspire for democracy.

Adu Kakra Duayeden
CDD-Ghana FK Participant at PAPST-Zimbabwe
Public Affairs and Parliamentary Support Trust (PAPST)

Enriching for all – from Blantyre to Pretoria

idasa — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:05:40 +0000

By: Akeel Hajat
A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. It’s a proverb usually repeated when faced by daunting and seemingly insurmountable tasks. The implication is that you need to take things in little bits, and that the most important part is getting started. According to Google maps it is actually 825 miles as the crow flies from my house in Blantyre to the flat in Pretoria. It’s not quite the thousand I was hoping for but since we are not in America we can call it 1327.7 kilometres. You may be wondering what brings me here from so far away? The answer is provided by some well meaning Norwegian people that have set up a work exchange programme swapping people all over the world for a year. It’s called the Fredskorpset (FK) programme (which is Norwegian for Peace Corps), and I’m on the south-south exchange. The people in FK have hit on the concept that one of the best ways to unite and develop Africa is to build on its internal networks. Having been on the exchange for almost a month already I can honestly say that I think they are onto something.

One of the goals of the programme is to promote reciprocal learning in terms of both the host and home organisations, and especially the participants. This does not only apply to information of an academic nature but also to cultural and religious values. I can already say that I have learnt much while I’ve been here. This place is full of interesting people who are at the forefront of their chosen fields. It was only after my arrival here that I understood what a privilege it was to be working alongside them. The friendly, open nature of the office has made the transition almost seamless. I just hope that I have contributed a little as well.

A few people I have met were surprised to find out that there exists a vibrant community of Malawians of Indian descent. Well guys, there are quite a lot of us in the interior of the continent, and yes our food is just as hot. For the record, Malawians do not ride to school on ostriches (at least none that I know of). Putting jokes aside, I can see how an exchange programme such as this has the potential to enrich all parties involved. It is now up to us to make it happen. It’s not easy, leaving your country and going to a completely random place. The two-week orientation workshop we did prepared us all for the logistical, technical, and cultural adjustments but it could not prepare us for saying goodbye to our families for a year. The onset of Ramadan (the month of fasting) makes the distance feel much greater, but there is comfort in the reception I have had from the people here.

I’m looking forward to the rest of this year… to the prospect of travelling, and contributing to something worthwhile, to making new friends and building bridges between South Africa and Malawi. I plan to approach this year with the same mentality as those who came before me; work hard, play hard, and in the words of Sir Richard “screw it, let’s do it”.

Akeel Hajat is an FK participant from IPI-Malawi at Idasa