In an earlier article, I shared some of the community driven development initiatives from Nepal that were highlights during the Global Peace Convention that was held in Seoul, Korea in November (2011).

Among the initiatives shared by Saroj Khanal (Service For Peace Executive Director in Nepal), I was very much inspired by the story about women that finally had the opportunity to join a literacy class that taught them to read and write Nepali. The women in this case are not teen girls or women in their 20’s, most of these are women in the late thirties and forties. For these women going to school was not an option while growing up. Traditionally, the girls did not have the privilege of going to school. It was more expected for them to stay home and help with house-hold chores, eventually would get married, have children and take care of their families.

What this means is that a majority of the women in Nepal never had the opportunity to be educated. In the case of Nepal, women take on double shifts — taking on household chores and working in the fields — but have minimal participation in decision-making. Besides that, many of them experience difficulty getting along their normal days when they have to join communal places and expected to interact with others.

One woman shared an experience of having been on a bus and taking a seat only to have someone ask her to vacate. What she didn’t know was that each of the seats was usually marked for the riders. Such an experience left her feeling ashamed and with lots of guilt about her life. And for many of these women, the dream and the desire to be able to read and write was something that remained with them through their years.

So when Service For Peace began the literacy class, it did not matter what age they were; they were just glad to finally have an opportunity to read and write.

The impact of the literacy class for these women is best depicted in the effort they initiated following their participation in the literacy class — the effort to reach out to their fellow women sharing with them the experience of learning and finding ways to get them to join the class. Below I highlight some of those efforts:

Volunteering to bring books to villages

In one of the slides shared by Saroj , we see some pictures of women on bicycles with a container on the back written ‘Service For Peace’ on one side and on another ‘Mobile Library’.

Listening to Saroj, we learn that these women volunteer to ride the mobile libraries into the community once a week. Having established that many of the women were having difficulty taking the trip to go read or borrow books from the stationed libraries (Service For Peace has also initiated mini libraries within the community), some of the women volunteered to be bringing books to the villages. Service For Peace through partners was able to supply six bicycles with boxes that carry about 50 books, out of which 60 books are borrowed per week.

A testimonial shared by two of the women who took the class stated:

“I now know the value of education. I am glad to ride the bicycle to bring books to the villages. The praise and encouragement that I get from doing this is so motivating. And through the class, I have benefited from a goat scholarship that has become my income source and also provides milk (protein) for my family.”  —Tara Magar, 35 years

“I joined the literacy school and studied for 3 months. I got free books through the mobile library. I am now able to read and write in Nepali. I feel I can see the world now. I have experienced the difference between my illiterate life and now. Now I know how to treat my children. I know the power of hygiene. I now have self respect. I don’t have to be humiliated in front of people. I can now count and read for myself”.  — Sita Kyapchaki, 37 years old

A Letter and One Rupee

In addition to the mobile libraries initiative, the women also began an effort that was another testament of the empowerment of the literacy class. On one part, was a genuine motivation to reach out to their fellow women to encourage them to join the class; they did this by writing a letter to their women neighbors and others that they knew in the community. The writing of the letter was also a way for them to practice what they had learnt (reading and writing in Nepali). In the letter the women would share their experience having been part of the class and also on the opportunities that were opening up based on their ability to read and write. For those that were doing well in class, they could now be given an opportunity to work with Service For Peace for some hours and they could make some little money. As part of this noble effort to share with their fellow women and impart their experiences, the women also began the ‘one rupee’ initiative, where they now give one rupee and to rally others within the community to give one rupee in order for more women to join the class.

In some of the cases when the women would write the letters to their fellow women, they would include one rupee as a way to extend the invitation for the women to consider joining the class.

The dream of wearing a uniform

And just when I had thought I had heard the last of these very self-driven efforts, we learned that the women also came together one day and decided to make uniforms.  Saroj was himself one day surprised when he visited the class and found the women in uniform. When he asked who requested them to make uniforms, the women shared of a desire they always had to wear school if they had been part of a school. Now that they were in a school, they joined effort to make their uniforms.

Not only was all this very inspiring for me but was a true testament of true empowerment and true ownership! And no doubt it was clear that for many of the women, the literacy class had given them a new lease of life and an affirmation that anything is achievable.

Over the past three years, about 571 women have been part of the literacy class that was initiated by Service For Peace in Nepal.

By Becky Gitonga

The GP Connect team was gathered during Thursday lunch excited not just by the promise of food but of the possibility of a new partnership.

We met with two smart and engaging young women meeting us on behalf of the Youth to Youth (Y2Y) community of the World Bank, a group that focuses on bringing up and addressing issues regarding youth not only in the World Bank but across the world. The main topic was the upcoming Global Youth Conference 2012, a yearly event and one of the main projects of the Y2Y where the main objective is not only to acknowledge and provide information about present issues affecting youth today but to facilitate tangible opportunities for action.

Proving that GP Connect! is an organization of action, the GP Connect team began pitching ideas for outreach and potential guests, more than willing to collaborate. It was amazing and encouraging to see a mutual exchange of ideas. Already I cannot wait for what promises to be a very successful collaboration on such a significant project.

By Elizabeth Carrera 

It is at the Global Peace Convention in Korea (November 28-30, 2011) that I finally had the chance to meet Saroj Kumal Khanal, the Executive Director of Service For Peace in Nepal. In previous encounters, I had only heard about the initiatives that he was running through third party persons and mostly on the Global Team calls that Service For Peace and Global Peace Connect team members participate in on a weekly basis.  

Now at the Convention I had the opportunity to not only meet him but to also hear about the projects and initiatives in Nepal from the horse’s mouth as Saroj shared a presentation on the initiatives they were running. As Saroj speaks, he does it with such humility but also with so much passion and you can see the zeal, the determination and the commitment to the success of these initiatives. And as I listened, I could not help but think what a great model of community driven development this was. Saroj was able to share with us four great examples of initiatives that I would like to highlight in this article.

First, was on a literacy program focused on women in a rural poor community in Nepal that has the women empowering themselves and driving its development. I hope to share in more depth about this initiative that truly stood out for me.

Second, was on a goat scholarship program; students are provided with a goat that has the potential to be impregnated and the first two kids that are birthed are invested back to the project and those birthed thereafter remain in the custody of the student and their family.

Third, was a potato farming project that involves the larger community with the intention to increase productivity levels.  The community itself provides the land and the organization provides seed money to undertake the farming.

Fourth, is an initiative towards sustaining the initiatives and increasing their scale-ability by initiating a fundraising effort called ‘the power of one rupee’ that also invites the participation of all community members to give as little as one rupee towards supporting these community initiatives.

It was important to note that among the highlights during one of the session at the Convention on “Empowering citizens in Community Driven Development” emphasized on ensuring that there was ownership of the development within the community, the need to start at a small scale and once successful, begin to scale-up and the role that new innovative strategies can play in scaling up community driven initiatives that were working.

I found Saroj’s initiatives well within this criterion especially in the ownership and in starting at a manageable scale.  In a follow-up article, I hope to highlight in depth one of the initiatives that really stood out for me — the woman to woman literacy program that was changing the lives of poor rural women in Nepal and had experienced growth through their very own efforts.

By Becky Gitonga

Will this high level forum help save the world? I don’t know for sure but it is a step in the right direction.

The GP Connect! Social media team comprised of Atlas Corps Fellow and IT Director Phil Mlanda and Becky Gitonga a consultant with GP Connect! were in attendance for the Busan conference in Seoul, Korea hosting a twitter fall and sharing provocative questions. Where does GP Connect! fill in during the conference? We hope to become players in the development arena. I mean that our model, the Community Driven Development model will hopefully help the aid community focus funding in a sustainable and effective manner. Also in attendance to the conference was the President of Service for Peace Dr. Charles Phillips and Atlas Corps Fellow Varun Sood the Director of Strategy and Operations. One of the major agenda’s of the conference is that major donor countries increase transparency in order to meet the UN’s millennium goals.

Busan is one of the final steps to completing the 2015-millennium goals. How will the development community get there? HLF4 is the incubator that will give birth to new ideas and partnerships to achieve living standards for the poorest people in the world. The north south model of developed countries has given way to developing countries joining the arena.

Developing countries, civil society and private donors are all contributors to lifting communities out of poverty. The goal of the Busan conference is to emphasize transparent engagement, real world solutions and the involvement of new partners to bring the promise of 2015.

For more information about the high-level forum, follow the discussions on twitter hashtags: #gpckorea11 & #HLF4

By Josephine Ona

I was first introduced to GP Connect by a very engaging fellow when volunteering at the 2011 Global Fairness Awards on November 8. Missing my California friends and sunshine I welcomed the opportunity to relay my passionate interest for the nonprofit sector to any passerby.

It was a cloudy and windy morning when I made my way towards GP Connect’s downtown building in freshly pressed interview clothes to pursue an internship. I didn’t know whether it was chance or fate, but I welcomed the opportunity to learn more about the organization and the people behind it. Amidst a string of confusing acronyms during the interview — SFP, GPC, CDD to name a few — I began forming a better idea of what this organization stands for. I was amazed at GP Connect’s efforts to help give communities all over world a voice and the opportunity to play an active role with the development of their communities. Glancing at a list of 2010 projects and programs that were effectively implemented, the range of issues addressed and the diversity of the projects was refreshing to say the least.

I have to admit, I left the interview feeling inspired, here is an organization successfully putting theory into practice in obtaining practical and sustainable solutions in communities all over the world! Moreover I love the diversity that this organization offers within its members most from different parts of the globe, it is with great excitement that I look forward to being a part of the GP Connect team.

By Elizabeth Carrera

In November 2010, Kenya had the privilege of hosting the Global Peace Convention, one of the key programs of the Global Peace Festival Foundation (GPFF) that focuses on bringing together a preeminent assembly of leaders from the government, civil society, and faith-based organizations. The Convention convened in Nairobi last year was the first following a significant series of regional Global Peace Festivals held around the world. The festivals are another key program of GPFF that promotes an innovative approach to peace building through multi-cultural celebrations and service initiatives that engage volunteers from every background and has managed to bring together more than a million peace-minded people in nations on every continent. Each of these initiatives aim to generate local and regional ownership in addition to collaborative action.

This year (2011), the Global Peace Convention will be held in Seoul, Korea under the theme of “Peace building in East Asia and the Unification of the Korean Peninsula” starting November 28-30, 2011. A key aim for this year’s Convention being to bring a new focus to the significant issues related to the reunification of the Korean peninsula, with consideration of innovative civil society approaches that promote mutual understanding and cooperation.

One of the significant aspects of the Convention being that it provides a world-level platform to share best practices and develop collaborative strategies in addressing key areas within each of the regions that the Global Peace Festival Foundation initiates these programs. Also of significance is the opportunity the Convention provides to initiate new partnerships, develop new programs and strengthen existing ones. I wanted to draw some perspective on the significance of the Convention focusing on the developments in Kenya both prior to the Convention in November 2010 and thereafter.

Prior to the Global Peace Convention held in November 2011, there were a number of initiatives that the Global Peace Festival Foundation (GPFF) had launched; first was the initial effort to bring together key stakeholders in mobilizing youth and communities in a major clean effort along the Nairobi River as part of the first Global Peace Festival held in 2008. Thereafter, GPFF initiated the Character Competency Initiative (CCI) that was being implemented within high schools in Kenya. Of significance to note is that the CCI is one of the programs that has greatly benefited from partnerships established during the Global Peace Convention held last year. The Initiative was able to draw partners from Government such as the Ministry of Education and from the private sector such as Brand Kenya, Oxford University Press and institutions such as the Africa Nazarene University. The CCI program has since grown tremendously having started with five pilot schools and working with over thirty more schools nationwide. The CCI has managed to build a locally driven process through character competency committees comprised of school principals, teachers, parents and student, providing a great example of school based community driven development.

Similarly for Global Peace Connect (GP Connect!), a recently emerged unit that performs the critical role of providing the needed research, analysis, reporting, reviewing, and long-term planning that is an essential part of community driven development, the Convention was of much significance. First was the invitation to various key speakers to participate during the community driven development sessions held at the convention. Not only did this provide a platform to discuss the significance of the community driven development process but also sought to provide an enriching perspective on the topic, experiences and challenges faced, and provided an initial network of stakeholders that GP Connect! was able to engage after the end of the Convention.

Following the convention, GP Connect! has since undertaken comprehensive community mapping initiatives within two key communities, one an urban slum and the other a semi-urban community of Nairobi. The community mapping process has proved to be a vital tool in providing useful information on the needs within the community but more importantly in identifying existing community resources and assets. Through a comprehensive data analysis and a process that enables the community to prioritize its needs, this will be useful in shaping ongoing programs in Kenya.

And now as the Global Peace Convention moves to Korea, this will be yet another opportunity to share some of the emerging best practices and lessons from the field. In addition, the Global Peace Convention provides the platform to connect with practitioners from a different region.

By Becky Gitonga 

This year’s Global Peace Convention will be in Seoul, Korea right after the thanksgiving holiday in the US and before the Christmas season. This reminds me that the message of peace and community is essential to having a strong country. Through GP Connect!, community driven development and shared values the Global Peace Festival Foundation wants to help bring the North and the South together.

With a shared history, culture, language and family ties the political, ideological and societal barriers that have separated the peoples of north and south can be overcome. My hope for this holiday season is unification, peace and prosperity for all.

What I love about development work the most is the power it has to transform our society. My goal as a citizen of the world is being a part of the solution in our global community.

By Josephine Onah