Finding What Already Exists

One of the things I love about working in the city, and for the city, is that I get to constantly challenge my knowledge, and experience. As I move forward as somebody who is trying to create spaces for people to gather, and dream for a better city, I realize that I don’t know as much as think, or have as much expertise in certain areas as I think I do. The cool thing is that sometimes it takes me to leave the city to reenergize myself, and dream on behalf o the city I call home.

About a month ago I had the opportunity to leave my city, and challenge all the knowledge, and experience I have in regards of community development in the urban environment. It took me to be out of the city to re-think, and re-engenier my understanding of the community development process that I have learned and practiced for years now. The process that I experienced is called Arumonosagashi, which in Japanese literally means “to find what already exists”. This process was lead by someone who is becoming a friend, and is a fellow dreamer for our city, and country, Eduardo Magermans. I learned this methodology in a rural community called El Rosario, About 1 1/5 hours away form the city.

Eduardo learned this methodology in Japan, and contextualized it to the Guatemalan context. What this methodology basically does is to create an encounter between the foreigner (researcher, developer, non-for-profit, or NGO), and the community. The idea is that the outsider will join community leaders, and members to develop the community together. The uniqueness of this method relies on what is called a “soft approach”. This movement forces the researcher to enter into relationship with the individuals of the community. There is no survey answering, statistic analysis, or project proposals. Both parts involved in the process, the community and foreigners, encounter each other in story-telling to find what already exists in the community. Some might say that this is Asset Based Community Development (ABCD), but is not. In ABCD we survey, propose the projects, and use the assets of the community to develop the community. In Arumonosagashi we observe, hear, tell stories, and find what already exists through the relationship that is forged during the process. After experiencing both methods I could say that Arumonosagashi and ABCD complement each other.

I think, However, that the part that challenged me the most was that the outsider does not propose any projects or ideas. This is, of course, counterintuitive to what most of us learn in community development, because the outsider has the right information to improve, and develop. Interestingly, this kind of thinking just takes us deeper into the paternalistic, and colonial approach of development. During the process of Arumonosagashi I learned that in order to have sustainable development I don’t have to propose a projects. It is the community, the leaders, the families, the teachers, the group of individuals that form the community who have to come up with the ideas of the things they need to improve. In other words, and using a bit of Freire’s language, Arumonosagashi is a process of concientização, a democratic way of  bringing change, and transformation to the community. It is in the process of story telling, walking the community, seeing what is, and listening to the members of the community that we find what already exists. It is in that process that each one of the participants, the foreigner and the community, find the beauty and affliction that surrounds them. And, once they see with the eyes of each other, they realize, and become conscious of the things that need improvement, change, or transformation.

At the end of the process, the group of people who does the Arumonosgashi, the foreigners, eats with the community, and gives a report of the findings of the research. This is a beautiful moment, because the foreigner gets a change to praise the goodness of the community. In doing so, the outsider helps the community members to see the things that are hurting them. It is through the counterintuitive process of calling things for what they are, in this case the beauty, that the community sees the things they need to change. And then, only then, it is on the non-profit, NGO, or developer, to work with the community on the things they ask help for. There is no place for imposing projects or ideas. The ideas for the projects have to come out from the members from the community.

Of course, this process takes time, and effort. I know it might not bring tons of donors, and supporters who want to see houses being built, and schools being painted. What I do know, is that slow and sustainable community development will bring people who are truly committed with the social and spiritual renewal of cities. You can see below, some pictures of the community we went as outsiders to do an Arumonosagashi.

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A Trip to Haiti: day 2 – 3

Visiting Haiti and conversing with Haitian leaders has opened my eyes. Being in Port-au-prince has given me a new perspective and vision for my work in Guatemala. Today, we started a theological conversation about the way we see the City. The title of the training is “The City of Joy” and we will explore together what it means to live, love and laugh in the midst of our city. Our first stop in the conversation took us to the soul of who Haitians are. I cannot say that I understand Haitian culture, that would be arrogant. What I can say is that through exploring in conversation with Haitian leaders the way they see their city, I am able to see the tip of the iceberg. Our conversation today was based on the notion of the Symbolic Universe. This idea comes from a series of sociologists and religious thinkers like, Beningo Beltrand, Peter Berger, Thomas Luckman and John Searle among others. In a brief way, the symbolic universe is the soul of people. It is the symbols that give identity to “what” we are, “who” we are, and “why” we are. According to Beltrand in the Theology of the Inarticulate There is three different levels that give us identity. The first one is the civitas, the “what” of the people, In other words, the body. Here we find the physical environment of a country/city/community, land, architecture and climate. The way we usually respond to what we see in this area is “relief efforts”. In this area we build houses after an earthquake, give food, build bridges and so on.

Secondly, we have the polis, the mind of the people. In this area we try to understand the who of the people. Here we see the norms of the people, language, food, rites, music, religion, values, work and humor. And, the way we usually respond to this area is with “development”. And the third one is the Symbolic Universe, in other words, the soul of the people. In this area we try to understand the why of the people. We seek for the defining symbols and stories that give meaning and identity to a people. And the way we respond to problems in this area is through “advocacy”. Through the conversation we had with the Haitian leaders who attended our training I came to realize that I know very little about the symbols that give me identity as a Guatemalan. I was able to see that because it took me a few seconds to think about examples that could help the participants to find their own symbols. It is not that I haven’t look for the symbols. It is that I have stopped looking for the symbols that rise from within the communities I serve. Thereby, I am very often guilty of systemic misunderstanding.

Systemic Misunderstanding is one of the most dangerous mistakes in any kind of relief, development, or advocacy effort. If we do not understand the symbols we won’t communicate our message in a way that will make sense. When we are in a systemic misunderstanding we do not understand how the processes and systems of a culture work. Therefore, we are inefficient in relieving, developing and advocating for and with the people we serve. In addition, we become authoritative and frustrated because our ideas don’t work.  In the end, we hurt people in our desire of doing good. All that to say that we had a great conversation. We talked about this misunderstanding and the implications it has for our leadership among vulnerable communities.

At the end of the day I kept the conversation going with Valerie, our colleague in Haiti. We talked about the symbolic universe and how it holds Haiti’s identity. Something that was really sad and interesting at the same time was the interpretation of Haitians about the earthquake in 2010. According to Valerie, the earthquake shattered a lot of the symbols of Haitian culture, and also created new symbols that changed the identity of who Haitians are. those symbols both, shattered and new, make it really hard for Haitians to recover and rebuild their identity. As another of the Haitian leaders said, “it is hard to see a ‘city of joy’ (the name of the intensive training we are teaching) when all we see is pain and poverty, when the symbols that make us who we are come from shattered buildings, hunger, violence and corruption” As I finish my day I can only think about the pain and suffering of our peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean. I think of the historical difficulties that have slowed down our development as nations. In the end, that is why we try to dialogue about what it means to live, laugh and love in the midst of our cities.

A trip to Haiti: Day 1

Where the Finance Ministry used to be

The last couple days in the DR were a mixture of work and play. I spend most of the time in meetings with my friend and colleague Mario Matos, the Director of the Center for Transforming Mission DR. However, we got to visit the beach of Boca Chica and have some down time and relaxation before the next part of my trip in La Hispaniola. Yesterday, we went to Caribe Tours, to buy our bus tickets to go to Haiti. And, it was quite an interesting experience because we waited about 30 minutes in line to buy our tickets and another 45 minutes to finish the transaction. Meanwhile, the supervisor and manager of the office was checking facebook and playing some online games. In the end, we were able to buy the tickets and take the bus to Haiti.

Malpasse border between DR and Haiti

The ride to Haiti was not too bad. The only problem was that the A/C of the bus was not working properly so we sweated our butts all the way there, 95 degrees and humid. Once we were at the border I realize how different things were going to be in Port-au-prince, because the border-pass was not what I was expecting. The bus went through Malpasse border which in Creole means “the bad pass.” And, as its name says it, it’s quite bad. Millions of dollars are smuggled through Malpasse each year, from weapons and drugs to everyday items. After another couple hours we made it to Port-au-prince, but it was dark so I didn’t get to see much of it.

Today, we spent the day with Valerie, our friend and colleague in Haiti. Valerie works for Sous Espwa, Source of Hope, which is the Christian Reformed Church of North America ministries in Haiti. Valerie drove us through downtown Port-au-prince, which is still in ruins after the earthquake of January, 2010. We visited the main downtown area, which is a huge market that functions in the ruins of falling buildings. People try to sell their goods every day not knowing if they will be robed or not. Valerie, told me that after the earthquake the police left downtown because their headquarters were destroyed. And, today, the police has no presence at all in that area making it the perfect place for common thieves to flourish and for the venders to be extorted by more organized criminals. I think, however, that it is quite beautiful to see people working hard in the midst of adversity. From what I could see Haitians are hardworking people who are trying to make the best of their situation. The problem is that in a small country with a lot of corruption the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. In addition, as my friend Valerie said, “we are dealing and working with people who have lost hope. And that is why we are called to be a source of hope.” Interestingly, in the midst of all of the difficulties Haitians go through, we were able to see beauty as well. There is a campaign called Beauty against Poverty, and the government is painting the houses in the slums with different colors to bring some hope and beauty. I don’t really care whether it is or not a political move. It looks beautiful and I think beauty gives hope.

Later in the afternoon we had some meetings with Mario and Valerie, because in the next couple days we will be developing a conversation that it’s called “The City of Joy”. We will be addressing what it means to see our city as a classroom, playground, and parish. We will explore with Haitian leaders from Port-au-prince what it means to live, love and laugh in the midst of their city, even when violence and corruption keep escalating. We will try to find healing in the midst of the brokenness and difficult circumstances we live in the urban setting, in this case, Port-au-prince.

A Trip to the Dominican Republic: Day 4

On Sunday I had the opportunity to take a break from all the work that I have been doing here in the Dominican Republic. I think, however, that even when I am resting my colleagues in the DR find me something to do. This time, I did have some down time. I had the opportunity to go out to “Salto de Socoa”, which is a beautiful natural reserve that happens to be in somebody’s property. I went there with a group of new friends, including Steven Brauning, who is a missionary with the Christian Reformed World Missions. Steven has a hobby that wherever I go I find more and more people interested in it. He likes birding. I am not a birder, per say, but I enjoy going on a walk through the woods looking for something. And, birds are quite pretty and it happens that birding gives me something to look for during a walk or a hike. While we were walking there were two little guys that sat in front of my camera for me to take pictures of them. One was the national bird of the DR, Siguapalmera, and the other one was a very common bird native of the island called, Barrancoli. The birds are quite pretty and I enjoyed looking for them. As soon as I got back from to the city. Mario, my CTM colleague was waiting for me to visit the community where he is a pastor, Los Guaricanos. I had lunch with the members of the church and enjoyed good quality time learning from them and the way the live and see life in the community. After visiting Los Guaricanos, we went to see an air show in the Malecon of Santo Domingo, where the Caribbean Sea hits the rocky side of the island. Sadly, the show was cancelled because one of the pilots crashed his plane and sunk into the sea ending the day, the show, and his life in a very tragic way.

To finish the day, I had dinner with my friend Francis and Loly, his wife. They are the pastors of Casa Joven, a community based church in Santo Domingo. I listened to their dreams, challenges and fears. After dinner, Francis, Loly and myself drove through the city so I could have an idea of Santo Domingo’s night life. While we were driving Loly started sharing about the work they have done with sex-workers in the city. After driving for a couple blocks, Francis pulled over and said: “there is Kayla!” As soon as the car stopped, a beautiful dominican woman approached our car and she said “pastors! how are you?”. Loly got off the car introduced me to Kayla, and then she caught up with her on a few life events because apparently they had not seen each other for a few months. As soon as we drove away, Francis said to me: “just so you know, you officially just hired the services of a prostitute.” To what I said, “What?!” and Loly said, that is exactly what we did because the time she spent with us was during her work hours. It was not what I expected. we had such a nice conversation. Kayla shared about her son, how well he is doing, and how involved he is with his local church. She also shared about other of her colleagues who have left the streets and how her partner is telling her to go back to Casa Joven because the partner know that it is good for her.

today was a good day and I am thankful for what I experienced.

A Trip to the Dominican Republic: Day 3

Today was a really long yet productive and exciting day. I started teaching at 8:30 am and finished at 4:00 pm. The leaders who attended the conversation came all over Santo Domingo, and it was quite a gift to have all of their voices as a part of this dialogue. As I mentioned yesterday, we were trying to address, as best as we could, what it means to be human in the midst of the fall. We are trying to understand how to see God’s image in man’s dust. As you can imagine, this a is a very challenging conversation, especially because it touches the foundations of our theology. I think, however, it gets a bit more complicated when we try to address this topic on a 95 degree weather with no A/C, especially when part of the conversation goes with comparing the Babylonian Enuma Elish, and the Biblical stories of the creation of the universe and humanity. I still don’t know how I did it, but it happened to be an amazing conversation with leaders who have not had access to higher theological education. We had a great time working in small groups, conversing with the bigger group, and challenging our ideas of God. After I was done teaching, I was exhausted. Hours of continuous teaching can be draining.

After finishing the training, I was invited to visit a church where another good friend is a

The Pig

pastor. Francis Montas, pastors a church called “Casa Joven”. Francis has also been a part of the previous conversations that the Center for Transforming Mission has developed in the Dominican Republic. But, before I keep going, while I was on my way to visit Casa Joven, I saw something that my CTM colleague and friend Mario told my it was a truly Dominican sight. See the pig?

My friend Francis

Anyway, as I was saying about Casa Joven and Francis, it is interesting to me how the trainings we deliver and the conversations we engage leaders in have taken Francis on quite a journey. Casa Joven, has a vision to se transformation in the community where they are. It is not an easy place. There is a strip-joint kitty corner from the church, a couple bars across the street and a group sex-workers that have taken the street where the church is on as their headquarters. Francis shared with me that all of the people who work on the street where the church is at are part of the congregation. What happens is that they don’t necessarily attend the church on Sundays. Casa Joven, under Francis and his wife Loly’s leadership, has plans to open a couple businesses with social orientation to provide work for the community’s members, and also to make Casa Joven a sustainable community based church.

Today was a good day, and I am glad for what I experienced.

A Trip to the Dominican Republic: Days 1-2

On Wednesday this week I embarked on a journey, an experience that is taking to a part of the world where I have never been. On the 3rd of April I arrived to Aeropuerto Internacional de las Americas in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. And, to be honest it was not what I was expecting. I thought that it was going to be a bit less humid. As soon as I got of the plain the 90 degree weather and the high humidity hit my Guatemalan higher-altitude-blood and I was immediately in a lethargic stage. Thankfully, after a few days in the DR now, I am more used to the heat, and with a clearer mind. It has been a wonderful experience so far. The warmth of the Dominican people and their relaxed lifestyle have welcomed me with open arms.

Maria Laura, from CONANI

As some of you might now. My work is to develop conversations that challenge the perspective of leaders who work in high-risk communities. The conversations are designed to help leaders reflect in the “why” and “how” of “what” they do. On the day after my arrival to the DR I got the opportunity to visit a preschool (no picture available for respect to the kids and teachers). This place is run by an organization called CONANI by its initials in Spanish. Maria Laura is the psychologist of this school and works tirelessly with kids from 1 to 4 years old. Maria Laura has been a part of the conversations that we, the Center for Transforming Mission (CTM), have developed in the Dominican Republic for the last five years. Maria Laura shared with me that these conversations have changed the way she works with little children. Now she understands that she works not only with the Children, but with their families and the community as a whole. She works not only for the children, but with the children’s families for the welfare of the community.

On my second day I got to record four radio programs with Mario, my CTM colleague. we recorded at the Transworld Radio, which has quite a broad audience from what I know. We shared our perspectives on family and how the idea of an ideal family system has been one of the biggest tragedies of our societies in the Caribbean and Central America. I say a tragedy, because in thinking that there is a perfection to achieve we put an unfair burden on our families. It is a tragedy that we focus more on what we look like outside our houses that in raising families with values.

To finish my second day, We started a new conversation with leaders who work in marginalized communities in the Dominican Republic. The conversation is called “the image is everything” and we are trying to explore what it means to be human. We will try to explore what it means to bear God’s image and likeness in the midst of the fall, because the way we see the creation of humanity affects the way we see the event of the cross. I am very excited about this conversation. I really want tomorrow to start so I can see where this dialogue will take us. I hope and pray, that God shows up in our midst and blesses us with a better understanding of our humanity.

A Trip to Brazil

In the last two weeks I was not able to write anything for the blog. The reason is that I went on vacation to Brazil. My brother-in-law married a Brazilian, so my wife and I went for the wedding and then spent a few days on vacation there. It was an amazing experience. My wife and I got to see different places, meet new people, eat good food and explore new cities.  As a part of the trip I had the opportunity to visit a non-profit that is doing quite an amazing job in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, its name is Missão Paz. You can check it out here http://www.missaopaz.com.br/ong/ The work Missão Paz is doing is pretty amazing. They have been able to approach the community of São João Batista in a way that I have seen in just a few places. The involvement the staff has with the community has brought transformation to a community that used to be quite unsafe.

      After the wedding we visited the cities of Ouro Preto, Tiradentes and Rio de Janeiro. Each city has its unique characteristics and the people seemed to be quite friendly. The city that impacted me the most was Rio de Janeiro. Rio is a vibrant, large and modern city, and it will be the city everybody wants to be in the next four years. The world cup will be in Brazil, and that means some games will be played at the Maracana Stadium, and the next summer Olympics will be in Rio.  So, Rio is the place to be. All this has pushed the authorities of the city to make Rio a safer place. Rio’s Clean-up campaign started with “cleaning” of one of its largest slums and continues with different strategies to make Rio a “cleaner” and “safer” city.

      When we arrived to Rio de Janeiro I couldn’t help noticing that all along the highway there was a wall. For the first couple minutes I thought it was a sound barrier for the communities that are located below. It didn’t take me too long to realize that it is a different kind of barrier. It is a visual barrier. Behind the wall, Rio’s largest favela welcomes everyone who travels by car or bus. Interestingly, the wall that hides it cuts off the welcoming. On one side you see the beautiful bay, and on the other you see a wall. I am reflecting on this not because I want to demonize Brazilians, but because I know for a fact that if we could put a wall around our slums in Guatemala we would do it in a heartbeat. We would not think twice about it. In the end, I think that it is true what my mentors say, “The city has something that shows our true colors as humans. The city pulls out the best of us, but also the worst.” What a beautiful tension creates the very place that some of us try to flee, a tension that brings out our true human nature. Thereby, the city is the place that makes us more human.