ICA, Global Research Assembly

Chicago:

TASK FORCE V: Future Engagement

July, 1977

C O R P O R A T E N E S S

Estimates II

COMMUNITY HEALTH FAIR IN EL BAYAD

The third weekend the Community Health Pair in E1 Bayed was held and was a profound sign for the auxiliary and community and perhaps the event of greatest potential for mass impact by the Health Team. Held in the courtyard of the government clinic, the fair consisted of booths from every guild demonstrating their activities in relationship to health and booths from the Community Health Worker Classes. The Builder's Guild demonstrated their well drilling implements (all of which depend entirely on hand labor) and a three dimensional model of the village showing the projected sites for the combined shower/laundry/toilet/facilities. The teachers guild booth demonstrated hand washing in front of a marquee listing the names of the village families with children in the Hadonna or preschool, the caretakers demonstrated the five food groups of basic nutrition on a poster created by Roberta Lapp which if we could swing it deserves to be in the Smithsonian Museum. The Farmers demonstrated a "barrel garden" in an oil drum cut in half filled with vegetables intended to be used by each of the households to supplement the family diet. The Merchant's guild sold shares in the new co­operative store. Two of the most popular booths were the Anatomy and Physiology in which villagers delighted in listening to their own hearts with a stethoscope and the "Microscopic Universe" where the citizens were profoundly amazed at the slides of canal water and blood. The village men who helped dig the trench were especially delighted with the ring toss game where the rings were the rubber joint rings used to join the water pipes and the targets were the upright handles of the broad hoes we used to dig with.

(Excerpt from the Health Trek Report, February 20, 1977)

VAVIHARSH GRAM SABHA

Vaviharsh is a village of 800 people with over 80% being tribal people and 80% being illiterate, but not the same 80%. As you drive from Igatpuri, the Tashil headquarters, you drive up into the mountains for 25 km. Suddenly you come upon a huge lake surrounded by mountains of many peculiar shapes giving an eerie effect, One is an old rock chiseled fortress that looks over the land. The clouds move slowly about ­­ hiding this mountain, swallowing up that valley ­­ causing many small water falls to run down the mountain's sides.

It was obvious as we looked over the village that the first miracle had happened before we arrived. A road was cut from the entrance of the village which before had been a path, to the school house ground. At the entrance to the village there were two signs: "Gram Sabha, Vivaharsh" and "The Gram Sabha Welcomes You". They had white washed rocks, graded land, and cut weeds to the ground. The central meeting area was in front of a one room school house with a porch. In the center of the meeting area was a "May Pole" with five other poles around it at 70 feet radius. Strings connected the poles and colored triangular banners were hung along each string. Palm leaves were wrapped around the poles and the porch eves and posts. A banner entitled, "Gram Sabha Viviharsh ­ 22/9/76" was hung at the edge of the area

The next morning we had breakfast and time began to approach for the Gram Sabha. The villagers began to come an hour early. We began the registration. When asked about the women, we assured them they should be registered too. So the men went through the registration line and then the women. We gave them a name tag with a colored dot on it to indicate which workshop they should be in. They carried their name tags clutched in their hands all day long.

The government dignitaries arrived. We went out to meet them and then began a procession into the village before us. There were 8 village men dancing with sticks about 15" long with a slack chain attached to each end and 3" cymbals were hung off the chain. Behind them was a band with one man with two drums strapped on him, one with a monotone flute, and another with a flute that wailed typical Indian music. As we processed in I felt Ganeesh had never been honored like this.

Upon starting three of the government officials, two from the Tashil magistrate's office and one official from 8 neighboring village made opening speeches. The nearby man's speech was very short. I then gave the "New World" spin. By this time the nearby man had repented of his brevity and got up and began to really let go. He picked up some of the New World themes for good measure.

The attendance in the morning plenary held in the center area in front of the one room school house was over 400. The men and women sat in different groupings. All during the day we had over 200 in the workshop. The workshop held on the merchant's porch had a gallery of people 20­40 feet away who sat in the shade and watched the workshop. The group fluctuated in size as people from other villages would drop in during the day to see what was happening. The final plenary had over 300.

One snafu was the luncheon meal. They were to have lunch prepared in the various homes and present it at the proper time. When the hour came the men said, "We have no food, for the women have been in the workshops." So they sent the women to hastily prepare something while the interlude went on. The women came back with food, sat down and ate it, and the men didn't get to eat all day but they never let on at all.

The plenary at the end was a great happening. They read very soberly all the challenges and proposal statements. Then they read their story and sang their song which had a real beat to it. I never will forget the look of wonder and sheer exhilaration on one old woman's face as they sang that song. Their slogan was an antiphonal yell that shook the houses of the whole village. They shouted it over and over with great glee. Just before the story workshop was over, I went by and they were writing everything up. They showed me their symbol. They were proud of it but had no way to talk about it. They really came alive. They then did their own spinning during the plenary.

(Excerpts from a letter written by Joseph A. Slicker, September 22, 1976)

HUDSON BAY CORPORATE POWER

The community was ripe for the challenge that was put to Tom Reiniger and the Chamber of Commerce by the Institute of Cultural Affairs. This challenge was to carry through on the plans for a 7­week countdown to a special Forum day. Mr. Reiniger went to work soliciting support from all citizens, groups and organizations in the area. The first concern was: Is there a purpose to the Forum? Yes, there was, since we all had hopes and dreams for the future, there were many issues facing the community, and some of the "road blocks" could be removed by group action. How do we carry out a successful Forum? Total community involvement through representation on the steering committee, a grouping of necessary tasks would make the Job easier. Each meeting brought new faces, new ideas, and new tasks.

The Forum day was a multi­faceted community day that began when720 members of the Hudson Bay band alighted on a flat bed truck at 8:30 A.M. to play around town. By 9:00 A.M., residents started to arrive for registration and coffee. The colors were marched in with 2 Girl Guides carrying the town crest. The decor in the auditorium included drawings of grades 4­7 on "Our Community". Lockie Bracken, M.C. welcomed the 90 participants; meanwhile in the Home Economics room and kitchen, a lively group of grade 8 students were stirring pots of moose stew for the community lunch. The noon entertainment included a father­son act and community singing. Three of the workshops in the afternoon sorted the morning challenges statements into the economic, political and cultural challenges and began working on community proposals for each arena;, The fourth went about creating a community symbol, story and song.

The Forum came to a close with the reporting session on all of the work of the day, including the songs, story and symbol. The children sang their Hudson Bay Generation song. Lockie Bracken led a reflective conversation on the significance of the day. Commenting on the day, Deloris Chometsky said, "My feet ache, but I'm not tired."

(Printed in the Post­Review of Hudson Bay, Saskatoon, Canada)

A FIRE TRUCK FOR LORNE DE L'ACADIE

The usual way for a community to purchase a fire truck is to apply to the Department of Municipal Affairs for grants or to the Capitol Borrowing Board to borrow money. The fire truck purchased by Lorne residents for their community last week was done, in a completely different manner.

Lorne De L'Acadie is a community in New Brunswick, bound by 10 feet of snow, 6 months of the year. Following the week long consult of the previous week, several committees were set up in Lorne. These committees each had a goal; one committee's goal was to obtain a fire truck. The committee began working on their goal on Monday, April 18. By Friday evening the fire truck was setting in front of the church at the center of the community.

There is nothing so different about a community obtaining a fire truck, in this case it was the method that stands out. When the community learned they could buy a fire truck from the village of St. Quentin they moved. They had no funds from any government source so they decided to get the money in the community. The members of the committee went from door to door in Lorne, beginning at 11 o'clock on Friday morning. They asked Lorne residents if they could loan the community money. About 15 or 16 Lorne people said yes, they would loan money. While the committee moved from home to home seeking assistance, someone was driving those who agreed to loan the money out to the bank in Jacquet River.

By 3:30 Friday afternoon the committee had raised $7,000 and was on its way to St. Quentin to purchase the truck. Durvin Esliger and Tom Greyshock returned to Lorne with the truck at midnight. The residents of Lorne are very excited about having their own fire truck. There have been some tragedies because of fire in the community and the nearest fire department is Jacquet River, more than 10 miles away. The community is already making plane to set up a volunteer fire department and some citizens have already indicated their willingness to serve. Plans are also being made to send some firemen to training school in Saint John.

On Saturday and Sunday the community was expecting some of the firemen from Jacquet River to give them a quick course in the operation of the fire truck. On Saturday morning many Lorne residents were in the church yard washing and waxing the fire truck in preparation for dedication ceremonies on Saturday afternoon. Then the fire truck was driven through the village to give everyone an opportunity to view it. It was also used to distribute the latest copy of the "Lorne Voice". At five o'clock in the afternoon, special ceremonies were held in front of the church when the truck was dedicated and two flags, one Canadian and one New Brunswick were raised. A new sign was also raised. The sign says, Lorne de L'Acadie Human Development Project.

(Printed in Dalhousie News, April 27, 1977)

VAVIHARSH, INDIA

I look back and think of December 13, 1976, the day dawning bringing with it glorious sunshine, driving away the dark clouds which had kept us, the people of Vaviharsh in the dark and away from the world.

I will remember December 13 as a day which brought about a change, not only in my life, but also in the lives of all people of Vaviharsh. Since that day, every person living here seems to have suddenly changed. There was, and still continues, a great feeling of closeness, understanding and cooperation among us. We have never looked back, but only towards the future since then. We have decided that this project belongs to Vaviharsh and its people, and we will be responsible for the execution of the many plans and decisions that were made. Every day there is something new to see in the village and this sight draws me closer to my village and its people. The discussions during the weekly guild meetings give us the opportunity to decide together which works need to be done for the benefit of the village.

A speech given during a community meeting told us that we would have to work hard to make this project successful, because it is our village project and this brought about some misgivings and bitter feelings within me.

I now realize how wrong I was. Looking back, I can see the need for hard work, not only for the success of the project, but also for all of us citizens of Vaviharsh, and finally for the betterment of the entire universe. The village of Vaviharsh will be a symbol to the whole world to indicate how corporate, selfless work can improve the lives and outlook of people. This is the Vaviharsh story.

(From the Vaviharsh Voice" written by Mr. Maruti M. Ambaker, May, 1977)

ICA, Global Research Assembly, July, 1977 Chicago: TASK FORCE V: Future Engagement

C O U R A G E


A CONSULT IN SHANTIJMBU

We are just finishing up the Shantumbu document writing. We did this one out in the village, under a huge tent we put up for the consult. It started raining right after the consult ended and has hardly stopped. The tent is really just a couple of tarps over telephone poles, so it's been rather cold. Although we did the consult without any electricity, we managed to get a generator hook­up by the second or third night of the document writing. Although every bone is chilled and you long for a nice warm house and a proper table instead of this ridiculous scribbling by candlelight with rain dripping all around and the wind making us think the tent will blow down any minute, it's hard to get too wrought up about it when the people in the village are so fantastic. Thirty­five people showed up on Monday morning to go to work. They did a 2 day survey to find out how many kids would be in the preschool (over 200) and spent 2 days digging stumps out of a field so that it can be plowed. All this in the rain. Six more villagers have been in teacher training with Peter N. from Kawangware all week. Yesterday they asked for a few people to send their children so that they could have a practice teaching session; 50 showed up. Peter did an unbelievable job, we could hear them out under the trees.

(Excerpt from letter written by Donna McCleskey, December 10, 1976)

IRON MEN OF FIFTH CITY

... suddenly the busy center seemed hushed. Tom Washington, one of the original Iron Men, died last year. He is becoming a legendary figure in the community. One even suspects as one turns the corner of Homan and Fifth Avenue that one might still encounter the slight but wiry black figure slipping down the early morning street, wearing the aging fedora. The "keeper of the keys", Tom Washington daily toured the boundaries of the community, checking the buildings marked for rehab and those in the midst of renovation, as well as watching for dead and disabled vehicles, windows smashed, tires slashed, parked beside the crumbling curbs. An hour before Chicago 'a freeway teemed with sleepy­eyed commuters, Mr. Washington would be sitting in the Community Center sipping coffee, deciding who needed to be called at City Hall to have the plundered Chevy hauled away from Kedsie and Jackson. Few knew that Tom could barely read and write. He carried his briefcase jauntily as he approached some office downtown, dressed nattily in a green suit. He would stand amidst the chrome and concrete until some decision was made to exterminate rats or empty garbage cans.

... The first trash collection in 1965 is a treasured part of 5th City. On a cold drizzling Saturday in December, a clanging sound drew the people of 5th City to their windows. Down the middle of the street marched a determined bell­swinging Wanda Lee. As she shouted to her neighbors, an assortment of black and white people knocked on doors and asked for trash.

Folks turned out to clean the alleys of trash neglected by the city; refrigerators, old furniture, the remains of stripped cars. The city had promised to collect the accumulated garbage from two vacant lots at either end of the community. At midday an appalled policeman tried to halt the pile­up. When a phone call to city hall had convinced him that cleanup was proper, he went away, shaking his head.

At the end of the day 5th City rested between two mountains of trash. The city officials were shocked. They hadn't dreamed it would be so much, and they said they couldn't possibly remove it. But when we reminded them of our agreement, and respectfully suggested that it really was their job in the first place, they agreed. To dismantle the mountains of garbage the city had to work overtime for ten days.

(Excerpts from "The Iron Men of 5th City", Guild 18, July, 1974)

HOPE AND CHANGE

A group of people who love Hanover County enough to spend a Saturday studying its faults, good points, needs and future prospects, met at Rural Point and came up with some interesting ideas for us all to ponder.

The theme logo, "Pride, Hope, Change" shows that this was not a group of soreheads who assembled for Town Meeting '76 but people willing to assess the past in terms of the present and to face the future with assurance. This is the story they wrote about Hanover County.

Hanover County is the field in which Patrick Henry planted his seed of independence. Our forefathers nourished this seed to a young plant, and it has blossomed through struggling times to a strong tree. However without the loving care of our ancestors or their local leaders, the seed would have shriveled up and died. Just as Patrick Henry and his peers started this plant, our ancestors helped to care for it, and now the responsibility is ours.

Although Hanover County, with all its courageous history is a wonderful place to live, it stil1 has its trials and struggles. We have many hurdles to cross and many mountains to climb; but if we take courage from the foresight of our ancestors, we will emerge as winners.

Hanover County stands at the crossroads of civilization ­­ seeing a glorious past leading to a challenging future; watching the solidity of the rural admit to the strong pull of the urban. Standing in the vantage point, we encounter a future of great risk, and in the midst of the uncertainty, see hope for a county and for communities planned with care.

(Excerpt from the Editorial, Herald Progress, May 26, 1976)

SEVAGRAM DAY

The Gram Sabha at Sevagram never came off. Yet, in one respect it was the finest Gram Sabha we have held so far. In addition, it was for us a further lesson. Victory is what we are after finally. The happening happened.

... By 9:00 A.M., less than 50 people were registered... after we had exhausted the situation we told them we would be glad to have a Gram Sabha whenever they would let the village come out. They said they now wanted to talk. We had been standing at the tables set up for the opening session of the Gram Sabha. So we sat down at the tables and turned it over to them. It was now 11:00 A. M,

They wanted to hear reports from people who had been to Maliwada. As they started it was obvious that they had loaded the situation, but the morning had taken the wind out of their sails. The Sarpanch was the fall guy. The one who had said Maliwada was like the sun, now got up and made a series of negative remarks. Another person got up and told of his visit. Several said, "Tell us negative things". He hit back at them hard. "Here I am telling you what I saw and instead of listening you are asking for negative comments. What kind of question is that?" At a tactical time one of our 'iron men' friends got up to speak of his visit to Maliwada. He made a passionate plea for the renewal of Sevagram and what he had seen at Maliwada and that he had decided to be an iron man forever. He clearly won that round and turned the day.

By this time we had about 80 people. We told them we could hold a Gram Sabha with this many people but it was not wise. They set up a great clamor to have the Gram Sabha. They said they were ready now. We again said no, that it should be held for the whole village and that we would be glad to come back any time and hold it for the village.

Our Director then told them that twice before they were told they couldn't work together. The first time was when Mahatma Gandhi wanted the women to work together with the men and they refused. The second time was a year ago when Vinoba (Ghanhi's spiritual disciple) came and asked them to redistribute some of their land to the poor. They refused and Vinoba shook the dust off his feet and said, "your name is a village of service but you won't turn loose a pinch of land."

Now this is the third time as you hear our voice. Are you willing to guide your own destiny? Let us work together. Let us eat together. Let us get said now maybe for the first time that nothing is impossible."

They all began to talk. "Let us all eat together", they said. So we adjourned to set up the meal. That lunch was a great celebration. Some brought their wives. They were so proud of themselves and said this was the first time since Mahatma Gandhi died that they had eaten together, and now they did what Mahatma Gandhi wanted but never happened, brought their women into the fellowship.

(Excerpts from a letter written by Joseph Slicker, January 4. 1977)