Interact Summer 2007
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interact The magazine of The option for the poor A new beginning for the Church in Latin America Also in this issue: Water in El Salvador HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe Qat chewing in Yemen ISSN 1816-045X Summer 2007 interact summer 2007 Contents Nick Sireau/Progresio editorial 3 first person: seeing through a different lens The option for 7 4 news: elections in East Timor the poor 6 update: bulletins from the frontline The insight section of this issue of Interact 7 agenda: committed to peace and justice examines the messages from the 5th General Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean insight: the option for the poor bishops held in Aparecida, Brazil, in May. The articles look in some detail at what it means to be an ‘advocate of justice and defender of the poor’. 8 A new beginning 8 A concern for the poor and powerless is at the Latin American bishops take new heart of Progressio’s approach. We seek to step in church’s journey empower people to tackle the poverty and injustice that they face. This can be seen in the 10 Declaration of intent work described elsewhere in this Interact: in The spirit of Medellín is alive and well Christopher Nyamandi’s work with young people in Zimbabwe (see page 14), or Hans Joel’s work action with communities in El Salvador (page 13), or Francisco Hernandez’s work with the environmental movement of Olancho in Honduras 12 Putting the poor first (page 6). The challenges posed by climate change Progressio’s approach is always grounded in what we ‘see’ of the world: the experience of our viewpoint work in countries in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia; the views of our partners 14 and the people we work with in those countries; 13 Clear water and, as our environmental advocacy coordinator A community in El Salvador Sol Oyuela describes (page 12), our analysis of the fights for its rights issues that the people we work with face. But ultimately, what gives us our direction is 14 Helping hands not just experience or analysis, but the values we Young people in Zimbabwe face up to HIV and AIDS bring to the work that we do. To turn the phrase around, this is what gives our work its value – its reportage meaning and purpose. While poverty and injustice 16 exist, our values will always require us to act. 16 Something to chew on The culture of qat chewing in Yemen 18 18 interview: Melody Pazan 19 reflection: water for life Cover picture: Women and children from Columbe Alto in Cotopaxi province, Ecuador. 20 review: visions of development Photo: Caroline Pankhurst/Progressio Published August 2007 by Progressio Progressio Ireland Editor Alastair Whitson Unit 3, Canonbury Yard c/o CORI, Bloomfield Avenue Executive Director Christine Allen 190a New North Road, Off Morehampton Road Design Twenty-Five Educational London N1 7BJ Donnybrook, Dublin 4, Ireland Printing APG (ISO 14001 accreditation for tel +44 (0)20 7354 0883 tel +353 (0)1 6144966 international environmental standards). fax +44 (0)20 7359 0017 e-mail [email protected] Printed on REVIVE 100% chlorine free e-mail [email protected] Charity reg. in Ireland no. CHY 14451 recycled paper. website www.progressio.org.uk Company reg. no. 385465 Recycle this magazine! Progressio is the working name of the Catholic Institute for International Relations Charity reg. in the UK no. 294329 Company reg. no. 2002500 Except for articles written by Progressio staff, the views and opinions in Interact are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect Progressio policy. first person A woman at a community meeting in East Timor in 2004. Vicky Bautista is now doing similar community capacity building work Seeing through a different lens with Caritas Dili in East Timor. REPARING FOR A FIELD TRIP to three had previously been given funds for After the meeting, we learned that villages where we are working with economic activities and providing them the posts of secretary and treasurer of Pthe communities, myself and the with cash for everything they ask for the group had been vacant for some Caritas Dili staff tried to identify would foster dependency. Facilitating the time and the leader had been indicators to measure a ‘good group discussion therefore aimed to functioning essentially as a one-person community group’. Tetun language is come up with alternatives that would show. The next day, after mass, a group really rather limited – everything is either help solve the problem while at the same member approached a Caritas Dili staff diak (good) or la diak (not good). Fine! time building the local people’s capacity. member to say she was not happy about But what exactly is grupo diak (good At some point the discussion got the meeting because there was no group)? tense when the group leader threatened transparency in the group. She was We came up with various elements to stop working if their demand was not unhappy that the leader had been asking that make up a group or organisation, met. To what extent was he representing for more money when in fact there was and which could be used in assessment, the sentiments of the group? That was no system to ensure control over the monitoring and evaluation: vision, hard to say as his outbursts were met financial resources. objectives, plan, leadership, structure, with silence. Equipped with new analytical/ resources, policies and procedures, After further discussion, the group conceptual tools, the staff member easily financial control, and so on. But during came up with a number of decisions. recognised the weaknesses of the the workshops I observed how difficult it First, they were willing to work with us organisation, and is therefore now in a was for the staff to come up with to analyse the situation and prepare a better position to help ‘fix’ what is amiss. concrete and observable signs of a ‘good proposal. Second, since the issue He was also appreciative of the group’. They could talk well in abstract involved the entire community, they were facilitation process – recognising that it is terms about good leadership and good willing to bring in other community up to the people themselves to identify women’s participation, but were back to members instead of limiting it to the the issues, make decisions and take diak and la diak when talking about group members. This decision was action. what is a good group. It occurred to me particularly significant because I am told In the end, the conceptual/analytical that perhaps they hadn’t seen concrete there are rifts among different sectors in tools and the methods we introduce are evidence in practice of what makes a that community. like lenses we provide, so that the people good group, perhaps because their work Third, since water is an issue that the we work with are able to see their work in communities had so far not been government ought to concern itself with, in a different light – one that will directed at the detailed workings of they were willing to network with the ultimately lead to new and enhanced community organisations. government in finding the solution to programme work. At one of the villages, Turiscai, a the problem. Finally, recognising that the community group (consisting of 13 water problem is linked to environmental Vicky Bautista is a Progressio members) was asking for funds to build degradation, they were willing to work development worker in East Timor, a water tank for their vegetable garden. on rehabilitating and protecting their working as a capacity building advisor However, Caritas Dili could not fund the mountains. To these decisions the leader with Caritas Dili. Vicky is from the project, one reason being that the group seemed amenable – in the end. Philippines. Summer 2007 interact 3 news Ecuadorian organisations speak composing proposals and up on constitutional change challenges for candidates. Some fear constitutional change could CUADOR IS CAUGHT UP in actually be a step backwards from ‘constituent assembly fever’ – the existing constitution, drawn up Ethe new socialist president in 1998, which on paper is very Rafael Correa’s project to elect an progressive, particularly regarding assembly to rewrite the country’s the collective rights of indigenous constitution, writes Michelle Lowe. groups. In April, 82 per cent of voters Ampam Karakas, a member of Amira Herdoíza, executive director of backed the idea in a referendum, the Shuar indigenous group who La Corporación KIMIRINA. initiating a scramble among works for indigenous people’s prospective members of the rights, fears that the rights of assume responsibility for providing constituent assembly to collect indigenous communities could be anti-retrovirals for all those who enough signatures to register for at risk: ‘I hope that the collective need them and a commitment to the elections. Civil society rights of indigenous communities ensure that people living with HIV organisations are now entering into which are recognised in the existing and AIDS are not dismissed from a period of campaigning and constitution are maintained and their jobs,’ she said. lobbying candidates on the new included in the new constitution. The electoral campaign will run constitution. The hope is that the new from 14 August to 27 September, Correa was inaugurated as constitution once approved will with the elections taking place on President in January in a context of actually be respected and applied 30 September 2007. The assembly widespread mistrust and hostility in full for more than the 10 years is due to begin work in mid- towards the country’s mainstream which the current constitution has November.