“We can work together for a better world with men and women of goodwill, those who radiate the intrinsic goodness of humankind.” — Wangari Maathai
Last year, I had the good fortune to attend a very special birthday party, for over 200 children in a children’s home. The party was a celebration of arrival into the world for these children. They may not have known when that was, but it happened and we we were celebrating that fact nonetheless!.
Another unique feature was that the party was an all-day event hosted for the children by well-wishers. I am proud to say that my organization was the mastermind of the event, with partners to assist. Our combined teams organized and planned the entire event, including sourcing supplies, materials needed, and coordinating all the logistics. We worked as collaborative teams , each team with assigned tasks, all towards the success of this special day.
A Special Celebration for Children
The menu for this birthday was typical of a children’s party: burgers, hotdogs, chips, ice cream. What else would kids want, right? We purchased all we needed from our regular hotel suppliers at cost only. The suppliers did not want to make a profit on the event. They sacrificed that profit for the children, ensuring that their collective birthday was a success. It was one of the nicest examples of social responsibility!
The Joy of Giving
Partnerships and collaborations are a great way to give service. It is nice when human beings come together for a common cause, giving of their time, services, or products. Acts such as these invariably make people feel good about themselves and each other as partners in a beautiful crime. The crime of giving! In this sort of collaborations is that there is no measure; nothing is too big or too small. People do not have to show off or compete about who has given the most or the least. What matters is that they have given collectively and of their own free will.
The Impact of Strong Partnerships
An organization that liaises with its suppliers and collaborates to conduct community projects must have good relationships with its suppliers. Suppliers feel confident in the work that the organization is doing and support that work. In turn, the organization has more loyalty to the suppliers that support their community efforts. “We are in this together.”
Collabo! A Vibrant Display of Talent
At that same birthday party, I was able to witness the true impact and power of collaboration in another context. As part of the birthday, the children entertained the visitors. They organized themselves in groups, both official and unofficial. They came with a lot of courage and enthusiasm to entertain all the visitors as their contribution to the celebration. One such group was made up of some young men, rappers; dynamic and interesting, daring to showcase their rapping and dancing skills.
When they went on stage, you could tell they were slightly nervous, wanting acceptance of their art from the audience. The music came on, their cue, and they began, wavering ever so slightly! Then the most astonishing thing happened: a lady from the audience, one of the collaborators of the day, got up. She picked up a microphone, went to the edge of the stage, closer to the audience, and began to lip-sync in collaboration with the rappers. She turned to the audience and continuously said, “collabo, collabo” (collaboration, collaboration).
The audience began to cheer for her, the rappers, and the entire act—they became one. She continued to lip-sync, and the audience continued to cheer. The rappers gained courage, their rap became stronger, more confident, and better. Was it the lady’s support, the crowd’s cheers of encouragement, or just the feeling that they were not in this alone? Whichever it was, it worked, and the act was a tremendous success. Collaboration in living color!
Collaboration in Action
What I realise is that when people/organizations partner or work in collaboration, they are supporting, agreeing, and encouraging each other. The lady with the microphone was Collaborating with the young men. Saying “I like what you are doing, and I accept and support you. We are in this together!”. The vote of confidence worked for the young rappers and encouraged the audience to collaborate with the act. Explains why artists look to audiences to clap in unison or encourages them to stand up and dance. All signs of showing their ultimate support by becoming a part of the act.
Building Community Through Unity
This leads me to reflect on community projects generally and the stakeholders within the community. Should they collaborate adoes that give the community a sense of security, to try harder to work towards development? When stakeholders collaborate, using one voice towards development,it makse the work easier for all involved. Create a sense of camaraderie between the community and collaborative stakeholders? Tuko Pamoja! (We are in this together!)
How Re-education Has Shaped My Perspective on Life and Community Support
I love Google, don’t you? I mean, gone are the days when you had to take out the dusty encyclopaedias or dictionaries. Alternatively hope you were near someone more knowledgeable than you. Now, you have a query, you just “Google it.”
Anyway, I decided to look up the words educate and re-educate. Per Google, “The process of acquiring general knowledge and developing the powers of reasoning and judgment.” . I like the idea that I can acquire more knowledge and increase my ability to reason. To re-educate, again courtesy of Google, is: “To educate again for new purposes.” This, I assume, can continue into perpetuity.
So, my re-education would mean that I am “acquiring more knowledge and increasing my ability to reason for new purposes!” . I like that! Why my interest in this area, at this particular time? In keeping with my premise to live “eating life with a big spoon,” I am learning and growing. Hence, continuous education, I hope and pray, will be my constant state of being.
Redefining Education and Re-education
In my line of work, I meet a lot of people from all walks of life. I meet the wealthiest, the poorest, and everyone in between. It is, however, in my work with communities where I meet people who challenge and inspire me the most.
These are people who do not share my ideals on wealth and poverty. Peole who do not use material possessions to define themselves or gauge their happiness. People who the world externally would call marginalized, but to me, have the real pulse on the quality of life.
Learning from Kenya’s Communities
I have worked with communities across East Africa, and I am fortunate enough to be embraced by them. While I feel I give something to these communities, they unbeknownst to them, give me much more.
These communities, teach me a different perspective of seeing the world. Introduce me to the simplicity of life, nature, and the wonders of the universe, untainted by modern life. They teach me how to listen to all around me. Reminding me of my childlike wonder at small thing, like sunsets, birds at rest, or a small crab scurrying along a beach. How to be still!
A Driver’s Question That Changed My Thinking
One instance that challenged me was a conversation with one of our company drivers. I was telling him how the hotel we both worked in, was discarding sheets and bedding. Our discard of those items would result in us donating them to the neighbouring community of Shimo La Tewa prison. This was under our corporate social responsibility department, a department I was responsible for.
He looked at me with contempt. He then stated that it was ironic that we were helping the very people who wreaked havoc on society – murderers, and thieves. While some of our hard-working staff slept on the floor without so much as a sheet.
His statement impacted me greatly. I felt ashamed that I had not considered the internal community. His response make me review how we define and decide on the worthiness of a community for donations. What are the broader implications of these decisions?
Balancing Internal and External Community Needs
That conversation changed how I viewed community. I began to analyse how organizations like ours, relate to both its external and internal communities.
Noting that the internal community of an organization is as worthy of consideration as the external and more often than not, more so. I stand corrected and from the most unlikely source.
Continual Growth Through Re-education
I am contentedly re-educated on this matter. World, bring it! I am awakening!
For more updates on my journey of continuous learning and re-education, connect with me on LinkedIn for professional insights and discussions.