Helping communities change
Who are the most important people in helping communities make changes that improve their quality of life? This is one of the most vital questions for anyone working in development. Is it the development worker, the church leader, the extension agent, the foreign donor, the local chief or leader, the Mothers Union leader, the health worker or the government expert? Or is it someone less obvious within the community itself – someone, perhaps, with no formal role who plays a key part in helping their community promote and manage change?
We write Footsteps for these special people and use the name animator for them, a word that helps to explain the way they work. They ‘animate’ their communities, acting as a source of warmth and energy. Usually, but not always, they are people from the local community who have had some outside experience. They frequently encourage groups to form, though are often not seen as leaders. Indeed, workshops that only invite group leaders for training will often miss the animators. How can we find and support these people?
I have just completed four years of research, mostly in Uganda and Ghana, working with 75 groups of farmers. Nearly every time, after just half an hour of sitting and talking with these groups, you could begin to pick out the animators. They are always interested in new ideas, but don’t just talk about them – they try them out and support others in doing so. They make things happen within their groups. They can be young or old, male or female, well educated or with no formal education. Think about the groups you know. Who are the animators? Maybe you are one yourself? In almost every successful group there will be at least one, sometimes more. Supportive development agents, church leaders and, indeed, any of the people above may also have the gift to act as animators, and are often motivated by their faith.
This issue centres around the work of animators, on how to support them and to encourage change in communities. People often use other names for them. The Murnyaks use the word motivator in their excellent article. Others may use the word trainer. Animators rarely work alone but, more often, encourage groups to form. The article using beehives as a model will provide interesting discussion for groups. The centre pages provide ideas for sharing new information and other articles consider how to help share new ideas through training.
Isabel Carter