COMMUNITY SYSTEMS PHOTO ESSAY

Whitney TurrietaWestern Washington University

Photo courtesy of Google Images, #4

LEARNING OUTCOME 1: SUMMARIZE THE HISTORICAL ROOTS OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZING, ADVOCACY, AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS.

Agriculture has been tied historically to community organization for about 12,000 years, at which point people began to transition from hunter-gatherer lifestyles and put down roots, forming more complex and larger communities than many of the previous nomadic groups throughout the world. People had to stay with their crops to maintain access to food, and communities were built largely based on locations that could be farmed.

Photo courtesy of Google Images, #8 top, #7 right.

NELSON MANDELA LED ONE OF THE GREATEST SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN MODERN HISTORY. HE LED SOUTH AFRICANS AS THEY REGAINED CONTROL OF THEIR COUNTRY FROM THE COLONIAL DUTCH. MANDELA RESTORED CONTROL OF THE GOVERNMENT TO THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, AND LEADING BY EXAMPLE, CREATED A HEALING SPACE WHERE ALL SOUTH AFRICANS, REGARDLESS OF CULTURAL IDENTITY, COULD COME TOGETHER AND FIND COMMON GROUND.

THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONSTITUTION DESCRIBES SOUTH AFRICANS TO BE “UNITED IN OUR DIVERSITY”, THE RESULT OF A LIFETIME OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING, DEVELOPMENT, ADVOCACY, AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS.

Photo courtesy of Google Images, #6

TWO CRITICAL PIECES OF ORGANIZED SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN THE UNITED STATES ARE WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE AND CIVIL RIGHTS, BOTH OF WHICH CENTERED AROUND

EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL PEOPLE, REGARDLESS OF GENDER OR ETHNICITY.

Photo courtesy of Google Images, #9 Photo courtesy of Google Images, #1

THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, AND IN OUR OWN BACKYARDS, PEOPLE CONTINUE TO ORGANIZE AND RISE AGAINST THE POWERFUL FORCES THAT SEPARATE US, PHYSICALLY, ECONOMICALLY, OR OTHERWISE.

The Berlin Wall being breached on the morning that the first section was torn down.

Photo courtesy of Google Images, #12

Protestors demonstrating as part of the Occupy Movement, speaking out against economic inequity and

the role of banks and multinational corporations. Photo courtesy of Google Images, #2

LEARNING OUTCOME 2: ANALYZE COMMUNITY SYSTEMS AND STRUCTURES, AND DESIGN AND EVALUATE PROCESSES TO INITIATE AND SUSTAIN CHANGE THROUGH SPECIFIC STRATEGIES, TACTICS, ACTIVITIES, AND

SOCIAL POLICY ADVOCACY.One of many current projects underway is “Shield the People”, a movement of the Lakota and their allies to protect land that has been ceded to their tribe through treaty with the United States from being devastated by progression of the Keystone Pipeline. “The people

of the First Nations are organizing to protect and shield the people, natural resources and cultural heritage from the devastation, knowing that it is not only their small corner of the world they are protecting, but the very survival of the entire living organism that is Mother Earth” (Can a Tipi Stop a Pipeline?, 2014). One of the ways that people are resisting is to erect spiritual tipi camps in the path

of the pipeline.

Photos courtesy of Shield The People

CEDESOL BOLVIVAN COOKING STOVESWorld Health Organization studies have shown that respiratory problems resulting from smoke inhalation indoors are the leading cause of death for children under five. These inefficient fires are created with wood from local forests, causing deforestation and subsequent erosion and desertification. Soot, or “black carbon,” is also one of the most polluting forms of carbon, having a global warming potential far higher than CO2. In the end, it is these same communities putting black carbon into the atmosphere that will bear the brunt of climate change impacts. Every part of the stoves CEDESOL manufactures is indigenous to Bolivia. Alpaca wool insulates the cooking surface, local pinewood forms the frame, the aluminum reflectors are recycled newspaper printing plates, and the glass cover that lets in and keeps in the sun’s heat is manufactured in-country.(Blynn, 2010)

Photo courtesy of Ruth Saavedra de Whitfield/CEDESOL

RESILIENCE CIRCLES

Among the processes designed to initiate and sustain change in local communities is Resilience Circles. “A Resilience Circle is a small group of 10 – 20 people that comes

together to increase personal security during these challenging times. Circles

have three purposes: learning, mutual aid, and social action” (What is a Resilience

Circle?, n.d.). Groups are provided a free curriculum that addresses the lack of

sustainability in our current economy and groups are invited to change, develop, or omit portions as they see fit. Groups get together and brainstorm on how to work

collectively to become more resilient, from planting community gardens to creating

micro-lending programs, sharing and collaborating with the good of the

community in mind.

Photo courtesy of Google Images, #15

FAMILY INDEPENDENCE INITIATIVEThe Family Independence Initiative is approaching poverty in America in a way that celebrates the

creativity and initiative of people to solve their own problems, and leave poverty permenantly. “We leverage the power of information to support

economic and social mobility in America. Rather than impose solutions or fixes on behalf of others, we are

proving that documenting and investing in the initiative and ingenuity of low-income families and

communities is the most effective way forward”(Family Independence Initiative,

2014). Families create peer groups and are given small stipends for recording their progress, and are

left to work together to pull themselves out of poverty…with amazing results, ranging from creating

small businesses to home ownership.

Photo courtesy of Google Images, #16

LEARNING OUTCOME 3:RECORD, ASSESS, AND REFLECT ON EXPERIENCES WITH COMMUNITY AND THE INFLUENCE OF

HUMAN SERVICES VALUES, ATTITUDES, AND ETHICS IN RELATIONSHIP TO COMMUNITY CHANGE.

Photo courtesy of Google Images, # 11

MY EXPERIENCES IN MY FAMILY AND COMMUNITY AFFECT MY ROLE IN COMMUNITY CHANGE

Above, a Suquamish canoe, with my husband pulling on the far right, in the 2013 Paddle to Quinault (photo courtesy of Ron Peltier).

Left, my daughter’s Instagram collection of photos from the same Canoe Journey (photo courtesy of Savannah Turrieta).

MY COMMUNITY HAS A TIME BANK

Time banks reflect human services values, attitudes, and ethics with respect to community change because they value each person’s contribution equally and seek to bring communities together to meet their own needs with human currency. My local time bank is the West Sound Time Bank. “A time bank is a form of community currency that is based on time rather than dollars. Requests (withdrawals) are made from a large selection of available services offered by members. All hours are valued equally and earned and withdrawn on an hour-for-hour basis. With neighbors helping neighbors, we all help to build a stronger, more connected community” (West Sound Time Bank, n.d.).

Photo courtesy of Google Images, #19

MY EXPERIENCES WITH COMMUNITY HAS GONE GLOBAL THROUGH THE HUMAN SERVICES PROGRAM. WORKING WITH NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS AND VOLUNTEERING WITH LOCAL PROJECTS IN

A SOUTH AFRICAN TOWNSHIP HAVE IMPACTED MY VIEW OF WHAT A COMMUNITY IS AND THE RESPONSIBILITY I HAVE AS A HUMAN SERVICES PROFESSIONAL AND CITIZEN OF THE WORLD.

A group of WWU students making soup for the villagers with Johanna (center), a local woman who serves soup and bread out of her house any day that she can round up enough food. For some, it would be their only hot meal that day. Note that her walls are insulated with cardboard, but her main concern is addressing hunger in her community. Children in Kurland Village lining up to get soup.

SEVERAL DISABLED PEOPLE IN THE VILLAGE HAD NO RAMPS OR EVEN STAIRS TO GET FROM INSIDE THEIR HOUSES, THROUGH THE MUD, TO THE OUTDOOR TOILETS. THE WWU STUDENTS, WITH THE HELP OF LOCAL LABORERS, BUILT RAMPS, POURED CONCRETE, AND ERECTED A FENCE AT A LOCAL DAYCARE WHERE THE

CHILDREN’S PLAY YARD AND OUTDOOR AREA BORDERED THE MAIN STREET.

TEAM BUILDING EXERCISES AT A SAFE SCHOOLS WORKSHOP WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF THE KNYSNA DRUG AND ALCOHOL CENTER STAFF TAUGHT ME A GREAT DEAL ABOUT THE STRUGGLES OF SCHOOL SAFETY THAT ARE COMPLICATED BY A

SYSTEM THAT IS LESS THAN 20 YEARS POST-APARTHEID, AND IGNITED A DESIRE TO INVESTIGATE DECOLONIZATION IN THE U.S. AND HOW MY ROLE IN HUMAN SERVICES RELATES TO INDIGENOUS ISSUES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

LEARNING OUTCOME 4: ANALYZE THE SYSTEMIC ISSUES RELATED TO CULTURE, DIVERSITY, AND SOCIAL CLASS IN THE CONTEXT OF COMMUNITY SYSTEMS.

Photo courtesy of Google Images, #10

WE OFTEN GET SO WRAPPED UP IN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL DEFENSE (OR OFFENSE) ISSUES THAT WE – THOSE WHO OCCUPY 20% OF THE LAND AND HAVE ACCESS TO 80% OF THE EARTH’S

CLEAN WATER – FORGET THAT ONE OF LIFE’S MOST BASIC NECESSITIES IS IN SHORT SUPPLY IN COMMUNITIES AROUND THE

WORLD, AND OUGHT TO CONSIDER HOW THIS RESOURCE AFFECTS COMMUNITY SYSTEMS.

Photo courtesy of Google Images, #20Photo courtesy of Google Images, #18

THE NEW ETHNIC CLEANSING: TRIBAL DISENROLLMENT

Photo courtesy of Google Images, #21 above, #23 below.

Photo courtesy of Google Images, #22

SOCIOECONOMIC INEQUALITY IS AT THE HEART OF MANY SYSTEMIC ISSUES IN OUR COMMUNITIES

Photo courtesy of Google Images, #24

Photo courtesy of Google Images, #25

WORKS CITEDBlynn, K. (2010, September). South-South Technology Transfer in Bolivia: A Solution for Local

Health, Forests, and Our Global Climate. In Solutions for a sustainable and desirable

future. Retrieved from http://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/node/758

Can a Tipi Stop a Pipeline? (2014). In Shield the People. Retrieved from

http://www.shieldthepeople.org/

Family Independence Initiative. (2014). In Fii. Retrieved from http://www.fii.org/

West Sound Time Bank. (n.d.). Reviving and honoring the the systems of kindness and care in

our communities. In West Sound Time Bank. Retrieved from

http://www.westsoundtimebank.org/p/about-time-banks.html

What is a Resilience Circle?. (n.d.). In Resilience circles: Small groups for tough times.

Retrieved from http://localcircles.org/what-is-a-resilience-circle/

GOOGLE IMAGES LINKS1: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/1963_march_on_washington.jpg

2: http://www.dewereldmorgen.be/sites/default/files/2011/10/13/peoplebeforeprofit.jpg

4: http://world.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/advocay.jpg

5: http://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/headline-image/headline/Note_Figure1.jpg

6: http://www.globaleducationmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Nelson-Mandela-Human-Rights-Day-global-education-magazine-640x360.png

7: http://heritageofjapan.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/nihonnoruutsu-yayoi-rice.jpg

8: http://sustainableswcolorado.org/sites/default/files/images2/agriculture.jpg

9: http://sharnenterprisesinc.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/women_vote.jpg

10: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/hnBWw8-9gbWgAVHIh8yFBK5Qz1TFT_2YU5o4vjHWnIPRQy09bVMoaSvDNQaLMOER7A80WdwOcPric0IxPF3PTIm4ueQvPjhsxzzUxqg6jfoqyNoOzf0

11: http://s2.1africa.tv/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/not-yet.jpg

12: http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/berlin-flag.jpg

15: http://transitionalbany.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Res-Circles-full.jpg

16: http://media.smashingmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/uploader/images/signs/going-up-together/full_03-going-up-together.jpg

18:http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HyyDHyAwI6k/ SxMzideSNcI/AAAAAAAAHOg/Tbv3vb8sgII/s1600/one+peace+-+water+is+life.jpg

19: http://www.cfcninc.org/time_bank.png

20: http://osocio.org/images/uploads/Water_Is_Life_Posters_5_thumb.jpg

21: http://fusion.net/images/Justice/140306_tribal_disenrollment_306_16x9_992.jpg

22: http://capitolrecord.tvw.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/DSC_08631-e1390604321186.jpg

23: http://media.thenewstribune.com/smedia/2013/05/16/13/32/15bQv9.St.39.jpeg

24: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Distribution.png

25: http://thedailyblog.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/problems-in-society.jpg

#5: LEARNING OR CONCEPT

I want to talk about the concept of community resiliency. Deborah Frieze (2011) says “South Africa is the most overwhelming place I’ve ever fallen in love with. (…) It’s overwhelming because in every story I heard, in every place I visited, in every person I met, there seemed to be just as much to celebrate as to grieve. It’s as if the deep wound of its history as a brutal apartheid state is covered up by only the most fragile layer of new skin – one that is still transparent and vulnerable to infection” (p. 76). These words resonate so deeply with me, and no single experience to date has impacted my view of community development as the time I spent in South Africa. Millions of people have been displaced, told – in this lifetime – that their homes are no longer theirs and forced to live in mud huts, breathe deadly smoke in exchange for having the means to cook and stay warm, going hungry on a daily basis. Most “coloured” people do not know where they come from, what their cultural heritage is, where they belong. They know that they are not white, but their features indicate Dutch, English, and/or Indian blood mixed in their veins. Less than 20 years after apartheid ceased, there is still gross disparity in almost every system that the indigenous people are subject to. And yet there is this calm, a sense of peace and patience, that I could not wrap my mind around. Community members sharing food, pooling resources, celebrating the smallest of victories. Children playing in the township streets from dawn until dusk, safe in any house they wander into. I don’t understand it, haven’t figured out how to emulate it, but I am humbled by it. By the love people extend to one another, the concept of Ubuntu – “I am, because we are”. The honoring of the legacy of Nelson Mandela, the pride in reclaiming their own government. I don’t know how to replicate the resiliency I witnessed there, but I will take the lessons I leaned in one short summer with me both professionally and personally for a lifetime.

Reference: Wheatley, M., & Frieze, D. (2011). Walk out walk on; a learning journey into communities daring to live the future now. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.