Thursday, March 18, 2010
Participation: get your voice heard
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Cashew nuts, a promising cash crop in the hill tracts of Bangladesh*
During the Covid-19 pandemic, all schools, colleges and other educational institutions including offices were closed down across the who...
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During the Covid-19 pandemic, all schools, colleges and other educational institutions including offices were closed down across the who... -
Dear friends To facilitate a dialogue on VCF issues, I posted a write-up on 20 April 2010. Many have actively participated in this dialogu... -
Community participation is essential. This senior person cannot read and write the mainstream language 'Bangla', but he is literate ...
This is a nice picture. Elders are keeping alive the Chakma scripts. This is encouraging that they have been practising them.
ReplyDeleteTo be heard is an important aspect in any development. In most cases where development proposals are brought into communities that have very low literacy rates end up being forced on people without their clear understanding of what benefits it will have for them, and also what effects and impacts the development proposal will have on their lives. The 'top down' governance systems come into play. When disaster strikes, the losers are the communities that accept.
ReplyDeleteThe picture of the senior people writing in his own language is very encouraging. He expresses his views and makes his stand. In this way, he is heard.
There seems to be a lot of community participation and involvement in development projects, through facilitation, workshops and practical work, however in my opinion, the impact is not great enough to make a wholesome change through the world. How best can we connect all these?
Hi George
ReplyDeleteThanks for your nice comments. Yes, there is a big challenge for communicating with rural communities. Rural comminities are the most disadvantaged in terms of having access to education, health and other service facilities. Because of low level of literarcy, it is not easy for them to participate in the planning process. Even their opinions are manipulated in the name of 'consultation'.
In my country, Bangladesh, the mainstream education system does not recognise the 'other' education system. However, many indigenous communities in Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh, have retained their own scripts. The elders and traditional healers have kept them alive. This elder neither can read nor write the mainstream 'Bangla'. But he is literate in his own scripts. Here, there is also another big challenge for using these scripts. The majority of the young generation, being educated in Bangla or English, now cannot read or write own scripts.
Under these circumstances, development practitioners, especially youths and community workers have to be literate in local languages to some extent or at least, they should be mindful of the importance of local scripts and languages to elicit views from all walks of community people including elders. The process is not that easy, but one should recognise that community faciliation takes time. Development practitioners including funders need to consider it, otherwise effective participation could not be ensured.
Thanks again for your participation.
Cheers
Ashok
Dear Ashokda
ReplyDeleteThanks for inviting me this area. I am not familiar much about this blogging system. But I like to read and see what peoples say.
Of course, community development much needed in current context of CHT. One area along with many, it could be approached to the elders and young generation. The elders need to teach to the young generation about the traditional, tangible and intangible knowledge. Same thing the young generation need to share with elders about this modern technologies. Its like a mutual learning and good combination.
Now the fact is that, how it could be integrated to the community. The challenges are still remained and questioned.
Thanks for sharing Ashokda!
Dear Dhamai
ReplyDeleteThanks for your participation. I am also a new-comer to this virtual world. No need to be more familiar with blogging. Just drop by my blog and make comments, and share your ideas on various issues whatever you like to discuss.
Encourage others to contribute to the discussion on this blog. Look forward to your active participation.
Cheers
Ashok
Yes! I can remember I was the part of this process that is sowing in this picture. When I was conducting the sessions, this elderly person was so quit, and whenever he was asked/requested to draw a picture of his own village after 5 years later along with other participants, he showed his dream in own script. If I am not wrong, the dream was a Chakma script school in the village. Though this dream was covered only within his village, I think this dream should be within the whole Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs) context. However, in this moment, very few Local Non Governmental Organizations (LNGOs) are working on Multilingual Lingual Education (MLE) but still Bangladesh Government don’t have any initiative that a Indigenous children could learn his/her primary education in mother language. On the other hand our country has a glorious history on mother language and established the Bangla as state language in 1952 by sacrificing many lives. Consequently, now 21 February is the International Mother Language Day.
ReplyDeleteNot only the elderly person, me also expecting, those days are not so far that an indigenous children could learn his/her primary education in own language.