Bhagwnai Bai

LEAD 7100

Dr. Wendy Griswold

February 3, 2016

Community Education and Different Identities

The book Community education, learning and development discuss about Community

involvement or participation in decision making in the programs, and policies concerning to their

lives. In chapter six while discussing active citizenship Tett has bring some very nice points of

community involvement through having believe in active citizenship by facilitating people to not

only identification but having control over whole project cycle. He presented two tools such

participatory action research and creating spaces that can influence decision making. He also

highlighted the alliance development to have collative voice and avoid competition environment.

I would say that while reading this book my working experience with rural development

organization has been refreshed and the areas where we did mistakes become apparent to me. I

think involving community at identification of issues with solution is key point that need to be

focused and community should be facilitated at their full potential to bring to the table instead

imposing our own ideas.

The first community I represent at micro level is my caste this identity gave me feeling

oppression from very early age. While working with my communities I focused on inclusion of

marginalized vulnerable segments of the communities such as women and children. I am not an

active member of network of working with communities discriminated based on their caste. But I
had say in their forums whenever I participated. Through this alliance I participated in 23 rd

human rights council meeting and presented suppressed caste womens issues in a side event. My

case study was published in the alliance annual report 2012 and CEDAW report 2013

http://idsn.org/portfolio-items/report/ I must highlight that being a woman, at very grass root

level my voice is not being heard in the matters of community as a whole; for example there

were no women in meeting of men deciding for political representation or any change in any

custom but I feel myself empowered in many aspects that my father and husband supported me

at every stage of life.

The second community I want to discuss here is my professional position in my rural

development work where I worked for rights of working children of my areas. Being a woman I

sometime came across some bias statements from my male colleagues in my office but we had

very nice systems that gave me and other women right to participate in decision in not only

program but organizational decisions. The changes in program side is mostly come from bottom

(community) and change in organizational matter comes in participatory manner where it was

discussed at every stage before going to board of directors meeting for approval and

implementation.

My Responses to two of class participants:

Dear Kathryn

Thank you Kathryn, I think that our affiliation with different communities or our different

identities play a major role in our lives. The social identities for someone become cause of being

privileged and for other reason of oppression. I believe that to be content to diversity and
tolerance for multiple identities is key lesson we need to learn to meet the challenges of 21st

century.

Dear Katie,

Your examples of members of community pulled me back to chapter one of Tett. 2010 where the

term community is described in the three areas; place or locality, interest and function. Your

examples suit with last two areas. Understanding the relationship with communities help in

setting course of actions for individual and common good.