Making a difference - a REAL difference

This blog is a good place to start to learn more......

Okay, so I am a bit embarrassed to say that I have fallen victim to the traps of “bad-vocacy” in the past.  I was raised with the philosophy that “Doing something is better than doing nothing,” and while I am sure that my parents, teachers, girl scout leaders and religious educators all had the most honorable intentions in instilling this idea in my mind, I have opened my mind to an alternate reality and can see where this notion isn’t always an accurate one.   I have donated “needed” items to numerous natural disaster relief efforts, bought the colorful rubber bracelets to raise awareness for issues and cleaned out my closets to help those less fortunate.  On the flip side, I have donated money to various fundraising initiatives, telethons and radio-thons.  Money is what is really needed, so I guess I’m okay, right?  Maybe not…….  I have to admit that I have always given (money or material goods) without much thought to where the money goes or to whom.  This should have helped to assuage my “Catholic guilt,” but after spending the weekend “enlightening” myself by digesting the various articles and videos assigned to cover aid-based and community based approaches to macro work I have a whole new understanding of the differences between the two. 

Aid–based approaches, while sometimes deeply rooted in the best of intentions, do not always address what the intended recipients actually need to improve their lives.  After reading, "Haiti Doesn’t Need Your Old T-Shirt," by Charles Kenney and watching the brief video, “A Day Without Dignity," the dumping of leftover t-shirts and shoes on the residents of Haiti and Nigeria opened my eyes to the problems with some aid based efforts.  Also, the discussion of how the US food aid program has put native rice farmers out of business in Haiti and textile workers out of jobs in other countries were two strong examples that the best intentions do not always result in the intended outcomes, unless the intended outcome was to achieve some misguided notion that what is best for us (Americans. Corporations and the federal government) must also be best for those being “helped.”  According to the reading, the intention is all too often to unload our surplus of goods and send our leftovers to less fortunate communities are Pop-Tarts really beneficial to anyone? 

Community based efforts are much more far-sighted than their aid based counterparts.  The grass-roots types of efforts that were illustrated in our readings and in the videos we watched had a much more long-lasting effect for the communities involved.  In addition, the people who were affected by the issues had a vested interest in the process of affecting solutions.  In “Pray the Devil Home,” Leymah Gbowee talked about the process the women implemented to achieve the intended effect on their situation.  What was especially interesting to me was how the women spent one hour after each peaceful protest to conduct an analysis of the protest.  The goal of this hour was, in essence, to see what had worked, what hadn’t and how to improve their efforts.  This was truly a community effort conducted by the affected community and it definitely got noticed.  The women were able to achieve their goals and so much more.  Their efforts became a model and an inspiration for other global efforts in the approach to creating peaceful communities.

When Gbowee made the statement that, “Peace is a process, not an event,” it had a particularly strong impact on me.  It helped me to understand the level of her commitment to uniting both Muslim and Christian women in Nigeria to take a stand against the war in their country.  It brought a new light to the plight of women living in a war zone.  As was discussed in the video, “War Redefined,” the focus of war and its coverage has always been on the man’s story; how to fight, the weapons used and the politics involved.  This group of Nigerian women and others like them, have begun to force us to shift this lens with which we view war to also include the impact that war has on women and the impact that women can have on a war.  Patrick Cammaert, a former UN Peacekeeping leader stated that, “It is more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in an armed conflict today.”  One US initiative that seems to be having a positive effect in the war in the Middle East is the use of female engagement teams in the Afghan countryside.  Because it is unacceptable for Afghan women to speak to an unrelated man, the US has begun to use teams of military women to tour the villages and engage the female population in Afghanistan to explore their needs and the needs of their children.  Soliciting this information from those directly involved in the conflict should help to ensure that we are providing the correct type and amount of help these women so desperately need.

For me, the blog post “Before You Give, Think” was the most helpful.  The seven steps listed provide even the novice explorer (like me) in the field of advocacy, domestic or international, with clear guidelines to follow when embarking on the “mission” to give.  Steps two and three; reflecting on your initial emotions and questioning yourself, are especially important to me in the process.  They are definitely two things I have not done in the past.  I am more of an emotional participant in that I get caught up in my own emotions and have to “do something” right away.  This advice also aligned well with the knowledge I gained during LEAD Day at the state house this week.  The importance of researching your cause and creating a plan was stressed by all of the panelists that participated in the workshops.  They did speak of the need for being passionate about your cause when participating in grass-roots advocacy, but Representative Enriques made a point to explain that being passionate did not necessarily insinuate a need to be emotional.  He instead advised that we harness our passion on an issue, learn as much as we can about it, reflect on what we have learned and then take the time to develop a plan that best addresses it.  Finally, he stressed the need for constant analysis of our actions, adapting our approach or plan, and remaining true to our passion and cause.  All of the information I have been able to gain through this process will assist me in becoming the advocate I now know I was meant to become.   

Watch this video for a community-based approach on a domestic level.    

Work accomplished to date

Jan 31st - 

• Create list of classmates commitments for first two weeks of intervention work
• Submit list to Prof. Boutwell
• Distribute to class via email with community intervention log attachment
• Email communication with Deana about outreach

Feb 1st -

• Create first draft of “Save the Date” flyer
• Submit flyer for initial feedback to Profs Boutwell and Bailey and leadership in other classes
• Created documents for each class on facebook for communication
• Solicited update from fundraising class on facebook

Feb 2nd

• Facebook posting soliciting ideas for naming the week of events
• Email to 53 members of 432 classes for same purpose as above
• Email communication with Prof. Boutwell
• Revisions to “Save the Date” Flyer made and submitted

Feb 3rd

• Create documents on facebook for communication between classes
• Miscellaneous email communication with various classmates

Feb 6th

• Miscellaneous email communication with various classmates

Feb 7th

• Miscellaneous email communication with various classmates
• Circulating Weekly update email and soliciting responses from classmates via Joe Thurston
• Email communication with Prof. Boutwell
• Email to Hybrid class looking for leadership team

Feb 8th

• Created poll on facebook for voting on names of week
• Compose and circulate email to hybrid class looking for input on what role each student would like to take on
• Respond to classmates email questions and concerns - include Prof Boutwell when necessary
• Submit summary of promotion team activities to Annemarie Sullivan

Feb 9th

• Communication and responses with classmates regarding Joe’s test email
• Miscellaneous communication with Prof. Boutwell and leadership team

Feb 10th

• More communication with leadership team
• Meeting scheduled

Feb 11th

• Email communication to compile list of promotion ideas from discussion board assgnmt

Feb 13th - 15th

• Email(s) with Patrice and Danielle (representing A New Day) to firm up details for Vagina Monologues flyer/tickets
• Email(s) with Stef to schedule meeting with representatives from a New Day
• Email(s) with leadership group to firm up task list
• Worked on creation of Vagina Monologues flyer

Feb 16th

• Leadership meeting on campus 
• Submitted first draft of Vagina Monologues flyer for approval
• Email communication with MANY people about MANY things
• Notable email.......hybrid class possible team assignments asking for response as to individuals preference for role 
• Weekly summary composed and submitted to Joe Thurston

Feb 17th

• Vagina Monologues program discussion via email with Stef and Danielle
• Continue to respond to classmate emails regarding promotions/outreach preferences

Feb 20th

• email communication regarding Clothesline Project t-shirt collection
• Continue to respond to classmate emails regarding promotions/outreach

Feb 21st

• Continue to respond to classmate emails regarding promotions/outreach
• Continue to work on Vagina Monologue flyer - correspondence obtaining logos for A New Day/Health Imperatives agencies
• Begin to compile list of assignments for classmates and team assignment
• Compose and submit email to Hybrid class with assignments for classmates (per Prof Boutwell’s request) to complete before class on 2/28

Feb 22nd - 23rd

• Communication emails with classmates regarding tasks assigned, questions and results
• Email communication with Prof. Boutwell
• Compose and Submit weekly promotions summary to Joe Thurston

Feb 24th - 25th

• Continue to finalize Vagina Monologue flyer
• Begin work creating Clothesline Project flyer
• Optimize Save the Date flyer for black & white printing per Prof. Boutwell’s request

Feb 26th

• Submit Clothesline Project flyer for initial feedback
• Communicate with members of event planning team regarding Clothesline Project

Feb 28th

• Communication with Deana regarding outreach tasks completed
• Create document with contact information for Hybrid class members and distribute via email to all members
• Met with Social Work Club to promote events

Feb 29th

• Communication with event planing team regarding Take Back the Night and Clothesline Project for flyers
• Make changes to Clothesline flyer as requested
• Begin to create TBTN flyer 
• Created initial draft of VM ticket template submitted to Prof Boutwell

Mar 1st

• Spokesperson group meeting with members of all three sections of 432
• Deliver 50 more save the date flyers to Prof Boutwell
• Compose and submit weekly summary to Joe Thurston of promotion activities
• Email communication with Brooke regarding supervisor contact info at field placements
• Continue to work on TBTN flyer

Mar 7th

• Submit first draft of TBTN Flyer

Mar 8th

• Submit second draft of TBTN flyer with suggested changes made

Mar 9th - 11th

• continued work on flyers for all events and tickets for VM

Mar 13th

• Finalize all flyers that have been in production
• Begin work on Movie night poster and “simply everything” large poster
• Finish and submit movie night poster

Mar 14th (wee hours of the morning)

• Submit first draft of “Simply everything” flyer
• Incorporate changes into flyer

Mar 15th (again the wee hours of the morning)

• Create this list and post to blog

**not included here are the many, many facebook messages and chat conversations I have had with members of all three classes and the times I have been chased down the hall for more flyers

**** also not included here is the hours of begging for my secret Jedi printer to continue to provide this much appreciated service