Rosalía: de la mujer nómade a la prostituta

The fieldwork with the pilot group consisted of a full action research cycle spanning almost the whole of 2004 and included first, the conducting of a 5-day worksession with the aim to empower practitioners and community members for community

them to see their lives from a different perspective as they unburden their hearts to God and one another…”

16 The participants of a workshop told us that even though many of them could not read, they wanted to have their input and comments typed and printed in their own workbook. Their children or literate family members could then read what they have been doing in the workshop. Thus, the ‘post -workshop workbooks’ (compiled by the researcher based on the participant’s direct verbal/written input during the worksessions) were given birth and have proved an invaluable source of reflection, learning, capacity building and wisdom.

17 Cf. the following statement from one of the women’s groups: “We get our strength from God, through reading the Bible, praying, praising God and having fellowship with other Christians”

(Kirsten 2003a:10).

18 Rina Steenkamp, then a community worker at the Natalse Christelike Vroue Vereniging (NCVV), a NGO delivering social work and community development services in the KwaZulu-Natal province. At the time, she has been involved with the initiation and deployment of a number of community development projects in the Rocky’s Drift community. The Rocky’s Drift community is an arid rural (mostly agricultural), sparsely populated community about one and a half hour’s drive from Pietermaritzburg.

facilitation, including a component on dealing with trauma. Second, it also entailed the undertaking of a village walk¹⁹ to engage with the community at large and familiarise the outsiders (research team) with the context of the insiders (community members) and third, a one day follow-up workshop for feedback and reflection and assessment.

3.3.1 Village Walk: Engaging the pilot community

To enable a better understanding of the difficulties community members encountered, one had to ‘to see for oneself’²⁰ where they lived and worked.²¹ This observation (and need) was echoed by participants who emphasised that professionals seldom reach their extremely isolated areas.²²

The village walk facilitated the grassroots entrance into the community, giving the researcher/outsiders the opportunity to make direct contact with the community members (insiders) and to observe first-hand where, how and what was taking place within the community and their projects. From the ‘outsiders’ viewpoint, the village walk as first level contact was of great significance, as it enabled listening to stories – thus laying the foundation for building a relationship of trust and co-operation.From the insiders’ viewpoint it was meaningful that the one co-worker²³ could relate to them in

19 A ‘village walk’ consists of the researcher(s) visiting (by vehicle or preferably by foot) the actual localities where the community representatives (in this case, the pilot group members) live and participate in projects. It is usually organised and/or guided by a local professional or community leader and the itinerary is mostly determined by the local community. For the purpose of the study, the NCVV social worker, Rina Steenkamp (cf. footnote 18) organised the village walk in co-operation with local representatives and leaders. As is often the case, an ‘additional’ or hidden agenda became clear during the course of the village walk, namely that one of the local leaders wanted to use the walk and exposure to ‘outsiders’ toward his personal political advancement. This caused a degree of unhappiness amongst the pilot group object members, as it prohibited the team from visiting all their projects. It did, however, provide valuable insights into the local political set-up and contributed to an understanding of the issues the local community members were up against (cf. also section 3.4.3).

20 In Pedagogy of Hope (2006:16–18) Paulo Freire relates an incident when, after delivering a presentation on Piaget, “a still rather young but already worn out and exhausted” man raise his hand to ask: “Dr Paulo, sir, do you know where people live? Have you ever been in any of our houses, sir?”

This ‘lesson’, states Freire, stayed with him for the rest of his life.

21 Steve de Gruchy (1997:61) stresses the importance of experiencing the context of the people in order to ‘do theology’ [or community development] contextually, since “...the rural areas with their imposing majestic views, large skies, and desperate reliance upon rain and sun on the one hand, and their pathetic scenes of poverty and loneliness on the other, hold before humanity a truth of God and the world that theology cannot afford to lose.”

22 During the Pietermaritzburg capacity building worksessions, one group member, referring to the social workers’ conduct in the rural communities – and specifically concerning the member’s own isolated community, located in a difficult to reach valley – had this to say: “They [the government social workers] park on top of the hill and do not want to walk down to our village, because they don’t want to walk through the mud with their high heels. They don’t see what is really going on down below where the problems are, but expect us to come up to them at the top.’

23 Thembi Mphokeng is Zulu speaking.

their mother tongue, thus establishing immediate contact on a – to them – culturally comfortable level. To receive the ‘visitors’ on their ‘home turf’, affirmed their dignity.

The photographs taken during the village walk produced an extremely valuable portrayal of the encounters. As it allowed for more in-depth reflection and provided a record of visual images that greatly added to and confirmed the initial observations, it was found to be vital as research material.²⁴ The detailed assessment report (compiled by the researcher) served as a source of recorded data reflecting the observations; a brief evaluative discussion of the projects, the role of the social worker, and the role of the organisation; and the conclusions relevant to the capacity building sessions (Kirsten, 2004a). In addition, as required in action research, the assessment report provided a means to give direct feedback and information to the insiders.²⁵

3.3.2 Capacity building sessions: Data-gathering and action

The pilot group consisted of 29 rural and semi-rural participants – NCVV/SAVF²⁶ social workers, community developers and community members involved with self-help projects in the immediate surroundings of Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal. The criteria for inclusion in the pilot group were involvement in self-help, community or development projects and the willingness to continue an active group membership or facilitation role. The content of the worksessions covered the areas of empowerment;

self-fulfilment; group facilitation; self-help group/project leadership; and basic business development. The focus was on transferring knowledge and skills in the areas mentioned (i.e. self-enrichment, self-knowledge, self-confidence, dealing with trauma, leadership and group facilitation, and project and basic business development).

Adhering to the methodology of Adult Education and PLA-principles²⁷ with an outcome-based focus, the worksessions offered participants the opportunity to be involved in experiential learning activities. The aim was to sufficiently equip and empower the participants with the skills and confidence to enable the transfer of these competencies to others within their communities, organisations or projects.

24 Action Research holds that the community has the ownership of the collected data; therefore, they should have access to it. In the case of illiterate or semi-literate communities, photographic material (e.g. videos, photo albums, and reproduced prints) is one of the best sources to relay the information back to them. Also cf. Chapter 2, section 2.6.2: Tools; section 2.6.5: Role of researcher.

25 Cf. Chapter 1, section 1.5; Chapter 2, section 2.6.2.

26 Non-governmental organisations focussing mainly on work with families and communities: Natalse Christelike Vroue Vereniging (NCVV) and Suid-Afrikaanse Vroue Federasie (SAVF).

27 Participatory learning in action.

3.3.3 Reflection and adaptation of the praxis framework

The final follow-up worksession took place on September 16^th, 2004 in Pietermaritzburg.²⁸ The aim of the session was to assess the participants’ integration and utilisation of the material; to create space for questions and discussion of problems arising from the implementation in their projects or practices; to provide the opportunity for networking with fellow participants; and to offer support, encouragement and motivation for the continuation of the work. The participants’

feedback regarding their understanding of the content and especially the process, were encouragingly positive, as was their rating of their contributions, sharing and active participation in the various activities during the sessions.²⁹ This could be interpreted as an indication of the value of the experiential and inter-active process, as well as the fact that the ‘stick was [truly] handed over’, with the participants taking responsibility for themselves, rather than expecting someone else ‘to wait’ on them.³⁰

Reflecting on the findings of the ‘pre-study’ work in the communities, as well as on the work done with the pilot group, namely direct observation, individual and group feedback and the insights gained during the village walk, ten ‘practice lessons’ were identified (Kirsten, 2006:192–193). Representing key issues and problems to be addressed in refining community capacity building interventions, these lessons imply that people want:

 to be heard, therefore listen and change the ‘theme’ to focus on personal empowerment;

 to be accommodated, therefore work inclusive; help with practical aspects;

 to be treated with respect, therefore acknowledge the past and inner pain; make real contact (in their context);

28 The session was attended by most (17) of the participants of the 5–day capacity building workshop.

29 An open-ended sentence assessment questionnaire (completed by 20 participants) was utilised to assess the participants’ opinion of their progress and the worksessions. Each question was read and translated in Zulu and participants could respond in the language of their choice. Most of the participants completed every statement in detail and this was captured in the assessment report (Kirsten 2004b:8–14).Cf. Appendix A4: Verbatim feedback given on 16 September 2004.

30 Confirmation for this conclusion came from the NCVV social worker who acted as insider for the Rocky’s Drift community during the pilot study. In an e-mail, dated August 10^th 2009 she wrote “…for them [the pilot group members] getting to know who they were and what their needs were during capacity building worksessions proved to be invaluable for the following two years. Even when problems occurred (once the projects obtained government funding), they were able to deal with it. The projects (candle-making, needlework, beadwork, embroidery, thatching, grass products and gardens) are now sustainable and the women are proud, confident and thankful” (researcher’s translation).

 to contribute, therefore respect people’s dignity; compile ‘client-inspired’

workbooks;

 to be empowered, therefore be willing to ‘hand over the stick’; allow people to teach each other; acknowledge people’s initiative;

 to have the opportunity for healing, therefore laugh together; listen to their pain;

respect people’s need for restoration, forgiveness and healing;

 to have self-actualisation and the right to self-determination, therefore ask Whose project is this? What are the different expectations? Whose money is it?;

 to receive practical guidance, therefore acknowledge community’s initiative and abilities; ‘assist’ and give input where they request/need it;

 to be part of, therefore affirm ‘we can’ and ‘we care’ – work through their pain and support self-help actions;

 to have responsibility and ownership, therefore reach out – visit the communities;

‘walk in their shoes’; do village walks; listen and see; motivate the community to take ownership; cultivate attitude of ‘we will take control’.

These ‘lessons’ affirmed the notion that listening to, showing respect, and accommodating the need to be healed, are crucial in community capacity-building initiatives. An analysis of the content and the methodology of the pilot study interventions indicated that to a large extent the prerequisites of listening to and enlightening of people (developing self-insight, skills and competency), were met.

What were lacking were techniques to facilitate the community’s need for dealing with inner healing on an emotional and spiritual level.

At the conclusion of the pilot study, the initial research-question “Why do some people cope against all odds?” was reflected upon yet again. By listening closely and by accepting the community’s input as ‘lived’ and valid, it became evident that their ability to act positively is embedded in their sense of ‘being capable’. And this sense of capability is most often underpinned by their faith or spirituality. The participants’

involvement in the pilot group sessions seemed to have touched on these sources, resulting in change – yet there were clear deficiencies in the current praxis framework.

The challenge was to identify and refine additional strategies and methodology to tap into this inner source of strength and coping, which, in turn would enable the transfer of this ‘life giving resource’ to others in the community. Turning to the spiritual dimension, says Terry Sacco, could provide a break-through regarding the apathy and hopelessness that people experience. On the other hand, “…failure to attend to the

spiritual dimension leaves a vast resource of inner strength and a sense of dignity, meaning and purpose untapped” (Sacco, 1999:3). The opportunity to delve deeper into this question (and entering a second cycle of action research), came in the form of yet another ‘call for help’.