Course: Sustainable Community Development

This semester, I have been accompanying the Lutheran School of Theology, by teaching a course for the students called Sustainable Community Development. In the course we have covered topics such as: What is community? What is poverty? As well as different ways to conceptualize what it means for a community to develop itself. We have also gone over practical tools such as developing stories (public narratives) about the community in order to demonstrate the mission of the community, and that these stories can act as glue holding the community together as well as giving a solid foundation to keep striving for improvement.

We developed understandings of community development according to three identified principles: sustainability, empowerment, and participation. Specific activities that can be implemented in communities to guide in the search for these principles were also taught. Some of these practical activities are: Community Asset Mapping, Appreciative Inquiry, how to identify dominant frameworks (ways of explaining realities in the community) that might be harmful to the self-esteem of the community, and how to uplift subordinated frameworks that could foment more action, among many other tools to be implemented.

Last week was the final class for the course (I forgot to take a picture of the class together). In the final discussion about the class, the learnings, and the tools. I learned that the content of the class has already impacted how some sermons are being written, how some activities are being developed, as well as plans for further implementation of the tools mentioned. The students also mentioned that they want to talk to the director of the Lutheran School of Theology to see if this course could become mandatory.

Leadership Retreat

ProFILE (lay leadership training) has finished its classes for 2018. This is the third group that has finished this program. (2015, 2016 and now 2018).  

The group working through some Bible stories and thinking about homiletics and creative preaching styles. We were in Villavicencio, which is very hot. So we found some shade and sat outside where at least we could feel the breeze. 

As with all the activities we try to teach using a variety of pedagogical methods. 

The IELCO also celebrated the Reformation, and the ProFILE students graduated during the worship service. As you can see, the people from Villavicencio did a great job decorating for the worship celebration. 

The full group of ProFILE 2018! 

Organizing team of ProFILE. Left to right, me, Zulma, Pastor Eduardo, and Pastor Angela (from the seminary in Mexico who came to lead this retreat). 

Rural Community Organizing

Last week I went to Socota in the mountainous region of Boyaca. Socota is actually where the Lutheran church in Colombia started over 80 years ago. It is a rural farming area. 

About 15-20 years ago a large amount of coal mines began to be developed in the region, and many people abandoned their farming practices to pursue the promises of riches from working in the mines. Many in the community have realized that those riches are not to be found, and in the process the land is being damaged.

About two years ago a food security project in the community came to a close. The project helped families develop large gardens in an effort to recuperate the traditions of growing food. After two years, we looked into the effects of that food security project and found that almost all of the families involved have enlarged their gardens and/or helped neighbors develop their own. With this positive outcome the Human Rights program decided to continue to accompany the community. Through conversations with leaders in the community we decided the best way to accompany them is through ‘community organizing’: Helping build more solidarity between the families and other actors in the community; looking for the assets in the community and how to put them to use; and building a vision for the future.

On October 27^th we held our first meeting to get the process started, we talked about what is ‘community organizing’, what are the hopes and dreams of the community, and planned out a process that will begin more strongly at the beginning of 2019.

The group from the community that came to the initial meeting. Photo by Fabian Bello.

Miguel sharing a map he drew of the community and where some of the different community assets are. Photo by Fabian Bello.

In small groups discussing what assets already exist in the community that could help strengthen community processes. Photo by Fabian Bello.

Beginning the meeting by discussing different methods for making change in the community, and what community organizing is. Photo by Fabian Bello.