face to face
Part 1

Building a pool of people's wisdom through a process of regional exchange

 

1991

People’s Dialogue on Land and Shelter Workshop organized by the Catholic Development Agency, is held in Broederstroom, South Africa, on the eve of South African independence. 
With the idea of drafting a policy on urban poverty for the ANC government, the workshop brings together community leaders from 150 squatter leaders from all over South Africa — the first ever such meeting. Asian, Latin American and African shelter NGOs and CBOs send delegates. 
The meeting is divided: half say there is no need for the poor to organize themselves since the incoming ANC government will solve all social and economic problems. The other half say no way! Democracy will only open space for poor people to contest resources and this they can only do if they are organized. Jockin from NSDF in India says “India has had independence for 50 years and all sorts of wonderful pro-poor policies, but people are still living in slums.” 
It is agreed that a programme of church-sponsored community exchanges will begin, to link interested communities into a network.

People’s Dialogue formed: 
After the Broederstroom meeting, People’s Dialogue (PD) is established as an NGO to help set up and maintain an exchange-driven network of urban poor groups. About 40 settlements join and funds are secured from Misereor, thanks to the vision of Gregor Meerpohl (Misereor) and Peter Templeton (Catholic Welfare and Development) for local and international exchanges. International exchanges, though, are delayed until a local initiative has emerged.

December 1991: Joel Bolnick’s trip to Asia: Immediately after Broederstroom, PD’s director Joel Bolnick is invited on an exposure whirlwind of Asian groups in the ACHR network. Visits Hong Kong (SOCO), Philippines (Pagtambayayong, Freedom to Build, COPE), Thailand (ACHR, HSF and some federations), Pakistan (OPP) and India (SPARC). 
The long partnership between India and SA dates to this visit, where Joel finds a logical partner organisation in SPARC, because of its alignment with people’s movements, emphasis on partnership, prioritizing the poorest, women, savings, participation.

India — SA exchange starts with first exploratory visits by NSDF/SPARC to SA. February 1992 is the first real India to SA exchange. Thereafter, the groups in the network supported by People’s Dialogue start to save, but are not yet a federation. In June 1992 the first SA to India exchange. In India, the South Africans are exposed to community enumeration, daily saving, life-size house-modeling, and several other tools for the first time, all of which they later make their own and pass on through exchanges to federations in other countries in Africa.

1992 — 1994

1992: Urban Community Development Office (UCDO) is set up in Thailand with a revolving loan fund for the urban poor to improve living conditions and increase organisational capacity of poor communities through savings and credit, housing and livelihood loans and the formation of community networks at city, provincial and national levels. In coming years, these networks will play an increasingly central role in UCDO programmes. Exchange becomes network’s principle tool of information transfer and expansion.

First Thailand — India exchanges, between Thai community networks and MM/NSDF in India follow.

 Vietnam Exchanges: to and from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Thailand — some of the first exchange visits to experiment with “mixed teams” of community leaders, NGO and government officials who travel together.

 SA links to Namibia: Namibians from the Credit Union League host exchange visits from SA. In 1993, Lalith Lankatilleke and PD help establish Namibia Housing Action Group (NHAG), a service organization providing technical skills to poor communities.
Exchanges between Namibian Housing Action Group and People's Dialogue begin.

1993: TAP Programme established: 
A number of country-to-country exchanges after the Seoul meeting helps grassroots groups to develop the capacity to host and train their Asian neighbors. This process is formalized into the DFID-supported ACHR Training and Advisory Programme (TAP), based on a few key assumptions:

Asian grassroots organisations in the ACHR network are on the cutting edge of people-defined solutions and represent a powerful but unacknowledged resource

While international agencies keep sending in short-term consultants to tell them what to do, these groups continue to be firmly rooted in local process.

Poor communities can dialogue and collaborate with all the development actors, and their strongest tool is not protest, but alternative solutions.

TAP begins looking around the region at programmes that work for the poor and facilitates visits of community leaders, NGOs and officials involved in these programmes to other cities and countries to advocate these strategies. In it’s first six years, TAP supports 120 international exposures.

1993: Regional Links to Cambodia: 
Urban Sector Group (USG) is established during a city-wide workshop on urban poverty in Phnom Penh. NSDF/MMM and Co-Train help conduct enumeration in the city’s largest squatter area and start savings groups. Cambodian community leaders later visit Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, South Africa.

1993: Links to Nepal: 
First ACHR links with poor communities and professionals in Kathmandu Nepal. Later Lumanti is established as local NGO and begins work in squatter areas.

1993: Links with Orangi Pilot Project, Pakistan: 
Ongoing involvement in regional exchanges. “OPP began with the assumption that poor people are not foolish but great masters of the art of survival, and are trying hard to improve their lives. But they are not getting much help or support. On the contrary, they are at times harassed. There is a need for social guidance, technical guidance, and economic support.” (OPP founder, Dr. Akhtar Khan)

1994: uMfelandaWonye (South African Homeless People’s Federation) is formally launched. National and regional leaders are selected. Later, the federation-linked uTshani Fund is established in South Africa.

 1994: Links to Laos: 
Thai and Indian community members visit canal settlements in Vientiane, Lao PDR, help starting savings and credit groups and discuss solutions to drainage problems, working with UNCHS/CDF project.

1994: Community Workshop in Colombo, Sri Lanka: hosted by Women’s Bank and Sevanatha (NGO), with mixed community/NGO teams from 8 Asian countries and South Africa, focuses on community action planning, savings and credit, community contracts for infrastructure and sanitation.

South Africa

Joel Bolnick
People's Dialogue
South Africa

Thailand

India

Vietnam

Namibia

 

TAP is a system of mutual learning and support, based on Asian experiences, for Asian grassroots community organisations, NGOs and urban poor development  professionals 

Cambodia

Nepal

Pakistan

Sri Lanka