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March
2003
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Nepal Bridging Worlds Workshop
by Era Shrestha of
Manushi
January 22nd and 23rd of 2003 will always
hold a special place in my heart because it has changed my destiny
somehow.
The occasion was a two day "Jagriti Bridging Worlds Workshop,"
which was organized by Jagriti International, USA and hosted
by "Nagarik Awaz" in its office premises. The objective was
to create a network of Jagriti International Partner Organizations
and to discuss and share strategies for working in conflict
situations as exists in Nepal today. The objective of the workshop
was also to select two or three Emerging Leaders as volunteers
for 3-month internships in the US with women's groups there.
At first I hadn't given much thought about the opportunity in
volunteering. But what actually lured me towards the workshop
was that a number of Nepal women's groups, those genuinely contributing
to the welfare of women and children, would be coming together
to share their experiences. It was indeed a very rare opportunity
to be able to come together to swap stories, share our fears
and hopes and to draw strength and inspiration from each other.
It was a chance not to be missed.
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| Two representatives
from each Jagriti member organization took part in the
workshop--one as the "Organizational Head" and the other
as the "Emerging Leader." In the media, I had seen clippings
of many workshops being conducted, but this was the first
opportunity for me to |
Women sitting
casually on the floor before
the presentations |
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| actually attend one. So before entering
the hall I felt a sense of akwardness. When I and Prabha Thacker
(Chairperson of Manushi, whom I was accompanying as the Emerging
Leader) entered the hall, I was surprised to see women sitting
casually on the floor on cushions. . It was a real cozy environment
in place of long tables and high chairs. Then I thought "This
is really something, real down to earth". |
I was a little bit apprehensive with the idea of being an Emerging
Leader. It was like, how can I be a leader---not me? I had relatively
little experience and had recently joined this field. I feared
that all others there would be real leaders in their own fields
and with my little knowledge, I would feel quite out of place.
But once I settled in, I was pleased to learn that all of us,
irrespective of our age and experience, our nature of work or
the organizations we belonged to, all of us had parallel perspectives,
shared similar fears and were driven by matching aspirations.
Well finally I was at home with friends after all. There were
32 of us (16 Emerging Leaders and 16 Heads of Partner Organizations)
representing 16 different organizations working in diverse sectors
but with a common objective "Empowering Women."
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| The workshop
began with a warm welcome and overview of the program
by the Facilitator Rita Thapa. Then began introductions
where we were paired together and each of us had to introduce
someone we didn't know and vice versa. My partner was
Samantha Muller, a volunteer from Australia, representing
the organization "WATCH." In the preparation of the introduction
we had to obtain two basic pieces of information. These
were given to us as: the impact of the present conflict
in |
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our personal as well as professional
life. It was easy to relate our professional experiences, as
all of our activities were targeted to rural areas outside the
cities. Like me, others explained how their work in conflict-affected
areas had been negatively affected. In some cases community
works had come to a stand still. In other cases, activities
had been relocated to areas that were safer. Mobility was restricted,
networking was not as easy as earlier and our programs could
not reach out to as many as we intended to. Our working style
had definitely changed over time.
How I was being affected personally was hard to say precisely.
For a while all I could think was that I was a student and the
occasional school strikes called by the conflicting groups did
hamper my classes. That was the only impact I could think of
at the moment. Being a city dweller, I felt perhaps more secure.
I had a lot to learn.
The workshop continued with an introduction of Jagriti International
followed by an overview of the present conflict and its implications
on most of the participants who shared their personal experiences.
All the stories that were shared were eye opening and heart
rendering. All the stories I had read or seen in the media were
some kind of distant happenings. I was of course sad to read
all those atrocities. I shared their pain and tears as a fellow
human being but not as one of the victims themselves. I somehow
felt it could not touch me. But at the workshop, I met these
two innocent girls "Dilu Shahi and Binita Gyawali" who were
forced to witness the murder of their parents and had to come
for shelter to "Nagarik Awaz". Had they deserved all this? There
was another participant whose home in the village was taken
over by the rebels and she had nothing to do except to accept
it silently. We even had a chance to donate some funds to one
of the victims of the conflict who had fled to Kathmandu from
his native place and was undergoing some financial problem as
his daughter was hospitalized. Where could he possibly go, in
an unknown place far away from his own people at this hour?
For the first time I realized that if this could happen to them
it could definitely happen to me too. People were suffering
so much; they had lost their homes and the protective lovable
warmth of their families. They were being forced to leave their
homes and many memories behind and lead the life of a refugee
in their own home country. What had really gone wrong, why was
all this being done? As the result of the conflict people had
lost so much and all I could care about at that moment was my
classes being hampered. I really felt bad. For the first time
in my life that day I was thankful to have a cozy home to return
to and know that my dear ones would be waiting for me with warm
food. Was everyone as privileged like me? I hope for the day
when I will be able to share my privilege with the less fortunate
sisters.
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The second
half of the first day began with the Heads of Organizations
introducing their Organizations. This was followed by
a presentation to be made by Emerging Leaders, which was
like
a nightmare because all of a sudden we were required to
give an extempore speech, explaining our role and vision
for the future. Well, one can |
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imagine what it was like for those of
us who were facing an audience for the first time with little
preparation and a language barrier too. We were required to
give a three minute speech in English. The whole group was divided
into two groups. The Organizational Heads sat in one side of
the room while the Emerging Leaders sat in the other. God knows
how much I wished to belong to the former group. It was a break-through
for many of us who were not only facing an audience for the
first time but speaking in English too. When my name was called
I had to overcome a strong urge to run away through the back
door. Anyway, I had a certain privilege over the others as I
did not have the problem with language, but I only had to overcome
my nervousness. Any way we made it through the first day and
were sent off with an assignment for an eight minute presentation
for the next day. This presentation would decide our fate, i.e
which three of us would be representing the entire women of
Nepal in the international arena. Our organizations had trusted
us to serve as their representatives. The pressure was mounting
and we could not let them down. The stakes were high and the
effort worthwhile. On our way home, a few of us decided to walk
and share our experiences of the workshop all the way home.
We really built some true friendships on the way.
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| The second
day began with the presentations from the Emerging Leaders.
The topic was "How can you strengthen your work, organization
and women in the present context." Each of us had eight
minutes, to have our say. Everyone's presentation was
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| Emerging
Leader giving a Presentation |
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| excellent, and it was
amusing to watch the voting members having a hard time
deciding whom to vote for. In the afternoon, we had a
collective group discussion on "organizational and collective
responses to the present conflict" followed by a presentation
and discussion. The outcome of the group discussion will
be posted in a future Jagriti International Newsletter. |
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After the group presentation the major event came, the voting,
which would select the Bridging World Emerging Leader. Before
voting, each of us was once again given a chance of one minute
to have our final say, the punch line to win the battle indeed.
Each of us was given the voting sheet in which we were supposed
to tick three names among the eleven. I believe it was an equally
difficult task for everyone as it was for me, because nobody
was less than the other and everyone had put in equal effort.
But finally we had to make the choice.
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| So after
the "participatory evaluation" of the workshop, in which
everyone expressed their appreciation for the democratic
method of selecting the Bridging World Emerging Leader,
the result of the voting was disclosed. We could feel
the excitement rising as everyone was |
| BRIDGING
WORLDS EMERGING LEADER VOLUNTEERS - Kabita, Era
and Indira |
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looking forward to who the lucky three
would be. As anticipated it was none other than Indira Ghale,
of FEDO (Feminist Dalit Organization) coming first with 16 votes
followed by me with 14 votes then finally, as an alternate,
Kabita Upadhaya of Tewa with 12 votes. The reception we all
got was heart warming. Me personally and my organization Manushi
would like to thank everyone for having placed so much trust
on me and my organization to represent them. We really feel
privileged.
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Though perhaps my English language skills
were a little better than others, there were others, who had
more beautiful ideas and experiences to share, but who could
not express it due to the language barrier. So when my name
was announced, I felt somewhat uneasy because I felt others
were equally deserving. But when I saw the same happiness that
was bursting inside me reflected in everyone's face I got over
my doubt. Every single person present in that room was celebrating
our success. It was like every one of us had won together. It
wasn't you or I, it was Us. A true woman's spirit once again.
Maybe this is what women's solidarity is all about. Finding
happiness in each other's success, accepting all with open arms
and giving with whole heart. I was privileged to be a part of
all this.
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| Nepal Workshop
Group Photo |
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So the two days journey finally ended with each of us hugging
each other, congratulating and thanking, exchanging contact
addresses, and of course lots of photo taking of cheery faces.
The overflow of emotion was unexplainable. So with the promise
to meet again, we said our good byes. A memorable two days had
ended. |
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