Open Space - Cambodia - Street Children - Version 2 suitably inserted - long(ish)
Romy Shovelton
romys at compuserve.com
Tue Aug 15 00:23:06 PDT 2006
Dear Nigel, Father Brian and all in this roadshow of street children...
Thank you for this true inspiration.....
And Peggy for yours in Columbia too
It reminds me yet again of why I personally do this work and what calls me
so thank you. My heart is deeply moved.
My personal most treasured piece of work to date was in Cerro Navia the
poorest community in the city of Santiago, Chile, and often referred to as a
slum. There I worked with the people on their significant issue garbage.
We worked individually with the 3 key groups involved the Œhouseholds¹ who
create the rubbish, the garbage collectors who remove it and the
municipality who pay for the removal... And then brought everyone together
in Open Space to see how to move forward. It was a delicious mix of people
from the wonderful garbage collectors, to mayors, to people living in tin
shacks with no floor, water etc and turning up deeply respectful and ready
to work together, bringing their children to work together too in our
creative young persons space. I am again moved as I remember the courage of
those people.
I would LOVE to do more of this work. Please know any of you can call on me
to appear whenever there is such a need.
In huge respect for all who open space for our precious world and its
people...
And deepest thanks once more to Harrison for starting all this and for
always being there
Romy
From: Peggy Holman <peggy at opencirclecompany.com>
Reply-To: OSLIST <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 18:56:08 -0700
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Open Space - Cambodia - Street Children - Version 2 suitably
inserted - long(ish)
Dear Nigel,
I am so deeply, deeply touched by your story. There are tears in my eyes as
I type. What incredible vision you have. What courageous action you have
taken.
I am sending this to Andres Agudelo, with whom I worked in Colombia, so that
he can share it with the people with whom we worked.
humbled and honored,
Peggy
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
> From: NigelSeys-Phillips <mailto:nigel at fulcrum.com.sg>
>
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>
> Sent: Monday, August 14, 2006 3:10 AM
>
> Subject: Re: [OSLIST] Open Space - Cambodia - Street Children - Version 2
> suitably inserted - long(ish)
>
>
>
>
>
> It’s now upside down but hopefully still makes sense??
>
> See lower down if required!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> “A Better Future for Us - The Issues and Opportunities”
>
> Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> As part of the World Bank’s Asian initiative to communicate and connect with
> marginalized and minority groups, and in conjunction with the 2006 Annual
> Meeting being held in Singapore this September, a programme of Open Space
> meetings has been instigated from the Singapore regional office.
>
>
>
> Using Open Space, and inspired by Peggy Holman’s piece from Columbia where
> she worked so successfully with 2000 street children, we have explored the
> opportunity of working with street children across Asia to really understand
> what is important for their future.
>
>
>
> The programme kicked off in Papua New Guinea where the indomitable Father
> Brian Bainbridge led a group of some 100 children and young adults
>
>
>
> My contribution to date – an amazing (to me!!) meeting in Phnom Penh, the
> capital of Cambodia, with some 150 street children
but with a difference.
>
>
>
> The children had all come from the horrendous circumstances of working for a
> living on the Phnom Penh city garbage dump – a literal mountain of fetid
> rubbish where garbage trucks arrive every few minutes to dump their waste
> directly onto this pile. The children made a living scrabbling for anything
> sellable the moment the back was opened, running in front of the bulldozer
> set to plough it down. Plastic, material, glass, food – anything sellable
> that might make them up to US$1 per day if they were truly lucky
>
>
>
> Taken in by an astounding NGO “Pour Un Sourire D’Enfant” they now work at
> school six days a week. They are fed three simple nutritious meals a day,
> given uniforms and books, and educated towards a career and a productive
> life. The vocational side of the school has a restaurant (teaches cooking but
> cooks all the meals) a laundry (teaching skills for housekeeping jobs) a
> child care centre, a sewing school (who also make the uniforms) a gardening
> section (who beautify the grounds) a hairdressing school, a bakery (where
> everybody gets delicious fresh French bread during the day) and a new
> mechanical school (which will ultimately maintain their vehicles). The school
> has about 750 children on the vocational side and almost 2000 on the general
> education side – and almost every single child graduating with vocational
> qualifications goes into a job and has the opportunity to break the grinding
> cycle of permanent poverty.
>
>
>
> Their parents are “paid” in rice for every day they are in school – without
> this they could not afford to let the children go to school because one less
> pair of working hands means one less income opportunity, which is not
> something they can even think about sparing.
>
>
>
> Open Space proved (to me for the very first time as facilitator, which is
> about as far away from a personal comfort zone that you could possibly get, I
> think, but then I was “created” in Open Space by Father Brian and Viv Walters
> – to whom I will be eternally grateful) its power yet again.
>
>
>
> My opening of the space was translated into Khmer, and with the exception of
> scheduled interventions by me over the two days all the other work was done
> in Khmer – a quite beautiful language to see when they finally wrote it down.
> But when everybody around you is speaking a totally foreign language (and
> where you haven’t even learnt the essential, but probably deeply
> inappropriate, “Three beers please”) meaning that you have absolutely no idea
> of the subject, the discussion or the questions being asked there is only one
> solution – just be there and keep smiling!
>
>
>
> We tackled the theme -
>
> “A better future for us – the Issues and Opportunities”
>
>
>
> And within the two days allowed we –
>
>
>
> a) Posted about 110 topics on the wall
>
> b) Reviewed, discussed and wrote notes for our Proceedings Book on 92 of
> those topics (which they proudly took home with them, alongside their
> Certificate of Attendance)
>
> c) Prioritized down to 10 and discussed and created action points
>
>
>
>
>
> What came up – and remember these are street children from approximately
> 12-18 years old?
>
> Well, some of it is still being translated but major topics prioritized
> included –
>
>
>
> 1) Corruption and how to reduce it in Cambodia
>
> 2) How to develop the economy in Cambodia to give us greater work
> opportunities
>
> 3) How to export more products made in Cambodia
>
> 4) How to limit illegal immigration so Cambodians aren’t disadvantaged
>
> 5) How to use the results of the Khmer Rouge trials to benefit the
> people of Cambodia
>
>
>
> These, and the way the children came at them, are a great tribute to the
> power of Open Space and its ability to genuinely achieve openness and safety
> for those who would otherwise not have a voice.
>
>
>
> In our Closing Circle, where some very good English was inserted as their
> “thank you”, the heart-warming physical gestures, the hugs and the beaming
> smiles that had replaced a degree of curiosity, the laughter and the absolute
> desire by so many to talk meant that, actually, no translation had been
> needed all along. We all understood what we had achieved, even if they had no
> real idea of the world I came from just 48 hours earlier and would soon go
> back to – and I can still not begin to understand the pain and hardship they
> have endured to get as far today as they have done, and the determination
> they have shown that will finally give them a life they could previously
> never have imagined.
>
>
>
>
>
> The “road show” continues and, amongst us, Open Space meetings will be held
> in Mongolia, Laos, Timor, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Philippines and
> Thailand, and we hope to be able to train others to take the programme deeper
> into the countries than we can ever possibly penetrate ourselves.
>
>
>
> As for the World Bank – they are learning the true issues and opportunities
> first hand from those who will be the future of their countries, and they
> will be able to positively impact on politicians and leaders alike,
> addressing the issues that matter
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Nigel Seys-Phillips
>
> Fulcrum Business Management Solutions
>
> 30 Mount Elizabeth
>
> #04-34 Highpoint
>
> Singapore 228519
>
> Tel: +65 9639 2510
>
> E-mail: nigel at fulcrum.com.sg
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of
> NigelSeys-Phillips
> Sent: Monday, 14 August 2006 6:04 PM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: Open Space - Cambodia - Street Children
>
>
>
> Dear All – and in particular Peggy,
>
>
>
>
>
> “A Better Future for Us - The Issues and Opportunities”
>
> Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> I am afraid it is a bit long so I have, hopefully, attached it which means
> you don’t have to read it if you don’t want to
but I wanted, inspired by
> Peggy’s amazing story, to recount how Open Space and the World Bank have
> started a series of meetings around South East Asia working with street
> children, and to share my personal experience with you.
>
> There is little to add – it works!
>
>
>
> All the best
>
> Nigel
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Nigel Seys-Phillips
>
> Fulcrum Business Management Solutions
>
> 30 Mount Elizabeth
>
> #04-34 Highpoint
>
> Singapore 228519
>
> Tel: +65 9639 2510
>
> E-mail: nigel at fulcrum.com.sg
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> * * ==========================================================
> OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU ------------------------------ To subscribe,
> unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of
> oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about
> OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist * *
> ==========================================================
> OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU ------------------------------ To subscribe,
> unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of
> oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about
> OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist * *
> ==========================================================
> OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU ------------------------------ To subscribe,
> unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of
> oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about
> OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
> * * ==========================================================
> OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU ------------------------------ To subscribe,
> unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of
> oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about
> OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20060815/a0e09b1b/attachment-0016.htm>
More information about the OSList
mailing list