Haiti OS stories

Tree Fitzpatrick therese.fitzpatrick at gmail.com
Tue Apr 28 01:13:46 PDT 2009


Thanks, Fremy, for sharing these stories on the OSList.

The Open Space Institute/USA provided some financial support for this event
last year and we have just made a grant for 2009.  I am telling the list
about OSI/USA's financial sponsorship of this important work as a way to let
the OS community know how their financial support of the Open Space
Institute/USA works.

"We" did this together.  OSI/USA's mission is to hold space for OS. Everyone
on our board feels that the money we give to Haiti's OS community goes
further than anything else we spend it on.

I hope I don't sound like I am patting the OSI/USA on the back. .. it is my
intention to remind everyone on the list that 'we' did it together, 'we'
being the worldwide OS community.

I don't remember exactly how much we gave the Haiti organization last year
but I think it was about two thousand dollars. And I think that $2,000 made
it possible for twenty people to attend the event who otherwise would not
have been able to.

I am proud of everyone.


And, thanks, Fremy, for sharing these stories with the OSList. Fremy had
shared these stories with our board and I asked him to share them with the
list.

On Sun, Apr 19, 2009 at 2:09 PM, fremy cesar <fremycesar at hotmail.com> wrote:

>  Dear Open Space Collegues,
> Below, there are some stories collected after the annual Open Space in
> Haiti in 2008.
>
> It is with great pleasure that I’m writing this report on the seventh
> annual Open Space meeting in Haiti.  In Haiti, Open Space has become a
> crucial tool in helping organizations or any other group change their
> practices in order to achieve more participation and shared responsibility.
>
>
>
> The seventh annual Open Space meeting in Haiti took place on June 26-29,
> 2008.  79 of the 87 participants stayed at Villa Ormiso, which hosted the
> event, and the remaining participants commuted every day.  For most of the
> participants, the fees related to their participation in that meeting were
> covered by the organizations with which they are working. The Haiti Open
> Space Institute sponsored 17 of them.
>
>
>
> *Theme:*
>
> * *
>
> *The Practice of Open Space: How are we using this approach to increase
> organizational effectiveness?*
>
>
>
> *Below are several of the topics proposed in the village market:*
>
>
>
>    - How can we use OS to help handicapped people, to make them feel they
>    also belong in society?
>    - How can OS be used to raise youth’s awareness about HIV/AIDS?
>    - How can we use OS to get Haitian and Dominican organizations to work
>    together?
>    - How can we help OS become a tool used in schools?
>    - How can OS help us in teaching people their rights and duties?
>    - The advantages and disadvantages of gay and lesbians in society.
>
>
>
> Below are reflections from some of the participants who had their lodging
> and meals covered thanks to the generous gift from OSI, USA. All of them are
> active members in our network.
>
>
>
> “For me, open space is a method, which can play an important role within
> the Haitian society.  Haiti has been in slavery for a great number of
> years; it takes a lot of time for such a nation to become educated in the
> right way and I think the OS method can do much in helping to achieve that
> goal.  I know that a lot of people have already been trained in OS and I
> hope it will continue.  I take advantage of the opportunity to give many
> thanks to the OS Institute, which sponsored my participation in the OS this
> year; I must say I benefited a lot from that method.
>
>
>
>
> In the past, I used to think that what I did was always right and I always
> wanted others to see things the same way I did, which usually created a lot
> of frustration and disappointment in me.  When I started participating in
> OS, I realized that was not realistic; I started showing more tolerance
> toward people and their ideas. Thus, I feel I have relieved myself of taking
> on other people’s responsibilities and personal objectives.  I really
> benefited from that space, which was really open in order to share my
> knowledge with others and to also learn from what others were sharing with
> us.”
>
> (Marie Kerline Janvier)
>
>
>
> “I’m Mauricette Jean Lucien ; I’m one of those whose participation in the
> Open Space at Villa Ormiso has been sponsored.  My experience there and
> what I learned will help me practice that method better; it will help me do
> my work of managing my organization better, in an effective manner and in a
> way that respects one another’s opinions”
>
> (Mauricette Jean Lucien)
>
>
>
>
>
> “Open Space is a suitable name for what it means.  I can say it is an
> activity, which can transform society.  I see it already in myself, Open
> Space brought a lot of change for me in my organization. Every time I
> participate in the Open Space, I feel like I have moved into a higher level.
>
>
>
> Having my participation in the Open Space sponsored is for me the greatest
> gift I could have received in my life.  Open Space has brought a lot of
> change in my life and in the organization of which I’m the leader.
>
>
>
> It helps me grow better in life. Every time I participate in the Open
> Space, I learn a lot from the other participants. I used to see things
> differently before.
>
>
>
> In the Open Space, I learned how to reflect and to plan ahead of time
> everything I need to do.  The three biggest things I learned from Open
> Space are:  shared power, building a culture of tolerance in me, building
> a culture of peace.”
>
> (Delva Marie Eramithe)
>
>
>
>
>
> “We went to the training, which took place at Villa Ormiso, in June, 2008.
> It brought a lot of changes through one workshop on education in which I
> participated.  The ideas shared have brought a lot of change in me.  I
> always had that thought, which was : why was I making all those sacrifices
> for my children when my parents did not do anything for me; I always said
> that if they had provided me a high enough level of education, I would not
> have gone through certain hardships.  When I got home, I reflected about
> everything that has been said and I immediately freed myself from that
> thought.
>
>  Open Space taught me to plan what I need to do today and tomorrow ; Open
> Space made it so that today my children go to school without any difficulty,
> they can eat, they have a home; I plan everything based on what comes into
> my hands. There is not enough time for me to say all the things this method
> has done for me.”
>
> (Villard Malya)
>
>
>
>
>
> “I’m Theophile ANTOINE, I had the chance of being introduced to the Open
> Space method since the year 2003.  But, it is the first time that I have
> the opportunity to participate in the Open Space on Open Space at Villa
> Ormiso.
>
>
>
> It was a very enriching experience for me.  Not only did it help me meet
> many other people, but also it helped me build my skills even more in order
> to be tolerant toward others even when I do not agree with their ideas,
> which is something I think many people in our country are missing.
>
>
>
> Now, I also feel capable of leading an open space, after having
> participated in a workshop on that.
>
>
>
> With respect to the welcome, it was very good because as soon as you enter
> the yard, there was always someone to help you either with registration or
> to show you to your room.
>
>
>
> With respect to workshop discussions, it went very well.  Because the
> rules of the Reflection Circles method were followed almost 100%. (Listen
> with care to others and don’t cut them off. Speak clearly so that others can
> hear you and in a way that they can understand you.) The meals were very
> good and they were always served on time.
>
>
>
> I would like to thank you very much for your sponsorship this year and I
> hope the next Space will be even nicer and more interesting than this year.”
>
> (Theophile ANTOINE)
>
>
>
> “I would like to greet the members of the Open Space Institute in Haiti and
> those from the Open Space Institute in USA and I take advantage of this
> opportunity to thank them for working together to sponsor my participation
> in the latest Open Space on Open Space, which took place at Villa Ormiso, in
> June, 2008.  It is with great pleasure that I will talk about my work
> after having gone through this meeting where I learned a lot in order to go
> further.
>
>
>
> With respect to the promise we had made to go back and work in order to get
> more people in Haiti to practice open space, I did not lose any time ; I led
> an open space meeting with the organization I usually work with, which is
> the Social and Sports Association of Marie-Therese (ASSMATH) and the theme
> was : how can we start bringing a social and economic response within
> Marie-Therese.  I did the planning for that space, which took place on
> Sunday, July 6, 2008, from 8 am to 1 pm (Marie-Therese is a poor
> neighborhood located on Route de Freres, in the commune of Petion-Ville).
> Children, youth, and adults participated in that open space.  As a result,
> they were all satisfied and they expressed how much they appreciated that
> meeting and asked the association to hold another one in a short while; it
> was a successful initiative for the members of the association and
> especially for me who initiated that movement within the association.
>
>
>
> My work did not stop there although it has not become concrete yet, but I
> started sharing and spreading that initiative, which started in the
> neighborhood of Marie-Therese, with other association leaders from other
> neighborhoods of Route de Freres, with the goal to expand the Route de
> Freres network.  And I am considering holding open space in many churches
> and other institutions, which have a need for it.   Therefore, I’ve
> already started working on a project to implement everything I’ve just said.
>
>
>
> I support the work that the Haiti Open Space Institute and the USA Open
> Space Institute are doing to promote the practice of open space everywhere
> through sponsoring participants from several sectors of activities and
> taking the initiative to train and have everyone participate.”
>
> (Mario Merancien)
>
>
>
> I would like for all OSI, USA members to know how grateful we are and how
> much respect we have for you.  We’ll always be ready to support
> activities, which will take place in Haiti and we have a lot of gratitude
> for that.
>
>
>
> Great appreciation and respect for all of you.
>
>
>
> Fremy Cesar
>
> For the Haiti Open Space Institute
>
>
> *2008 OS/OS Report for the OSI, USA*
>
> Submitted November 16, 2008
>
> Translation by Myriam Narcisse
>
>
>
> _____________________
> Fremy Cesar Co-directeur
> Fondation Limyè Lavi
> Haiti:
> BP.15812 Petion-Ville
> Tel: 509. 3705.3395
>
> Guadeloupe:
> Rue Charlery Bance
> 97160 LE MOULE
> Tel: 0590 818762
> 0690 862654
> www.eksperyansla.info
>
>
>
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-- 
Love rays,
Tree Fitzpatrick

http://thecultureoflove.blogspot.com/

. . . the great and incalculable grace of love, which says, with Augustine,
"I want you to be," without being able to give any particular reason for
such supreme and unsurpassable affirmation.  -- Hannah Arendt

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