Community meetings

I’ve been going to some community meetings recently (this is an old post from Nov or Dec). It’s cool that Jabulani has been invited as it gives us a way in to the local politics (a myriad of relationships and history which buckles the mind) and an idea of what people’s needs and wants are. If one cannot succeed in development without community engagement and buy-in (and I suspect that you can’t), then they are really important.

The last three I have gone to have been held with the main purpose of electing committees to have other meetings. The issues at hand are: no hospital ambulance, hospital hired a cleaner from Mthatha when the locals feel that one of them could have done it, the placement of the clinic.

These meetings are going to provide us with a way in: somewhere to introduce ideas for developing the area and for locals to bring ideas to us too. So far, thankfully, I have not been targeted and asked for all the answers. I thought, arrogantly, that I would be, but they are happy to let me sit and listen to my translator, Vusi, rattle off what is said.

There is always prayer and some very formal language thanking people for coming and setting out the agenda. There is no paper involved, which makes the annunciating of the agenda more important.

Having attended a good handful of community meetings now, I can see that there is another side. These meetings are long. Long and tiring. To turn up without water and muesli bars is utterly foolish. I feel strongly that attending them is the right thing, but that does not automatically mean that they are a good laugh.