Justice does have a face and Community Development ... what do they have in common?

Hello Beyond Borders Followers!

I have just come back from an amazing lecture at St. Jerome's University. Mary Jo Leddy gave an inspirational and goose bump giving lecture about the refugees that she works with at the Romero House in Toronto, where she lives with refugees that have come to Canada from around the world, each with their own story to tell. Those in the audience were lucky enough to hear two pages from her up and coming book, which I have forgotten the title of, of course!

Leddy's inspirational lecture was about giving a face to tragedies such as poverty. Leddy gave examples from her own life and experiences with refugees that really spoke to me personally about giving a face to issues in the world that seem out of reach, or out of our hands. Leddy's main point was that, by giving a face to poverty, justice, starvation, discrimination, people can relate to those who suffer these injustices. People can start to humanize those who are suffering from poverty and discrimination and justice related issues by putting a face to some of the issues.

This is where Leddy's idea of community comes into play. I thought this was particularly interesting and important to point out, since this week at The Working Centre, all of the Beyond Border students met to discuss a chapter from Understanding Canada, called "What is Community Development" by Jim Lotz.

The idea of community as a continuously changing definition is described in the chapter the chapter we read and discussed. Lotz writes that "it began as a pragmatic, low key, low-cost approach to help people identify their problems and to work together towards solutions" (Lotz 2010:1). This is also the type of community that Leddy was talking about during her lecture. This is the type of community that we, as Canadians, North Americans and individuals with our own personal identities, need to get back to. The idea of community now, I would say has to do with the all-encompassing group of people that live on your street, or perhaps in your village, town, or city. I know, a lot of time when I refer to my "community", I am talking about the people that live on my street, go to my church and go to the same social functions that my family and I attend. To me, this is my community because we have similar interests and common goals. I also call them my community because in times of need we all come together to help each other out, or to help a friend of a friend when necessary. 

The idea of community development is very different within the definition of community. It has a sense of movement to the phrase with the word "development". Lotz defines it as "a simple way of handling complex problems of the impact of change on communities" (Lotz 2010:1). I think seeing community development as a phrase of movement and action is a positive thing, however I think people get lost in the idea of saying "community development" opposed to actually carrying out the action of community development. For example, lots of people in my community talk about ways to develop it further, by talking about community development, but the conversation never seems to turn to action. People like to say "community development" because it is an action phrase, but most times that's all it is: a phrase. I think this is where the problem lies. The idea of community development has become too easy to say, but not do. 

Leddy discussed community development in terms of tearing down the walls that we place around ourselves to people who we see as "other" and building community with them and having them as our neighbours. She even addressed a question in the audience about how to let these walls down and how to be more open to people such as the Muslim community when they are pegged as "terrorists". Leddy addressed this question very gracefully by saying that it's not a matter of becoming friends with Muslims right away, but becoming aware of their issues and knowing that they are out there instead of stigmatizing them. She said that we don't need to be friends or enemies of the people we see as "other" but to be aware and know them can be the start to a relationship of understanding and eventually caring (Leddy, Mary Jo. "Justice has a Face." Feb.11/11)

I think people need to critically analyze their ideas about community to get a better sense of what they are trying to accomplish with the current ideas that they hold. I have volunteered three  times now at St. John's Kitchen in downtown Kitchener, and it has definitely taught me a lot already about the importance and real meaning of community. People call it a Soup Kitchen, but I call it a Community Kitchen, because, although we have yet to serve soup, it isn't about the food, it's about the time spent with those around you, while consuming the food. Community is more than just a word that encompasses the people that live near to you, or in your village, city or town. It's about being there for people, helping them solve problems, building a house for someone who needs one, shovelling their driveway in the winter when they can't or mowing their grass in the summer when it's hot. These are all incentives that people need to take in order to experience the true meaning of community. Once you experience it and find the real joy and sense of belonging, you become addicted to it, and you want to do it every day and in every way possible. At least, it's how I feel after I have had my community stand behind me and help me find my way. 

I hope this helps some of you understand the idea of community, or at least give you something to think about in terms of your own definition of community. Here is a link to Jim Lotz's book, Understanding Canada:
http://www.theworkingcentre.org/wscd/pubs/understanding-canada.pdf, which is also available through the Working Centre website that I posted in an early blog.

Cheers!