It had been a long day. This has been the routine for the last six months.
Shama was feeling very tired. However, today she was in the National Capital to present her project. Unfortunately she had nothing to report – that is- no progress; only challenges!
Shama opened her laptop, there was internet connection, but she did not feel like updating her FB status, nor did she want to tweet or appear on other social networking sites. She looked at the screen without realizing what to do with it!
Shama was not suffering from ‘Status Update’ mania, but she used Social Network to share her experiences, ideas and thoughts.
Shama was not a trained social worker, nor was she a journalist – though people often assumed her to be so. Her sensitivity and her enthusiasm to “make a change” brought her to the field of Development and she liked it. Rural areas, tribal areas, social issues, women, economic development, behavioral change, social capital, community based organizations, participatory development ….. These words and terms became integral part of her life. She lived it and her dream was to live it forever.
Since last few months, Shama was working in one of the remote parts of the country. Initially she was excited with the idea of working in a new area. She liked to take new challenges. Lack of vegetarian food, challenge of communicating in a new language, lack of transport, and lack of basic infrastructure and many such problems did not matter to her. She was fascinated by the project idea of working with girls in primary schools.
Shama sighed. She remembered her visits to school, her interactions with girls, parents and teachers. She had innumerable planning and review sessions with partner NGOs. All that had miserably failed. The funding agency had given number of warnings and opportunities; but people continued “Business as usual”.
Shama knew that she dreamt about the success of the project, with all her might.
However, when it comes to “Social Change”; individual dream is necessary but hardly sufficient.
Collective Dream shapes destiny of “Social Change”.
“Only if all these people responsible for ‘education of girls’ can dream together about positive change….”, Shama thought to herself and sat listlessly.
Suddenly she smiled. She had an idea. She realized how she could facilitate the process of collective dream!
Shama turned to her laptop. She started writing “Strategies to address the Challenges”.
Every DREAM wants to LIVE; we need to give it as many chances as we could…….Shama was fluently expressing her thoughts – not in these words; but in the same spirit.
DREAM indeed is powerful!
