Capacity Development in Disguise?

This one is dedicated to Dad, who would have 100% approved of my teaching style - no matter how  ridiculous and fun.

In grad school, we learned about the ‘intangibles’ of international community development.  We learned that ‘Capacity Development’, which our entire course and degree was named after,  is an elusive concept that could either be the latest buzz word and ‘new way’ in foreign affairs and humanitarian assistance, or have so many complex definitions that it loses all meaning whatsoever and should be ignored.

To me, and the main reason why I had taken a degree in it, capacity development is simply working with people at the organizational or community level to help bring out their potential and inherent skills, energy, and creativity to work through their own problems.  I would like to think that it is a simple concept to explain -  but it is a difficult and complex one to follow and see come to fruition.  Even in the training seminar for the Aga Khan Fellowship, we had a guest specialist in ‘Capacity Development’ (His definition of Capacity Development is the first mentioned in many scholarly articles) – and he wasn’t so happy with my ‘simple’ definition either.  But I would like to think that I proved him wrong last week.

I had the opportunity to put my English teaching skills to use and plan a 2 hour session with the Madrasa preschool teachers.  With experience teaching 20 somethings at the university level all the way down to the preschool level, I designed an introductory class that included: rules for the class, a discussion, a game, and an activity.  One of my favourite rules that seems to shock all of my students, no matter what age or context, is “Make mistakes”.  This concept came to me after working with Chinese students who are perfectionists at worst – as they refuse to speak unless they feel their pronunciation and sentence structure will be absolutely perfect.  I had to get around this barrier and encourage them to say anything, to utter any sound no matter how garbled or nonsensical.  I even enjoyed conducting an entire 20 minute session on making the ‘th’ sound, going around the room and sticking out my tongue through my teeth, ensuring they did the same. 

Anyway, I’m traveling back in time, and to another continent altogether.  Here in Kenya, at the Madrasa Resource Centre, we were laughing and shouting at each other during a particular competitive game of charades.  By the end of it, they were so excited and animated, they never realized they had spoken in English the entire time.   I pointed this out, and also suggested that they too could play this game with their own students – using pictures of animals, house objects, or every-day things to act out instead of words. 

We also discovered together that I could put my preschool and kindergarten teaching experience to great use.  Last year my job was to basically sing songs and hold up flash cards to teach 3-6 year olds English (following the Chinese curriculum).  All of those songs could be very useful for the Madrasa preschool teachers.  So  I sang with, and taught them “Mr. Sun” and “Hello, Hello, How Are You?” (sung to the tune of Skip to My Lou).  I am currently putting together an English song-book for them.

In fact, during a school visit for teacher support, I found a teacher in quite the predicament.  Her school was still under construction (without a proper floor) and all of her materials were tucked away in storage. She hadn’t planned much for that particular day and only had about 8 students.  After she completed an activity, she looked at me and said “That is all I have for today. What else can I do?”  I totally knew what she was feeling, I have been there... So I jumped up, asked her if the children had learned body parts in English, and began singing the Hokey Pokey .   I think that moment (along with the pictures) speaks for itself...

Note: the fingers in the air whilst doing "turn it all around"
is an imperative part of the process.

So how is capacity development like singing the Hokey Pokey?

Way back in 1^st and 2^nd year university, I studied Lewis Carroll’s works in English Literature.  Carroll was  quite the hermit, and a genius.  He loved riddles, and one in particular sticks in my mind today and remains  un-deciphered in Literature history: “How is a raven like a writing desk”.  According to Carroll, there was never an intended answer, and the purpose of it was to be entirely nonsensical.  I believe he hoped for readers to make up their own, perhaps nonsensical, ideas. 

Capacity development is another riddle entirely, one that I hope to continue deciphering – one that perhaps does not have a concrete answer , but a nonsensical one – such as teaching preschool teachers in marginalized, rural communities the Hokey Pokey.

Then they taught me a Kiswahili song.

Now put that down in your CIDA, UN, or USAID manuals ...