Programmes

Case Studies

For some time, the WFDD has been collecting case studies of religious/spiritual organisations or groups which are working on “development”. Working together with the Vikram Sarabhai Foundation in India we began in India and Sri Lanka but now have broadened our collection to many other countries as well. Our aim is to demonstrate how religion/spirituality can lead to a different vision of development and a different way of working from those of “mainstream” development institutions, by providing insights and inspiration, motivation and ethical guidelines for work with grass-roots groups.

The WFDD conference held in Canterbury in July 2002 on the contribution of religious communities to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers highlighted the importance, too, of writing up some case studies which would show how religious beliefs are being related in practice to work to overcome material poverty.

The WFDD does not deny the negative influence that many religious groups have had on development work with the poor, whether manipulated or not by political parties and movements, but this makes it all the more important to show how others have been faithfully working to make life better for some of the poorest people in the world.

The case studies are intended to inspire not only the aid agencies and others working on development but also the many religious organisations which are not yet as far along the road in their work with the poor as these movements we are highlighting.

WFDD is commissioning some case studies but we would be happy to receive unsolicited manuscripts for consideration. Where a case study is proposed but not yet written up a preliminary outline would be a useful basis for discussion.

Please see Outline for general guidelines also translated into French as Grandes Lignes and into Spanish as Trazado General.

Case studies collected

The National Forum of Fishworkers is a study of what began as a Christian initiative but, for clear theological as well as political reasons was then turned into a secular mass movement in India, though many of the participants would say that "secular spirituality", which goes beyond any particular religion, is still a driving force behind the movement.

Sarkan Zoumountsi is a Muslim association based in Yaoundé, Cameroon. It is deeply-rooted in the community though interestingly its organisers have consciously adopted a NGO-like structure. It is an example of an organisation which has remained faithful to the rules of Islam, despite this proving a disadvantage on occasion both for finding financial support and for making broader alliances.

The study is available in the original French: Sarkan Zoumountsi

As well as in an English translation: Zoumountsi English

Tokombéré: A Human Development Project founded on faith

In 1959 Father Simon Mpeke (“Baba Simon”) set out as a missionary to live among the mountain dwellers of northern Cameroon (known as “Kirdi” or “unbelievers”). He soon found that the Kirdi “knew God already” but he stayed with them and set up a health project, learning from them and sharing his Christian faith. Under the subsequent leadership of Fr. Christian Aurenche, a medical doctor, this has become a large integral development programme, covering not only health but also youth, agriculture, women, literacy and small enterprises. Founded on faith, and on “a vision of the world and a way of viewing people”, the Tokombéré Project owes its success to the fact that it has always been in the hands of the Kirdi themselves.

The study is available in French: TOKOMBERE: Un Projet de développement de l''Homme fondé sur la foi

The Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra (VGKK) is a voluntary organisation working among the Soligas, a tribal people in southern India. What began as a precarious venture in a hut thirty years back now has a radius of over 60 km, taking in its ambit a tribal population of 20,000. VGKK’s work in the areas of health, education, cottage industries, community organisation and environmental preservation incorporates the Soligas’ nature worship and Hindu philosophy.

The Barli Development Institute for Rural Women was set up in the city of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, by members of the Bahل’ي community of India in 1983. It provides residential courses for tribal women in, among other things, literacy, tailoring, agriculture, nutrition and health and crafts-work. However, the emphasis on personality development and values has been the key to the empowerment of the 1,300 women who have been trained there, 96% of whom are using the income-generating skills they learnt at the institute. They have not only improved their own lives but have become agents for social change in their villages.

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a contemporary endeavour of the Ismaili Imamat to realise the social conscience of Islam through institutional action, bringing together a number of institutions built up over the last four decades, sometimes earlier. Their mandate is to improve living conditions and opportunities and to help relieve society of ignorance, disease and deprivation without regard to the faith, origin or gender of people served. They operate predominantly in Asia and Africa.

This case study looks at the conditions which led to the formation of Engaged Buddhism in South East Asia, with a focus on Siam. In the light of several initiatives inspired by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu and Sulak Sivaraksa, it shows how Engaged Buddhism attempts to renew ancient wisdom using Buddhism as a guideline to confront contemporary suffering in an inclusive way.

Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne, the founder of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement in Sri Lanka, understands "development" in terms of an "awakening". The movement is strongly underpinned by Buddhist philosophy and Buddhist monks play an important role. The movement relies on large numbers of volunteers who work in "camps" to build roads and schools etc. in rural areas, but it is the villagers themselves who are responsible for their own community programmes. Sarvodaya has reached over 11,000 villages.

The study we have from Awacatلn, in the north western highlands of Guatemala, brings the view point of the women themselves, expressed in their own way. It tells of collaboration, in circumstances of extreme poverty, among Catholics, Presbyterians and women who follow the traditional Mayan spiritual tradition and it reveals how fundamental their faith and spirituality are to their work and to keeping their hope alive. However, the story of the theological differences which arose among the members of the Central American Church points out, too, that faith can be an obstacle as well as an encouragement for those who want to change their circumstances for the better.

The study is available in the original: Awakatلn Spanish
As well as in translation: Awakatلn English

Santi Sena is an organisation run by Buddhist monks in Cambodia. It was set up to serve both Buddhism and the most vulnerable members of Cambodian society (the large majority of whom are Buddhists). It is a demonstration of the important role of monks in society, not only for "chanting and blessing" but also in contributing to the improvement in the quality of life of widows, orphans, physically and mentally disabled people and, in general, communities which were destroyed by the thirty years of civil conflict in Cambodia. The aims of Santi Sena as well the methodology it uses are based on Buddhist philosophy.

Community AIDS Response (CARE) is a Christian-inspired South African NGO working with people living with HIV and AIDS. The case study tells of the motivation of the people who set it up and of their struggle with, as well as support from other Christians. The combination of spiritual, emotional and physical care is the hallmark of the work.

The case study of the Addis Ababa Muslim Women’s Council (AAMWC) is a story of the courage and persistence of a small group of Muslim women who took advantage of a favourable change in the constitution of Ethiopia to press for changes in areas of deep concern to them. Determined to sort out whether practices such as female circumcision were attributable to cultural tradition or to the law of Islam, they carried out their own research and have been the catalyst for debate leading to change among their own Muslim authorities. In addition, they are carrying out extensive awareness raising work at the grass roots level and have begun some development programmes for women and orphans.

The Asian Muslim Action Network (AMAN) brings together individuals, groups and Muslim associations in Asia and subscribes to a progressive and enlightened approach to Islam. It engages in human resource development and facilitates forums for individuals, whether Muslim or of other faiths, who are working for the eradication of poverty, environmental protection, human rights, social justice, interfaith and inter-cultural dialogue and communal harmony and peace. This case study tells us about the work of AMAN itself as well as about two of its member organizations: Gono Unnayan Prochesta (GUP), which works with rural communities in Bangladesh, and the Cambodian Islamic Youth Association.

Candomblé is an Afro-Brazilian spiritual cult of Nigerian Yoruba origin. Despite constant discrimination and even persecution of those who practise it, it has been kept alive particularly in the North Eastern state of Bahia, since African slaves were brought to Brazil. This case study shows how the terreiro, or Candomblé centers, are not only places of spiritual worship and celebration but also centres of socio-economic and cultural work, mostly in very poor neighbourhoods. The high priest or priestess plays a crucial leadership role in motivating people to organise and claim their rights as citizens as well as in securing the provision of some basic education and health services.

The study is available in the original Portuguese: Candomblé
As well as in an English translation: Candomblé English

The Indonesian movement Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) is the world’s largest Muslim association. This study tells how, basing their work on the teaching of the Prophet, the two women’s associations, of the NU, Muslimat NU and Fatayat NU, managed to change the orientation of the Indonesian Government’s family planning programme. They also persuaded their own Muslim authorities that family planning should be allowed for the purpose of creating family welfare.

The Swadhyaya movement was founded in the 1950s as a grass roots movement in India by Pandurang Vaijnath Athavale Shastri (affectionately and popularly addressed as Dada). Dada believed that the idea of the indwelling God and devotion to him, found in the Bhagavad Gita, could provide the inspiration for eliminating the differences between human beings which were leading to the disparities of wealth, social status, education and opportunity which were causing such misery to so many people. Swadhyaya is first and foremost a spiritual movement but out of the idea of a divine relationship and gratitude to God, a series of social initiatives have arisen and alcoholism, gambling, child abuse and domestic violence have gradually disappeared from Swadhyaya communities. A sense of self-worth as well as gratitude to God have also led to many collective activities which create community resources, such as commonly owned fishing boats or plots of land that can be distributed for the common good.

Poverty Reduction Strategies

Workshops on Faith and Development

Workshops development from an Islamic, Christian and Buddhist perspective: Two workshops on Islam, Christianity and Development, co-hosted by WFDD in October and November 2003 in West and East Africa were followed in December by a third on Buddhism and Development. The first was held in Ghana (report also in French) with the Religious Bodies Forum of Ghana, the second was in Tanzania with the Tanzania Interfaith Forum and the third was co-hosted with the Spirit in Education Movement in Thailand. These three workshops arose out of the WFDD meeting in Canterbury UK in July 2002 to discuss the contributions of faith communities to Poverty Reduction Strategies in some of the world`s poorest countries.

Case study workshop: WFDD with Vikram Sarabhai Foundation held a workshop 9-11 February 2004, bringing together people from eleven different case studies of spiritual and religious movements working on “development”. The recorded discussion addresses questions about how spirituality influences these movements’ understanding of “development” as well as how they carry out their work.

Thematic Summary

Workshop notes

Implementing the Millennium Development Goals

In recognition of the urgent need to improve access to health, education, nutrition, clean water etc. for the poorest people in the world, almost all governments have subscribed to the Development Millennium Goals (MDGs). These include ensuring that by the year 2015, the number of people living in extreme poverty and hunger will have been halved, all boys and girls will be at primary school, the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases will have been reversed, access to clean water will have been increased, maternal health will have been greatly improved, infant mortality will have been reduced and the environment will be being treated with more respect.

If the MDGs are to be achieved there is an urgent need to maximise our varied contributions and co-operate with each other. Faith communities could achieve a great deal more if they received further recognition and support. There is huge potential still to be realised.

In response to a strongly supported suggestion made to the World Faith and Development Leaders'' Meeting in Canterbury in October 2002, WFDD intends to play its part in maximising the contribution of faith communities to implementing the vision, which inspires the MDGs, of a more just and peaceful world. Details can be found in the section of our work plan headed ''Achieving the Millennium Development Goals''.

The question put to the Leaders’ meeting and which WFDD will now pursue is whether faith-based programmes can be ''scaled-up'' if the necessary funding resources can be made available by agencies like the World Bank. ''Scaling-up'' could mean a number of things. A programme could be vastly expanded, or replicated in many other places, or draw in other faith communities as partners and so grow bigger and stronger.

WFDD has two roles to play. One is to find out where programmes exist which faith communities regard as suitable for ''scaling-up''. The other is to put those communities in touch with the donor community, including the World Bank, on the understanding that the Bank and others are willing to help prepare proposals and secure funding. WFDD itself will certainly not be the arbiter as to which programmes should go ahead but will try to facilitate good and productive working relations between faith communities and development agencies.

The potential in all of this is exciting: an even bigger contribution by faith communities to poverty eradication. But the dangers are obvious. Good programmes can be ruined by resources they cannot absorb. Funding proposals can demand changes in programmes which fundamentally alter their character. Expectations can be raised and not met. Faith communities can be co-opted into strategies they are not convinced about. And what happens if support for expansion is only short-lived and what has been ''grown'' cannot be sustained? So WFDD and its networks must seize this opportunity with firm commitment but eyes wide open to the pitfalls.

We''d be glad to hear from any of you in the network if you are involved in scaling-up or even prepared to contemplate it.

The Development Gateway web site could be of help in this work. Governments and other donors turn to it to find out what exactly is being done in any particular country or region and what might be worth supporting. So there is something to be said for faith communities supplying information about their programmes along with everyone else.

''Supplying information'' can however be quite technical and complicated in itself and, where professional staff who are well used to this kind of thing are in short supply, can soon appear to be far more trouble than it is worth.

WFDD is working with the Development Gateway to produce a straightforward, uncomplicated form which faith communities can complete without too much effort so that more information about their programmes is made available.

Poverty Reduction Strategy Conference

In July 2002 the WFDD hosted a conference in Canterbury, England, to find out how far religious communities have been involved in the drawing up of Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) and to discuss ways in which WFDD might encourage them to become more engaged with the process of consultation about development policies in their own countries.

The PRSP are country-based strategies being drawn up by governments together with civil society as a pre-requisite for receiving debt relief and concessionary loans from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. They thus provide a meeting point for religious communities and the International Financial Institutions at the country level.

16 people from 15 different countries participated in the conference, as well as consultants from Eurodad, the UK Department for International Development and the World Bank. The discussion broadened out far beyond the PRSP, with particular focus on the link made by faith-based communities between spirituality and development.

WFDD Contribution to WDR 2004 "Making Services Work for Poor People"

Every year the World Bank publishes a World Development Report (WDR) on a different topic. The topic for 2004 is Making Services Work for Poor People.

The World Bank invited contributions from civil society on a draft version of the report and held several consultations itself in different parts of the world. WFDD sent delegates to three of them. Dr. Emma Tomalin from the University of Leeds, UK, went to the consultation in London at the end of 2002, Dr. Hanumappa Sudarshan, Director Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra (Vivekananda Tribal Welfare Centre) in Karnataka, India, went to the one held in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 22-23 January 2003 and Remigius Munyonyo, Senior Lecturer Kyambogo University, Kampala, Uganda went to the consultation on 29 January 2003 in Kampala, Uganda.

WFDD then invited these three delegates, together with ten other people, to a workshop at the International Education Centre of Canterbury Cathedral from 22-23 February 2003. The aim was to gather together comments from the point of view of different faith traditions as the basis for a WFDD submission to the World Bank. In addition, WFDD had received about 40 comments by e-mail from people from different continents, cultures and religious backgrounds in response to a discussion paper on the draft WDR 2004, sent out at the end of 2002.

The WFDD contribution was written up by Dr. Emma Tomalin and submitted to the World Bank on 28 March (see WFDDWDR2004)

A WFDD staff member attended a further consultation on the first full draft of the WDR 2004 in London on 2 April.

The participants at the WFDD workshop in Canterbury were:

Revd. Karoly Beres, Director, Ecumenical Humanitarian Organisation, Novi Sad, Serbia
Dr. Mohan Isaac, Professor of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, India
Revd. Dr. Colin Jones, Provincial Executive Officer, Archbishop of Cape Town’s office, South Africa
Arnold Mhango, Executive Director, Christian Service Committee of the Churches of Malawi
Remigius Munyonyo, Senior Lecturer, Kyambogo University, Kampala, Uganda
Dr. Patricia Nickson, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom and Institut Panafricain de Santé Communautaire/Church Mission Society, Congo
Gill Paterson, writer and consultant on health issues, UK
Dr. Hanumappa Sudarshan, Director Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra (Vivekananda Tribal Welfare Centre), Karnataka, India
Abdoul Hamidou Sy, Director ACAPES, Senegal
Revd. Prof. Michael Taylor, Director, WFDD
Dr. Emma Tomalin, Lecturer, University of Leeds, UK
Wendy Tyndale, Researcher, WFDD
Dr. Tsegaye Berhe Woldu, Director, Child and Family Affairs Organisation, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia