Social Science Research Council

The programme for the 2002 "Field Building" research activities included the training of 40 "Community Facilitators" from pastoral communities from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Uganda in the months of April and May 2002 for purposes of linking research to rural communities. This activity has been completed and 36 Community Facilitators were trained at the Afrika Study Centre, Mbale, to undertake work in the field of peace and security in their communities. What was eventful was the fact that the pastoral community mobilisers in Tanzania were able to locate a woman representative from community of hunters and gatherers, who still exist in that country, to take part in the training programme.

The "Field Building" took the form of continuing the link between institutions of academic research, practitioners, and new community institutions. The organisations that promoted the "Field Building" Workshop of November 2001 have continued with their research and practical activities in the communities. These organisations are:

1. Afrika Study Centre;
2. Association for World Education-Uganda, Kenya, Sudan and Tanzania chapters;
3. Yiga Ng'okola Folk Institute; and the newly created,
4. Mandela African Peoples' College.

This last organisation was formed by women from pastoral communities from the four countries mentioned above in August 2001. The formation of the College was facilitated by the above organisations, who organised and facilitated a two-weeks "Folk High School" under the name "Peter Manniche International Folk High School, in memory of Peter Manniche, the founder of the first international folk high school within the Danish experience of popular education as propounded by Bishop Frederick Grundtvig, a Danish educational philosopher.

The formation of the Mandela African Peoples' College was an attempt at "Field Building" in that it entailed the synthesising of two educational philosophical ideas of "folklighed-" meaning "a community that embraces everyone" drawn from Bishop Grundtvig from the Danish experience of the humanistic enlightenment, and the African concept of "Ubuntu." In the African philosophic understanding "Ubuntu" is an essential divine capacity that enables human beings to act according to their norms and values in the enhancement of humanness. It is the essence of being human and embraces hospitality, caring about others, and running an extra mile for the sake of the community.

Therefore the marrying Grundtvig's concept of the "folk lighted" along side the African concept of "Ubuntu." An attempt was made to highlight the common human concern for well being in enlightened communities through "education for life," which suits well with the education of all communities.

In the context of this "Field Building" activity, it was deemed necessary to add on another layer of activity involving research to empower communities by building on their cultural heritages as the Mandela and Grundtvig example had demonstrated. This activity will help to bring together different kinds of knowledge and at the same time make it available to the communities, from whom more knowledge can be obtained to enrich the human experience of knowing and understanding. The Training of the 36 Community Facilitators therefore embraced the following modules, intended to be applied in community settings:

1. Leadership Skills:

• Communication;
• Facilitation;
• Types of leadership;
• Team building-group dynamics;
• Presentation skills;
• Participation and community empowerment;
• Advocacy and lobby skills

2. Peace Building and Peace Making:

• Conflict analysis;
• Conflict management and resolution;
• Negotiation skills;
• Dialogue Techniques;

3. Sports, Culture and Development:

• Team Spirit;
• Diverse Sports-including traditional sports;
• Cultural Festivals-music, dance, drama;
• Works Camp skills, including imparting productive skills (brick-making);
• Cultural identities;
• Development activities.

4. Education/Adult Learning:

• Concept of the Folk College-"Education for Life"-Grundtvig;
• "Ubuntu" and Restorative justice;
• Learning through Dialogue and Conscietisation-Freire;
• Creating Learning Society culture-UNESCO;
• Functional literacy through REFLECT-ACTION-AID
• Participatory Action Research skills-PAR.

The Community Facilitators were given a research "home work" to undertake in their communities building on this training experience. They were assigned the task of raising the following question in their communities and trying to obtain answers to it: "What does 'security' mean for you and your community?" The Community Facilitators were required to raise this question with about fifty people drawn from a cross-section of their communities-elders, women, youths, and different social groups such as teachers, traders. etc.

Answers to this question will be brought for discussion at a Workshop to be held in Masaai, Laikipia at the next College session of the Mandela African Peoples' College, where the Community Facilitators will explore ways of programming aspects of these answers in further research and activities in their communities. At least sixty participants are expected to attend this session, including local Masaai and Samburu communities. Funding for this is now being sought from different sources.