News
UGANDA – After thirty years of epidemic, what happens when older people are energised by the power of appreciation?
Since December 2011, The Constellation has worked in partnership with the World Health Organisation and Health Nest
What progress did the facilitators find between January and April? The Katabi community, one of four participating communities, takes its next step in the process: members are working together to develop a common community dream. Two other communities will build their dream in the next three months. Dive into the atmosphere of this meeting in Katabi, listening to the description of the process by Arthur Namara through a video of Ricardo Walters.
Initially the attention of the Ugandan team was centered on the elderly, but it holds potential to naturally open to include others who may be interested in the process. Read the comments of Arthur and Ricardo to see how these interested people are incorporated naturally into the conversation in home visits or at community meeting. This way of spreading Community Life Competence is illustrated by the stories Care leads to Change: a home visit helps a couple agree about testing for HIV in Uganda and The Power of a SALT Visit: SALT connects neighbour to neighbour.
“The Ugandan team has made rapid progress with CLCP since January – they have a lot to be proud of. It was beautiful to see the Katabi community sensitively accompanied by teammates who were, themselves, becoming more competent to sit alongside, to listen respectfully, to question skilfully. A very inspiring visit.” Ricardo Walters.
CLCP transforms people. Please read Bed-ridden youth finds strength to walk freely and see the enthusiasm of Veronica – an older person who has involved herself in helping communities all her life – in the video I thought I knew everything there was to know! “I know for me – I hope – it’s the beginning because we do need to have this pilot project to go all over
Leaders from Government and organisations are also enthusiastic about the approach: Organisations are communities too!
Encouraged by progress, facilitators also realized the importance and urgency of their work. Please read Counting Thirteen Graves: finding our motivation through SALT.
CLCP spreads… Our will awakened by Community Life Competence.
Want more information about the first learning event in January? Read Arthur Namara’s blog.
Want to see more? See Ricardo Walters’s pictures.
Our friends in
From April 7 to 13, Onesmus Mutuku was in
GLOBAL – Keys lessons on home visits.
What makes home visits effective? You’ll find in Rituu B. Nanda’s blog key lessons from the experience of Rituu B. Nanda herself, of Ian and Alison Cambell, of Ricardo Walters, and of … Please add yours!
GLOBAL – Belcompétence and RDCCompétence support the GST
“This is the way forward”, says Jean-Louis
Lamboray. "First, BelCompétence reimbursed the Global Support Team for its support, and now
RDCCompétence does this gesture. An historic day for the Constellation.”
Which gesture? April 8, 2012, Judith Dialundua, President RDCCompétence, announced the following: "Given the contribution of the GST in the design and follow-up of the project, and aware of its status of member of The Constellation, RDCCompétence offers to pay the fees for two days of work with the Constellation rate of 450 USD/day (a total of 900 USD)." RDCCompétence launched Tuesday, April 10, 2012 in Mbandaka a Cholera project in the
DRC – Jean-Louis ready to propose effective and sustainable solution
Jean-Louis Lamboray visited DRC from March 20 to 24, invited by UNICEF.
After the international community has spent over U.S. $ 500 million to the fight against AIDS in this country, only 1% of pregnant women with HIV receive any anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs to prevent transmission of virus to their child. 14% of those requiring care are under ARV treatment. With the end of the MAP project financed by the World Bank, and delivery at a later date for Round 11 of the Global Fund, not only patients currently under treatment may no longer be able to continue, but new cohorts of patients have a very limited access to ARVs.
We must think outside the box and propose an effective and sustainable solution that mobilizes all the resources involved, starting with community resources and those of the existing health services.
Stay tuned in the next Newsletter.
Transferring our approach
Two signatures this month!
The partnership with the World Fish Centre for AAS Competence:
“We aren’t going to go to these communities as experts to say: “We are the World Fish Centre. We have the fish solutions to the fish problems you don’t even know that you have!”… No. We are going to sit down with these communities and discuss with them their challenges. Whatever the primary challenges are that they identify, we will work with them on that.” These were the words of the Deputy Director of the World Fish Centre in his opening presentation on their upcoming project for Aquatic Agriculture Dependent Communities (AAS). With this mindset, they have invited the Constellation to join as partners in a 12 month process where we will accompany facilitators through the entire process of CLCP in 3 countries and with over 30 communities! The countries are
The partnership is a unique opportunity for The Constellation to engage in a process from beginning to end, including stakeholder workshops, learning events, accompanying the facilitators through the CLCP cycle, a global
The Constellation SPR for this partnership is
The partnership with UNICEF RDC on a process for Community Management of complete vaccination will last 18 months, and we will implement it together with the Constellation star RDCCompétence.
Requests for help and contributions:
Dying to share but not sure how? Read the contributions from Rituu B. Nanda: Post your personal experience in ‘Blogs’ and Post ideas for discussion in ‘Discussions’. If you want to announce an event, reports, or findings of a study, please use the Announcement section of ‘Discussions’. Articles, studies and other research papers can be shared in Press corner, also a section of the ‘Discussions’ tab.
Phil Forth is creating a site called 'Constellation Learning' that will contain material for people who facilitate the Community Life Competence process. Please find the important work of consolidation, analysis and synthesis of Phil Forth in the Learning tools section of the site, and comment on Phil Forth’s blog for your suggestions, additions, corrections and appreciation of his work.
Starting this second quarter of the year, April Foster will be working on an update of the coaches nomination process. This will include the development of a Coaches Self-Assessment framework. Keep an eye on Ning discussions for further developments, and to provide your input in this process!
The first issue of the CanaCaribe Newsletter will highlight champions of peace. Please send to CanaCaribe the project report of what you or youths in your country are doing to promote peace.
What else is happening in our online community?
April 24, 2012, the 1000th blog was posted on Ning!
In her latest blog, Olivia Munoru reflects on the mindset of The Constellation.
Learn about the impact of the Karnataka International SALT Visit of October 2011 in
In the blog Strength of After Action Reflection, discover the three keys activities Autry Hayes and Maggie Schmeitz of Suriname used to infuse the spirit of SALT to ten Red Cross Facilitators who work for “Sustainable sanitation and hygiene for all” in 28 indigenous communities of a remote region of Guyana.
In another blog, Autry Haynes describes how the Indigenous Peoples' Commission applies SALT, and Marlou of Rouw and Rituu B. Nanda comment that IPC asks to Native Americans their concerns, not their strengths.
Bob Stilger posted a “somewhat long blog” which stresses that it is time to “Name, Connect, Nourish and Illuminate”; “Name trailblazing leaders and communities, Connect them to one another, Nourish them with relationships, learning, resources, and support, and Illuminate their stories as important examples of the future taking place right now -- as one way in which important work grows to larger scale.” Please read Cultivating Resilience.
To late to participate but the video and Jean-Louis’ comment are worth it: “A great initiative from the Rockefeller foundation! Interesting to see how the world is catching up on the idea of connecting local responses.”
Our condolences to family, friends and IndoCompetence for the loss of Mr.H. Madhav from
With support from UNICEF Guinea and the Constellation, the Guinean government invites you to this years’ second International SALT visit, June 4 to 8. For details and contacts, please read our Invitation to Guinea’s International SALT visit.
IndiaCompetence, with SIAAP as a host, is inviting you to participate in the Constellation’s Global Learning Festival in Chennai, India from 20th to 24th November 2012. For details and contacts, please read our Invitation to India’s Global Learning Festival. Both IndiaCompetence and IndoCompetence are already saving money to be there!!!
The XIX International AIDS Conference Hub will be held in
May 14 to 18 in
As a start of The Constellation’s new partnership with the World Fish Organisation on Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS), a Consultation Meeting with all stakeholders will take place May 28 to 30, 2012, on Solomon Islands with coaches Wiwin Winarni and Jerry Mua
The DC YouthForce and the AIDS 2012 Youth Programme Team invite young persons between the ages of 15-16 registered to the XIX International AIDS Conference to participate to the Pre-Conference that will take place July 17-20, 2012, in
Join us!
You can join us at any event, as well as the events of the national facilitation teams. Please contact Marlou de Rouw at derouwm[@]gmail.com.
