Complexity, Relationships, Questions, Resilience

From a workshop on Innovation and Community Change, I've learned from Dr. Frances Westley that problems we face can be put into 3 categories. The 1st category is simple problem, such as baking a cake. A recipe can be followed, and if everything was done right, one can expect a good probability of success since the steps have worked in the past and should continue to work in the future. The 2nd category is complicated problem, such as sending a rocket to the moon. The system design is sophisticated and the degree of certainty has to be perfect such that success in sending one rocket almost guarantees the next will also succeed. The 3rd category is complex problem, such as raising a child. One can read as many parenting books as available but there are no clear rules to guarantee success, even if they have worked on the previous child. That is because every child is unique, is constantly growing, must be understood as an individual, and building relationship is the key.

A success story was presented to us to demonstrate the need to see problem in its complexity and the importance of interactions amongst people. In 1990, Brazil had almost twice as many cases of HIV/AIDS as South Africa, and a World Bank study predicted that Brazil would have off-the-chart infection rates by the turn of the millennium. The researchers even told Brazil to focus on prevention and simply be prepared to lose all those already infected. By 2000, 1 in 4 people were infected in South Africa, while Brazil's infection rate had dropped to 1 in 160. I was fascinated when I learned that this miracle happened because Freire's theology from Pedagogy of the Oppressed had infused the Brazilian culture, which believed the importance of empowering the poor and creating liberty for all. There was no charismatic leader, just Brazilians at all levels from government to local community leader joining forces in the service of one guiding principle: no person, no matter how poor, insignificant or illiterate, could be written off as beyond cure. They were successful because of the way they worked together and engaged everyone, instead of isolating and looking down upon those who were infected. They asked the right questions with a mindset of abundance. They focused on preventive treatment and educating at-risk youth. More details on the case can be found from the book Getting to Maybe. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil, has earned my deepest respect when I read his article on "The future of human beings is what matters" on Financial Times last week.

Putting this back to our context, it's similar to what Rebecca was saying last week - it's hard to really define what The Working Centre's model is. There is a clear direction and vision, but at the end of the day most of it is dependent on the community and its dynamics. Every case is different, and policy doesn't account for that. The focus needs to be on the people it serves and their challenges, rather than "scaling up" the Centre or replicating it elsewhere - because it can't. We work with people, not for people.

My takeaway from all this is: nothing really remains "sustainable" forever as long as the world and its habitants are evolving; and nothing really remains "innovative" forever as long as the human brains are at work. There simply isn't an one-size-fit-all solution that can fix all of world's complex problems as much as we long for one. Quoting from Joanne, the world has always had problems since the dawn of time - be it natural disasters or human destructions. Ending one war does not mean there will never be another war. The AIDS epidemic is the "new plague". When we solve the global warming crisis, something else will already be waiting for us. But we will figure something out if we all work together - we've always had. This is why we need to stay resilient as human beings - continue adapting to changes, entering solidarity with others, fighting for the values we stand for while restoring the world to what we think it should be. Why fight, one may wonder, if eventually someone/something is going to ruin it all again - I think because that's just our human nature and innate ability to survive, create, love and care for one another and our future generations.

Photocredit: phinaphantasy