Training Support Division

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Training Support Division
Empowerment
motivating people to make sustainable change
Emily Spry emilyspry_at_gmail.com
International Federation of Medical Students
Associations
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Empowerment

•  session objectives
• to have fun and leave feeling energised
• to recognise sources of power that I have
• to understand what empowerment is
• to understand why it is important for change
• to have some ideas about how to empower people

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Villagers
You live in the village of Toot, where you were
born. There are about 100 people in Toot.
Families live together, in small huts. Work The
women and children grow crops and most of the men
look after the goats, which they can sometimes
sell. There is a school where children go up to
10 years old. Women cannot read or do simple
sums, although some men can. Power There is a
Chief in the village. When you have an important
decision to make, like marriage or buying or
selling property, you ask the village chief what
to do. In families, the men decide what everyone
else does. Problems Every year, there is a dry
season when there is little water and little
food. When there is no food and water, the men
go away to find work in the town.
 
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Villagers
Health and disease Everyone believes that
diseases happen when the gods are angry. Children
often die when they are young and many women die
in childbirth A man who has many children is
admired, so women have many children When people
get sick they cant work. There is a clinic in
the next village where people can buy
medicines People usually go to the traditional
healer (witch doctor) in the village, when they
are sick.
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Power
 What gives us power?
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Empowerment
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empowerment patient-centred medicine
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empowerment facilitating learning
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empowerment peer education
www.actionaid.org
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empowerment primary health care
COMPREHENSIVE RURAL HEALTH PROJECTwww.jamkhed.org
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empowerment Paolo Freire
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Empowerment
it's too hard
it's too dangerous
people are lazy, stupid, corrupt, selfish...
you can't really change things
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Empowerment
correcting inequality
sustainable change
efficient use of small resources
maximising human potential
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How to empower a group
1. be critical of your own power and that of
other leaders
3. make them feel good!
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What makes a good group facilitator?
1. be yourself
2. love and trust your group
3. empathize with your group and tell them you do
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Why does it go wrong?
you have to trust people
you have to compromise on your agenda
"creeping bureaucracy"
people don't believe in democracy
power feels very nice!
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What you must remember
it's all about the people
Someone is not worth less just because they know
less
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Three Secret Weapons...
Number 1 the great art of asking
questions Number 2 the great art of keeping
quiet (even when you know the answer) Number 3
the great art of seeing the future in someones
eyes.
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Now, Empower your villagers!
Openly discuss your role with the group What are
their concerns? In 30 years time, what will you
want a song about the village to say? What can
you contribute towards this? What would you like
to do first? how can I help you?
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Empowerment

•  session objectives
• to have fun and leave feeling energised
• to recognise sources of power that I have
• to understand what empowerment is
• to understand why it is important for change
• to have some ideas about how to empower people

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Go to the people

• Go to the people
• live with them
• learn from them
• love them
• Start with what they know
• Build with what they have
• But of the best leaders
• When the job is done
• The task accomplished
• The all people will say
• We have done it ourselves.
• - Lao Isu, China 700 B. C.