DEAR YOGESHREE .putting the human condition first... no matter what

DEAR YOGESHREE

My past few letters to you explored the the theme, 'working with children from the inside out' and focused quite a lot on self awareness when trying to find meaning in the children's behaviour in ours as professional child and youth care workers and in ourselves. I have in mind now, a series of thoughts on leadership, especially as it applies to the helping professions, but then I think the thoughts apply to leadership in general.

It took me a very long time to get into my inner being the idea that,  no matter what, in whatever circumstances and no matter what the behaviour of the persons, that the human condition comes first, that "THIS COULD BE ME...... THIS IS ME". Until I experienced the world that way, I fell into the trap of finding blame .. the idea that people deserve what they get ......and why didn't they pull themselves together and do or be something different?

"U phuzile i'beer, Father Barrie, aw bornile? U phuzile i'beer!' ( they were drinking beer, did you see. They were drinking beer) and so they were , from quart bottles in a circle around winter fires.

Then she laughed, long laughter as we crossed the road to go back to the soup kitchen.

I looked at my watch. It was only 9.00 in the morning. I thought of  Peter the disciple telling the crowds
at Pentecost that they were not drunk as it was only 9.00 in the morning..... even the pubs in ancient Israel were not open at that time of the morning !!!

It was Polvisia who said this. She was not being judgemental, just descriptive. Her laughter was the type that comes from feeling trapped by the realities of the world and not knowing how else to react.

We had just been to the informal settlement ( squatter camp) at the end of the road. That night it had been mostly destroyed by fire. Some makeshift shelters were already up some  blankets I had pushed for had apparently been delivered, or so we were told by the children we took into our Centre., but we had to be sure.

As we crossed the road Polvisia lived through the pain and the loss and the struggle for survival and the cold of these people and deep inside her she understood the beer and the drinking.... it dulls the pain and eases the burden if only temporarily . She continued to plan ." I think we must ask for clothing and more food." she said .
 Polvisia is always the first to respond, she who is first visible when there is a problem, when someone is arrested or goes missing or there is a death or when there is a crisis. She who plans a response to ease others suffering. It is she who responds as one human being to another in the sharing of our common humanity.

As we crossed the road , it was she was was easing her burdens through drinking beer in the middle of the still smouldering shacks. It was she who hurt in the midst of of the chaos.

 Polvisia is a great leader.