Sussex

Social justice and community development have always been two interests central to decisions made in my professional and personal life. The importance of fighting for equality and eradicating poverty were engrained into me from a young age. These values have stayed with me since. A family member introduced me to Guatemala in 2006 and this was when my ties and love for the country began to grow. I became involved with fundraising for a new school building for Study Guatemala, and seven years later I am a newly elected trustee.

While working in Guatemala for Habitat for Humanity Guatemala as Profile Coordinator I had the task of interviewing ‘beneficiaries’ as they were called to gather and produce ‘good news’ stories to promote to donors. Although an extremely fun position, the experience left me questioning how meaningful my work was. I had to tell one side of the story and there seemed little opportunity to reflect and learn from the not so positive stories. I became increasingly disheartened with the unfaltering number counting taking place within the organisation. Ambitious targets were set that led to corner cutting and the most in need of assistance being forgotten. I spent almost two years with Habitat, experiencing and beginning to understand the advantages and disadvantages of international NGOs. Declining an offer to join the UK-based Habitat for Humanity I decided to stay in Guatemala and take what would be an extremely challenging position at the Highland Women’s Association (AMA). Here I would experience a very different reality working for a grassroots organisation within the international development field.

AMA and their sister organisation ‘Highland Partners’ helped me to consider the concept of development and how ‘aid’ and NGO assistance do not always bring positive outcomes for the intended beneficiaries. They taught me the importance of understanding the theories behind different models of NGOs and to analyse the methodologies they use for development. AMA’s approach is to encourage communities to identify problems they wish to resolve within their communities and then assist in the facilitation of delivering solutions. Their methodology is recommended as a method of participation in the book ‘Whose Reality Counts?’ and in the online course I am currently studying ‘Community Change in Public Health’. I believe it is the right method.

It was during my time working with AMA that I became increasingly interested in the study of indigenous cultures. I took an online course about Aboriginal Worldviews to develop this curiosity. Although this focused on the Canadian Native Americans there were many parallels with the Mayan culture. Through attending and translating for Mayan academics in conferences at AMA, and reading books such as ‘Mayan Cosmovision’ and more recently ‘Whose Reality Counts’ I began to see how power relations, particularly colonial power relations can impact on our world views and those of others. I recently gave an informal talk in London about the link between philosophy and Mayan cosmovision and have continued writing on this subject. I would like to be able to analyse these power relations in an academic setting and start to deconstruct what I see as a colonial view of the Mayan population.

I had the opportunity to work with a group of Deloitte consultants who developed a ‘theory of change’ model for the organisation to put AMA’s programming and holistic method of working into a logical framework. This process highlighted my own lack of theoretical and model-based knowledge. I came to realise how important it is to understand these frameworks and the foundations of project management which further motivated me to return to study in an academic setting.

I continue to work closely with AMA and have been elected onto the Highland Partners Board of Trustees in the USA. If possible I would like to apply knowledge leant at Sussex to their work with Women’s Circles in Guatemala to improve levels of participation and overall project outcomes. I envision this to be my proposal for my work-based placement. I would hope to be able to identify and implement new effective methods of participation and community diagnosis processes, one of the least funded areas of their work. This would be a very positive way to leave a lasting contribution to the organisation.

Looking into the future I am committed to continuing my work as a Community Development Worker here in the UK. Having a theoretical framework, the knowledge, critical and analytical skills as well as the confidence to apply these skills would help me better serve the communities I hope to serve in the future.

The Participation, Power and Social Change Masters programme is a unique opportunity to consolidate my professional experience working in Guatemala while equipping me with the knowledge, skills and confidence to continue to serve local communities here in the UK. It will drive me further in my quest for social justice, and allow me to explore my curiosity to learn in new ways. The programme is the right fit for me and I am confident that I am the right fit for Sussex.