An introduction to orality

In this episode, David Couzens, Tearfund's Peacebuilding Lead talks about breaking the cycle of conflict and building lasting peace in local communities. David shares insights, stories, and practical steps for reconciliation and emphasises the importance of recognising shared humanity and addressing hidden hurts. 

• Realising our shared humanity:It is easy to dehumanise others, instead of seeing each other as fellow human beings. Reflecting on our shared humanity involves taking ownership for one’s own contribution to conflicts, recognising personal flaws and seeking to understand the experience of those on the other side.

• Communicate hidden hurts: David shares a powerful story of a woman from a Christian community in north Nigeria who realised that she shared similar traumatic experiences to a woman from a different faith community. Their shared common experiences made her realise they were not enemies, and they were able to reconcile. Successful reconciliation involves fostering open communication, bringing hidden hurts into the open, and creating a safe space for dialogue. Sharing personal experiences helps break down walls and build understanding between conflicting parties.

• Accountability and forgiveness
  David acknowledges the complexity of integrating justice into the reconciliation process, particularly the delicate balance of accountability and forgiveness. It is crucial for individuals to own mistakes and to find a way to hold each other accountable without further damaging relationships. 

About this episode
Dr Ian Campbell and Elvis Simamvwa discuss the story and evolution of Salt, a community engagement method focusing on authentic interaction through sharing, appreciation, listening, learning and teamwork. They share experiences from their work in Zambia, where Salt was first applied to understand community concerns about HIV and AIDS.

Podcast highlights

• The origin of the Salt method

Dr Ian Campbell and Elvis Simamvwa discuss the inception of the Salt community engagement method during the AIDS epidemic in Zambia, emphasising the need to connect with communities on a personal level in order to find solutions to concerns and problems.

• Key principles of Salt

Sharing stories, appreciating strengths, learning through listening, and working as a team are all key principles of the Salt approach. These core principles enable people to find solutions by listening to local community members’ concerns and desires, which builds trust and strong connections. Salt is described as a holistic, experiential learning process that goes beyond traditional interventions.

• Salt creates sustainable, long-lasting impact

Encouraging continuous engagement with communities, Salt is not a one-time visit, but a journey that unfolds over several years. The organic growth of trust, emergence of local facilitators and positive outcomes in health-related actions contribute to the method's sustainable impact. 

About this episode
Gita Roy, from Bangladesh, helped to establish a water treatment plant in her village that makes saltwater safe to drink. The plant has had a positive impact on the village, providing people with access to safe drinking water and creating business opportunities for women.

Podcast highlights

• The impact of climate change on safe water access

Climate change is causing unpredictable weather patterns, including flooding and droughts. These conditions are making it more difficult for many communities to access enough safe water. Particularly women and girls, who often bear the time-consuming responsibility of walking many kilometres to collect safe drinking water for their households. 

• Community-run water treatment plant

Gita Roy and a group of other women, with the help of WaterAid and Rupantar, played a leading role in the establishment of a water treatment plant in their village in Bangladesh that makes salt water safe to drink. The women worked hard to gain the necessary community agreement for the plant, and they are now responsible for its day-to-day operation and maintenance. Today the plant serves nine villages and has become increasingly profitable.The overall health of the community has improved and doctors are advising families to drink the water from the treatment plant to help prevent waterborne diseases. 

• Challenging gender inequality

The plant has not only improved community health, but it has also changed perceptions around the role of women in business and leadership within the community. As well as running the water treatment plant, some of the women have started other businesses and Gita Roy has been elected to a local council. Gita says, ‘Having my own identity, earning my own income, and not depending on anyone for my needs is very satisfying.' 

About this episode
Charles Macai, a water specialist with 25 years experience leading projects across Africa, shares about how communities can have sustainable access to safe water. He discusses the benefits of business-based approaches, and why it is important to collaborate with governments to ensure long-term sustainable access. 

• Water infrastructure

Water covers 71 per cent of the world, but one in every four people does not have reliable access to enough safe and affordable drinking water.

The construction of water infrastructure, such as boreholes and handpumps, is just one part of a water service. To keep the water flowing, good management, finance and legal structures need to be in place to make sure that the infrastructure is properly looked after and maintained.

• Water businesses

Historically, water projects have relied on trained community volunteers to keep water points working. But the large number of non-functioning water points around the world shows that this approach often does not work.

Charles Macai discusses why this is the case, and why communities are increasingly moving from volunteer-based water management to business-based approaches. 

To explain, Charles uses an example from South Sudan where a legally-recognised cooperative of trained mechanics enters into agreements with communities to manage their water systems. The communities develop payment structures based on what people can afford, as well as the service that is being provided. 

• Working with governments

Charles goes on to discuss why organisations and projects should align with, and contribute to, government plans for water provision when possible. 

In light of the many challenges associated with climate change, such collaborations will help to ensure the long-term sustainability of community water supplies.

Before writing was developed, cultures passed along their traditions, history and identity verbally, through stories, proverbs, songs and riddles. In this episode, Jake interviews Paul Conteh from Sierra Leone, who explains why oral communication, known as ‘orality’, is still extremely relevant and important today.

In conversation with Jake Lloyd, community leaders from India, Nepal, Nigeria and the UK share how local communities can work together to solve urgent health challenges and make the global health system fit for the future. They discuss the importance of community participation, collaboration with government and learning from mistakes. 

Six years, 61 interviewees from 23 countries and now 50 episodes, all discussing one thing: community. In this special 50th episode of How to build community, Jake shares some of the insights from previous conversations with inspiring guests that have changed how he sees the world, and his place within it. 

Loss and grief will affect all of us at some point in our lives. In this episode, Barnabé Anzaruni, a theologian based in Kenya, shares his personal experiences with loss and provides advice on how best to support someone who is grieving. 

Barnabé explains that words sometimes fail to provide comfort during grief and that what we say can sometimes cause harm, even if well-intended. Instead, he suggests that the best way to support someone who is grieving is to listen, and also to understand why open and honest lament is so important.

When words are not enough
Despite our best efforts to bring encouragement and support, the words we speak may fail to bring comfort in moments of emotional anguish and can even have a negative effect. Sometimes the best approach is simply to be there for the person and to listen when they want to talk.

Lament is part of healing
Lament is a passionate expression of grief or sorrow and it is a crucial part of the healing process. Barnabé explains that often people do not realise how important lament is and may try to stop it, or explain it. This can be very unhelpful. 

Where words fall short, being there for the mourner as they cry and pour out their heart, listening to them and weeping with them, is often the best thing we can do. It can also be helpful to acknowledge their pain and sadness as they lament.

Growth through grief
The grieving process is often a doorway to greater spiritual understanding and deeper relationship with God. Grief is a heavy burden to bear, but when we are able to express it freely and honestly, eventually it will be replaced by relief and lightness. The process of grieving can also lead to praise, as people discover God is in the midst of suffering as Emmanuel, ‘God with us’ (Matthew 1:23).

A new society for a new millennium

In January 2000, Rosemary Stephenson and her family could be seen on televisions across the UK on a reality TV show called Castaway. The show placed 36 people on a remote Scottish island to attempt to start a community from scratch. The objective was to become a self-sufficient society, living off the land and creating their own societal structures. In the words of the production team they were to ‘create a new society for a new millennium’. 

The Stephenson family bravely took on this adventure after careful consideration. Rosemary was particularly persuaded by the opportunity to homeschool her children, who she felt were too young to be in the school system.

Agenda versus reality 

Without any outside influences, the group were able to focus on the aspects of life that they found to be truly important. They prioritised producing and cooking food for survival and creating positive experiences and learning environments for the children on the island. 

They did not elect a leader, although one islander did attempt to enforce his leadership but was poorly received. Instead, people assumed natural positions within the new society where they had expertise – from teachers in the school to farmers of the land. Rosemary reflects on whether it would have been more effective to elect a leader from the start. 

As a widely televised social experiment Rosemary felt that the footage the production team chose to portray on air was more to further their own agenda rather than to reflect the real experience of the community. 

‘Most of us,’ she says, ‘were just getting on with the boring stuff of everyday life’. 

Conflict and coming together

There were some understandable lines of division in the new community: for example, between those who were naturally hardworking and those who were happy to put less effort into day-to-day tasks. 

There were also arguments over food and attitudes to parenting: although Rosemary reflects that these were also the things that often brought them together. 

Ensuring the safety, education and entertainment of the children was really important to everyone, even though there were differences of opinion about how best to make that happen.

And the community always made sure there was food on the table, despite disagreement over the practicalities of cooking. Ultimately, sharing food, cooking together, and celebrating birthdays and other occasions were the times when the group felt the closest.