How am I doing? How are we doing? ... Questions at the Heart of Community Work

A Raising the Village interview with Paul Born.


Tamarack – An Institute for Community Engagement has been a “go to” resource for us at Raising the Village for many years. We were ecstatic that the director, Paul Born, was able to take the time to answer our newsletter questions. Paul has been on a ten year journey and partnership to advance place based solutions to entrenched problems like poverty. As an author of three books and a person who loves the power of stories, Paul has extensive experience in helping organizations and communities develop collaborative action. His messages are sure to inspire!


1) What aspect of community engagement gets Paul Born fired up?

• Multi sector engagement and action really excite me -when at least three different sectors work together.
• Collective altruism is beautiful - when people work together for the benefit of others fueled by love. It is a time when the giver is also the receiver and the receiver is also the giver. I also feel that the study of collective selfless giving needs a lot more study. The way collective action fuels group - causes energy, healing and belonging.
• Vibrant Communities Canada is at a critical phase. The results are outstanding. Nearly 3,000 organization partner locally, using community engagement strategies have now helped 172,000 families in poverty.
  

2) As an advocate for collaborative action, how do you balance the many agendas that engaged citizens bring forward for attention? Asked another way, how can we honour the complex needs and passions in a community such as; poverty reduction, elder & senior issues, special needs, safety, improving public education, accessible health care, homelessness, child development vulnerability…the list goes on and on!
Do we really need to balance the many agendas of issue based networks or are we best to work at respecting and embracing the passion of each. I have come to the conclusion that most all issues facing communities are interrelated. It seems not to matter what issue you work on you will eventually impact the other. Can you really work at the children’s agenda and not care about poverty, violence or the environment or vice versa. We desire clean and well organized approaches causing us to worry about duplication and focus. What we are learning is that groups can work together and help each other. They do not need to compete. Rather they can embrace the agenda of the other. It would be wise to create a council of networks in a community. If for no other reason to advance the work of networks, build trust and find ways to work together.

3) How can people who are working together in communities with a focus on the early years relate to and participate in the work taking place at Tamarack, Institute for Community Engagement?

• We have a very active web site and tele learning platform. Everything there is free. You can choose from nearly 100 online seminars.
• Vibrant Communities has a large national network. Hamilton is the one city in the network that has specifically made their poverty reduction campaign about children.
• We have so much to learn from your network. Landon Pearson has truly inspired us.
• We would also welcome invitations to come speak at your events and conferences. These often build deeper understanding and can inspire the human spirit. Much joy.
  

4) Tamarack’s mission includes working and learning together to create and realize bold visions for the future. What bold steps must be taken for our societies to make children a priority? Any simple steps?


There are no simple steps or even bold steps required. The critical thing today is to listen to our hearts. This may be the most radical thing we can do for children. If we truly listened to the hearts of Canadians would we tolerate the level of child poverty and violence against children? The work we are called to is not just the work that entails doing. I feel we would be wise in this day of increasing chaos to stop and reflect and do the inner work and ask- How am I doing? How are we doing? This question will open us and will call us to seek healing. Then we can ask the question -How can I help? How can we help? The question of helping must come from a place of a desire for inner healing. These two simple questions have become so important to me. I want to move from knowing what to do to hearing what to do. I want to act from within. As chaos grows - developing the inner compass as Steven Covey called it will be more critical than ever.

5) Tell us about your new book: Seeking Community - Finding Belonging in Chaotic Times

I am writing about a paradox that I find in my own life. I am so busy, have so many people all around me, friends and family and yet I feel this overwhelming loneliness that the community in my life is not sufficient. I want more. I want to feel a sense of belonging and a co identity with others. The book is based on a talk I have given now over 100 times called Seeking the Possibilities of Community. Each time I give this talk I am amazed at the number of people who feel like me.So this book is written as a journey of trying to understand community and belonging in these chaotic times. It invites the reader to join in the journey to engage with me and each other and to ask questions and explore together.

6) What personally brings you a “sense of community”?

• A hug for sure
• A long dinner at a long table with long-time friends.
• Family: my family and my extended family.
• Children - yes children - especially babies. Babies are the strongest of all the human species. The greatest gift is to be able to rock a baby to sleep. They have the power to melt your heart, to dust off those corners where love is dormant, open the shutters and shine light on the soul. I am writing this to you from a plane - I moved seats so a mother could have extra space for her children. The last 3 legs of my trip a baby sat beside me with their mother. Each time the mothers apologized for what they assumed the baby would put me through. It was not long and we were all talking, the babies sitting with me - holding my finger and laughing. I felt so thankful and an empathy within me, not only toward the baby but also the mother and the other passengers. These babies pulled love and altruism right out of me. I felt at peace and a sense that all was right in me and in the world. This is my hope for community that it can help us feel and desire peace.
  
  For amazing community resources and further inspiration go to:
  http://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/ http://www.seekingcommunity.ca/ http://www.paulborn.ca/
  

More about Paul: he was the Executive Director and founder of The Community Opportunities Development Association (CODA) for 12 years, one of Canada’s most successful community economic development organizations where he also founded Opportunities 2000, a millennium campaign to reduce poverty in Waterloo Region to the lowest in Canada, which received the United Nations' Top 40 Projects Worldwide. His work has also been recognized with awards from the Conference Board of Canada, Imagine Canada and the Governor General of Canada.