Understanding the organization

Monday June 13, 2011

Today was a really wonderful opportunity to see where the theory meets the action and the operation of the organization. I have been working a lot with the theoretical foundations of the organization and I was really questioning and being very critical of some of the things that I was being told. However, based on something that came up during the team meeting and the way that the situation was handled and discussed I was able to understand much better that way that the team structure works, the value of each person as part of the organization, the understanding of the Christian identity, and how the organization perceives more of gender relations and identity.

We the Emory students went to the weekly team meeting at nine this morning in the back of the clinic. The meeting didn’t start on time because we were waiting on more people to show up even though we knew that a lot of people weren’t going to show up because of the transportation strike that is happening in the city right now. Last week it was the post office and now it is the transportation, there are roadblocks all over the city. It wasn’t bad for us because we live where we work essentially but other people couldn’t get it and it was a bear to get the professors that are visiting from Drexel from the airport this morning. On that note, there are professors visiting right now so Betsy, Lise, and I are sharing a room for the week which isn’t too bad except that I am not sleeping as well and I am on the top bunk. I also woke up this morning with swollen eyes because of allergies and a nasty bugbite on my right eye. I feel like all of this is just silly whining though and I really shouldn’t have any complaints compared to some of the things that the team members are facing.

Once we finally began this meeting this morning we started with singing a few songs from the songbook and reflecting on the songs as people continued to trickle in until we had roughly 20 people. Jose Miguel wasn’t there at first and everyone else seemed to do well taking initiative and starting the meeting and it gave everyone a chance to speak and for us to hear them say stuff when he is out of the room as well, as a way to confirm the things that we were hearing when he was around.

Eventually he did come in and others as well and when we were commenting on a song one of the team members started with what seemed like a normal comment but ended up telling us how their cousin was murdered this past weekend. It seems like his mother is very very ill and people aren’t even sure how to tell her. It also sounds like it was a hate crime and he was killed by one of his best friends for supposedly being homosexual. Everyone in the room was really shocked and it was obvious that everyone’s hearts really went out to this person.

After the person was finished telling their story Jose Miguel told her that if she needed to leave she was free to and to take as much time as she needed and take the whole week or whatever felt right to her. I don’t think it will even count as vacation or personal days but I am not entirely sure. Based on the team structure that exists it looks like everyone will know just where to pickup and how to work without the person being present. This person has a lot of responsibilities but does not have to delegate down to lower levels based on the way that the system is organized.

The responses from the team also showed how much they care about each person that is there and are willing to step in when they know that other people really need their help and I am sure they are only acting as they would want someone to act if they were in this kind of situation. In MAP Bolivia, it is recognized that people do have personal lives and have lives outside of the organization that cannot be separated and entirely and that people can’t just leave things at the door, either here or at their home. It was helpful to hear people further discuss how they felt that they really count as a part of the organization and that they can look to their co-workers to find support.

Further, it was fascinating to see a very serious issue surface in this way. I had been thinking a lot about how the organization perceived homosexuality and what their response would be to having a person on staff or just people in general in their programs. It was interesting to hear the denunciation of crimes and intolerance against people of different sexual orientations. They talked about how so many churches are rallying against people or how they will welcome people as long as they recognize their sins as soon as they come in. This was yet another moment where I thought about how nice it has been to know a church that is welcoming to people from many different walks of life and even accepts people into positions of leadership despite gender or sexual orientation. I wanted to pipe up and say wait, wait, do you guys know that Episcopalians now allow you to lead regardless of orientation or gender? It is so relieving to see a group that isn’t trying to put people in their boxes and label them as one thing or another and allows people to be as they are. I think it is critical to recognize that we may all have our own opinions or values but that it is not our place to be judging others, as long as it is not harming others. For my experience with MAP, it was helpful to see this part of their Christian identity exposed in such a way that encourages tolerance.

I know it is very early in the journey yet but I feel like I am learning so much. I am learning just as much about the organization and international development as I am about myself. I feel that my routine of yoga in the morning, breakfast outside, time with work and the school and then a quiet night at home has been really healthy and helpful. I have been to the city a couple of times, which has been really enjoyable but I think the quiet time up in the mountains has been even better. In peace.