Currency can and should be given to poor people’s experiences

 

In the development arena, currency to poor people’s experiences have been partly recognized in the requirement for participation, human rights based approach and poor people’s perspective as important to sustainable development outcome. Despite this, development industry disadvantages and unevenly weighs the value of poor people’s experiences.

 

A number of years ago, the Chief Executive Officer of a leading Western aid organization attempted something very daring. She would for one day, visit a village in an African Country, and like the many poor local people, experience in real life what it meant to live on less than a dollar a day.  I mentioned that this was daring, because even if this Chief Executive Officer lived with the reality  that it was only for one day and  that she will return to the comfort  of her real life, such an experience exposed her to unfamiliar and harsh living conditions – inadequate water and sanitation, inadequate nutrition, to name a few.

Unlike the local residents, the CEO lacked the coping strategies which are the combination of  social networks, skills and experiences that they have built over time to endure their realities.

In recent time, the involvement of consultants – national, international and contractors hired to research poor people’s situation either as evaluators of interventions or as assessors for the development of projects. These consultants are well paid. The communities that are subject of this research and evaluation and development learning are not paid. No currency is given to the validity of their experiences. Development industry has got accustom to paying for experiences and expertise packaged in ways with criteria that exclude the validity of poor people’s experiences. No they won’t be able to supply the evaluation reports with the same tools and scientific rigor that the educated consultant can. Yet, it is undisputed that they can tell their full story better.

No amount of education, position or influence, as illustrated in my example above, can truly replace the lived experiences of people living in poverty. These people live, think, love, learn, decide, analyze, plan, prepare. They are human beings with rights. Development industry can and should find ways to harness and value these experiences as important criteria for industry success.

Shocked and Horrified - I Take My Pen In Solidarity of Alleged Sexual Abuse Victim While In Hospital Care

I am shocked, horrified and refuse to be numbed by the recent report of a sexual abuse of a patient while in the care of Liberia’s  largest referral hospital in Monrovia reported in the local news today. It is in the spirit of solidarity, that I take my pen, to address important pending matter, from a social worker’s perspective – as it is a professional lens that I find most comfortable.

It is my understanding that the matter is rightly under the ambit of criminal investigation with arrest, detention and pending court action against the alleged perpetrator. Swift impartial justice must and should be served.

Yet this matter is not only a criminal justice matter.

From a social work perspective, a number of pertinent issues and questions should be addressed simultaneously.

A failure in the duty of care of the hospital to a patient entrusted with its care, by a person reported to be in its employ requires that accountability and responsibility for the failure at the highest level of management should be addressed.  In this respect, important questions to be addressed are: who had the overall responsibility to ensure the safety and well being of all patients in the care of the hospital facility? What systems are in place across all levels of the facilities management to monitor, prevent and report harm? Where did this system fail and what steps will be put in place to prevent reoccurrence and assure public’s trust?

When addressing these pertinent questions of duty of care failures, the management of the facility should commission professional independent and impartial inquiry with the aim of preventing reoccurring and seeking system improvement through actionable recommendations.

 Another important question to address is whether or not the particular incident is an isolated case or not? What systems are in place for patients and persons coming in contact with hospital to raise concern. What are the independent mechanisms to vet and test the system to ensure that it does into fail now or in the future.

Even more importantly, what are the steps taken by the hospital to support privacy, confidentiality, safety of the patient who suffered the sexual and gender based violence. What systems are in place for  medical, psychosocial and other recovery of the patient and family? What further support is needed?

The duty of care argument leaves the specific facility in question with no hiding place. They must come straight with answers to these questions.

 I will be waiting keenly for answers.