For a few years now, when discussing poverty and development, I have been heralding an approach which prioritizes assets over needs. There is this radical idea afoot, one which insists that for real sustainable development to take root, the vision and initiative must come from within the poor community itself.

Life happens outside in the Congo. Long visits with neighbours, friends and family combined with peanuts, bananas and maybe even a Coca-cola are seen under many a tree throughout the country.

Dr. Delphin Kapasa is founder of the “Good Shepherd” – a small health clinic and development agency in the Camp Luka slum of Kinshasa. As one of our Five&Two Network members, I recently called him to check in and see how they were responding to the Pandemic.

“Are people staying indoors and following the social distancing guidelines?” I asked him.

Laughter…

Breaking News from Lesotho - BBL Given Government Approval to Enact Nationwide Covid-19 Strategy

Lesotho is a landlocked country surrounded by a border of mountain ranges within South Africa. Five & Two Network member, ‘Basotho Building Lesotho’ (BBL) is located in the heart of this nation…

What happened to our name? While in the D.R. Congo, we were enamored by the way our Congolese brothers and sisters referred to us as ‘Cinq et Deux,’ “Five and Two” rather than “5N2.” It was so simple, yet beautiful how easily it rolled off their tongue in their own language. We could imagine the many names across our Network in the future - ‘Lima at Dalawa’ in Filipino, ‘Cinco y Dos’ in Spanish, ‘Tano na Mbili’ in Swahili, ‘Ha lae Song’ in Lao…

It is easy to get wrapped up in the fear and anxiety of this time. These are desperate times. This is also the reality of daily life for those across the world.

Using the same asset based community approach we apply to our work in developing countries, I decided to take a moment to look at all that we have rather than all that we don’t have. This is just the start of my list…

On our recent trip to Congo, we visited a community called Kenge, halfway between Kikwit and Kinshasa. Like many other communities in this area, the people of Kenge lacked access to adequate health care. The closest hospital was too far away and too expensive, leaving the people vulnerable to diarrhea, malaria, anemia, malnutrition, and respiratory infections.

Being stuck in traffic can be so irritating. It’s money, profit and work all being put on hold. For people in developing countries, it’s the difference between having food, medical care and shelter… or not.  

This Fall we’ve laid out an ambitious plan to visit most of our network Member organizations. Between Jamie, Murray and Daniella, we will be in Laos, Nepal, Philippines, DR Congo, Lesotho and Malawi all before Christmas.

Did you know that British Columbia’s new kindergarten – grade 12 curriculum includes a course on Social Justice?  Oh how I wish we had courses like that when I was a teenager. In fact, research shows that this next generation has a resounding focus on empathy, especially on marginalized people groups.

There is garbage everywhere on the streets of Mont-Ngafula, an extremely poor neighbourhood in Kinshasa, the capital city of the DR Congo. Known for its high crime rate and impassable roads, the neighborhood has been in decline for decades. 

Positioned carefully in the vacillating shadow of a large palm tree, the three of us exchanged stories as we sought relief from the afternoon sun. As we began to walk back into the classroom, the young Congolese student lowered his head slightly, cupped his hands together and submissively requested a few dollars to provide a meal for his children.

Interviewed by Julie Nickel Organization As a part of the 5N2 Network, John oversees a team of development practitioners who are working to shift the mentality of the poor from needs to assets. Through his organization, CRAID (Centre de Réflexion et d’Appui aux Initiatives de Développment), he works at the community level to provide training and coaching that is grounded in Asset-Based Community-Driven Development (ABCD) values.