How does the not-for-profit community sector maintain our ideals, survive and thrive in this challenging context?

How then do we address pervasive disadvantage in our society and hold fast to our values as we simultaneously tackle challenges within our sector and remain effective and vibrant?

If only that question had an easy answer. This is the question that each one of us needs to address in our own minds and our own hearts, over the next two days and beyond. I cannot give prescriptive answers, but I can perhaps point towards what is possible.

I return to Apartheid South Africa, the crucible in which my thinking about values and a commitment to social justice was forged: I was working in the townships and saw daily the enormous deprivations faced by Black people. It was illegal for white people to be in the townships without a permit and I could not get a permit for what I was doing. I lived in an apartment in a beautiful area where black people were not allowed to live, unless they were servants. The tension I experienced in this land of conflict and contradiction was extreme. I was afraid to act and I was compelled to act.

My home overlooked the ocean. From my verandah I could see Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was detained, in the distance. Here was a man who knew what it meant to live from his core principles, at almost any cost. His inspiring statement from the dock before his imprisonment after the infamous Treason Trial speaks to that:

‘During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.’

I did not share Mandela’s measure of courage, but he did shine a light on what was possible. During my education at the University of the Witwatersrand, only white students were permitted to study. My quality education offered a very thorough grounding in community development practice. The very few black students who were able to negotiate their way through the mountains of obstacles – legal, political, social, emotional and financial – that inhibited their opportunity for learning had to study at the University of Ford Hare where it was forbidden for them to learn about community development. One of the strategies I employed was to educate Black social workers in community development processes. In turn, they were able to work with the Xhosa speaking members of their communities – most of whom were illiterate – and inspire them to organize and work together to define and achieve their goals. Eventually, we were able to bring all the local groups together under the leadership of an umbrella body so they could expand the vision of what was possible for them to achieve in their community. One of the cherished memories I have of that time is the shining face of the chairman as he watched the different groups interacting, planning, negotiating…for an instant the full weight of the oppression he experienced as a Black man in a racially divided country lifted. He smiled at me and said: ‘Renée, this is wonderful. We have so much to do!’

We cannot all emulate Nelson Mandela. We can only do what is possible within our sphere of influence. That is our responsibility. To quote the wonderful lines from Leonard Cohen:

The values that Mandela lived with such consummate skill – courage, dignity, patience, humour, strength, fairness and forgiveness – are not new. He was, however, a leader who had the capacity to employ them with complete integrity, finesse and consistency. Following in the footsteps of Ghandi, he knew the end is inherent in the means. Our challenge is to live them too, and to apply them effectively in all our activities and negotiations, understanding that we are answerable to those most disadvantaged, most marginalized in our society. We must ask ourselves: How can we unite the strengths inherent in our sector with the finest of these personal values? Where are the cracks between the challenges through which we can pour light? For it is our values and principles – consistently applied – that will enable us to meet the challenges we face…we must never lose sight of who we are and what we stand for.

References

1. Abelló, David and MacDonald, Helen, 2002, Job Network: Changing Community Sector Values, The Drawing Board: An Australian Review of Public Affairs, The School of Economics and Political Science, University of Sydney, 3, 51 – 63.
2. ACOSS, 2005, Poverty – The Facts, ACOSS website http://acoss.org.au/images/uploads/338__Poverty_Factsheet.pdf, accessed 8th March 2011.
3. ACOSS, 2009, Submission to the Productivity Commission Study into the Contribution of the Not for Profit Sector, June.
4. ACOSS, 2011, A National not-for-profit regulator – ACOSS response to Treasury Scoping Study Consultation Paper, January 2011, February.
5. Australian Financial Review, 2011, Scheme for disabled enables innovation, 2nd March, 10.
6. National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NVCO), Civil Society: A Framework for Action, Third Sector Network: Statement of Principles and Values, http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/map, accessed 8th March 2011.
7. NCOSS, 2010, 70th Anniversary Celebrations History, Modern Challenges 1995 – 2010, http://www.ncoss.org.au/content/blogsection/18/190/, accessed 7th March 2011.
8. Our Community, 2008, Code of Governance for the Australian Community Sector, June, http://www.ourcommunity.com.au/files/governancecode.pdf, accessed 9th March 2011.
9. Productivity Commission Report, 2010, Contribution of the Not-for-Profit Sector, Canberra, February, http://www.pc.gov.au/projects/study/not-for-profit
10. Stengel, Richard, 2010, Mandela’s Way – Lessons on Life, Virgin, London.

Table of Contents

Related posts:

1. The challenges faced by the not-for-profit community sector in maintaining values
2. Challenging Inequality: Social Action in an Ever Changing World – The Community Sector
3. What are the values of the community sector?
4. What do the values of the community sector look like in practice?