Before we started doing community organizing in my slum I had never seen Gop (pictured refereeing a kids game) in a leadership position or doing anything to bring about change there.  This definitely wasn’t due to apathy, though.  When I started asking people questions about what life was like there and especially about the conditions for their kids, Gop was among the most outspoken and discontent.

She, along with most everyone I talked to, believed that nobody but themselves really cared, and that nobody would want to work together on anything.

It sounded also like she doubted both her ability to do much and whether it was “allowed”.  Though the council had been essentially disbanded after the president ran off with community money, followed shortly by the vice president, everyone still defered to this defunct group.

But once Gop and others began meeting to talk and plan about what their kids need and what they should do about it, they started to grow in confidence.  They ended up putting together two well-planned events for the kids of Phothong, which besides providing safe and educational activities also proved to the community that things could change, ordinary residents could decide to work together and act rather than wait for the council or an outside agency to do it for them.

A couple months ago one of the other women involved in these meetings and actions, the current community treasurer, stepped in to take over the ignored duties of community president temporarily.  Since then I’ve seen her visiting homes individually, and she lead a successful decision-making meeting over use of a new government grant which many were happy about.

Then about a month ago I heard that she had passed the role on to Gop, who has never had a place on the community council.  But after showing herself to be a responsible leader, Oi thought she would be the best for the job.

This is for the short-term, as there will be another election in October.  But it is sounding like Gop will likely be elected to continue in her role.

That wouldn’t surprise me, as she is already taking this position seriously and working to bring about results.  She has talked with me about using our house again as a place to host kids activities, and also to plan.  She has decided to call together anyone in the community who is interested in helping their kids, rather than just the community council– the group that made all decisions in the past.  She’s talking about other ideas she has for developing the community, including building emergency exits, an idea the women were talking about earlier but hadn’t seen to completion.

Gop definitely has areas to grow in, particularly in working with people to really think through the issues and come up with ideas together, rather than just promoting her ideas.  But I am encouraged that Phothong now has a leader with initiative, who really cares about its development, who is honest, who wants everyone to be involved in working toward solutions and not just an elite few.  It is exciting to see this lasting fruit that I will be leaving as I transition home.