The power of community

At 7 years old, Francis was sent far from his village, Gando, to study in the city. Later, he was granted a scholarship to study architecture in Germany. As a student, he wanted to go back to contribute to his community. After raising US$50 000, he went back and together with his community, built a school out of clay and other relatively cheap materials. It's a story of innovation, dreams, hopes and community at work.

Francis ended the talk by telling of how when he left Gando at 7 years old, the lady of each household gave him a coin. In essence, they were contributing what little they had to his education, and hoped he would come back to use it for the community. There is power in community, and communities can shape their own future.

It reminded me of people like myself – students who have had the opportunity to study overseas. There is always that question of – should I go back home, or live here?

It also reminded me of finding meaning in what we do. A job as an Executive Assistant isn't just about answering emails, taking minutes and  running errands. It's about helping your boss such that he is enabled to do other things well, to serve the purpose of the company. A job as a builder isn't about laying bricks and just making a beautiful structure. It's about creating a home with spaces for a family to live well (like how some homes are created with big open spaces, and you know that that family is a lot about spending time together). A job as a teacher isn't about teaching facts and marking papers. As a teacher, you do that because it is about educating people so they can grow in their skills, discover their strengths and weaknesses, and find their place (contribution) in the world.

At the end of the day, everything we do is part of something bigger, and it is up to us what we make of it. For me, I have to remember that it is about people. People, people, people.

Yesterday someone asked what type of job I'm looking for. I said anything related to Marketing/Communications. She said what field, and I said, any – I'm pretty open. To which she said, wow that's wide.

I thought about it and figured, yes in general I am willing to try new things (project management, human resources, business operations etc in the finance, engineering, design etc industries), but really, what areas am I more passionate about and would more likely thrive in? I figured these would be more key areas: family, youth, education, leadership/development/training, not-for-profit.

I really really believe in education and opportunities for people. One thing I liked so much about Francis' talk is that he built a school with just US$50, 000. In countries like Singapore and Australia, you would need 10 times that amount for a school as basic as the one he built (though perhaps with different materials). I love the innovation, the giving back, and the community spirit. I love how the story has notes of seeds sown, hope, and a different future all of Gando can look towards because they believed, they tried, and they did.

Yay for Gando!

And, Diébédo Francis Kéré. Community-minded architect. I like that title.

(: