![God in the Global Office ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],A Somali woman at the gate of the UNHCR compound prior to registration and admission to a refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya, October 2008. © Manoocher Deghati/IRIN Used by permission .](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/godintheglobaloffice-090924051349-phpapp01/85/god-in-the-global-office-practicing-member-care-in-mission-and-aid-1-320.jpg)
![Dr. Kelly and Dr. Michèle O’Donnell ©2009 ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
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God In The Global Office: Practicing Member Care in Mission and Aid
- 3. The providence of God has led us all into a new world of opportunity, of danger, and of duty. Edinburgh, 1910 United Nations Geneva, Switzerland
- 4. Let’s do a quick overview of member care now. Courtesy France Telecom and YouTube. Go to the web link below and watch the video (about one minute). You may want to watch it again to figure it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eDt1vzrt2o&feature=PlayList&p=A48F7E0B33C7E225&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=13 Have a look at the three discussion questions in the notes (relating this video to member care).
- 6. Macro Member Care Model--International
- 7. Kelly and Michele circa 1987
- 9. We moved to Europe, The Netherlands. Our two daughters were born there…
- 10. And now 22 years later still sojourning together…
- 11. Welcome to Geneva. We provide and develop ( provelop ) “flows of support” to mission and aid workers.
- 12. We help workers and organizations in underserved populations (unreached people groups).
- 13. In 1993 we began in earnest to travel internationally to meet mission leaders and new colleagues. We wanted to try to help form networks of member care workers in different nations, regions, and people group clusters. We are especially fond of South Asian clothes.
- 20. You may want to stay in touch with this group, among many! United Nations--OCHA Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs http://ochaonline.un.org/AboutOCHA/tabid/1076/Default.asp
- 21. We want to learn and connect in new and ongoing ways. One final example: ITVS International Watch “Taking Root” the preview and parts of the film ”Follow Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai in her quest to reclaim her land and her culture through the simple act of planting trees. This direct action has fostered community solidarity, environmental literacy and political resolve that helped to bring down Kenya's 24-year dictatorship.” http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/takingroot/previewpop.html http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/takingroot/film.html
- 23. Example of our Training Christian Medical College Hospital , Vellore, India. Visit them and India via their online “photo album”. http://cmch-vellore.edu/t_main.asp
- 24. For your enjoyment, from France via India http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGQf9dn0pDk
- 25. Example of our Consultation Providing counseling at a field conference Many aid workers met together from a region for one week. A great place usually to provide lots of services
- 27. Example of our Writing Promoting Health and Managing Dysfunction Principles for staying healthy and safeguarding workers/senders in light of personal/organizational dysfunction. ‘ Wise” doves inside “innocent” serpents
- 29. Example of Training, Consulting, and Writing Developing Guidelines for Good Practice Ethical principles and human rights commitments upgrading the work in member care and mission/aid. Shining light on reality as good practitioners
Editor's Notes
- Welcome! And hi from France! We invite you to come and join us as we share about our lives and the member care field. This power point will take you anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours. The time primarily depends on how much you want to interact with the questions for “reflection and discussion” and the short video clips/modules. This opening photo represents so much of what ails humanity—hardships, vulnerability, injustices, poverty, and the desire for safety, health care, education, human rights, and meaningful work with dignity. The Somali woman in this photo represents just one of 42 million humans who last year had been forcefully uprooted by conflict and persecution. The total includes 16 million refugees and asylum seekers and 26 million internally displaced people within their own countries For more information visit the web site of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees . www.unhcr.org Can we use our skills and embrace a lifestyle to help make a difference? We certainly think so! Notes: We use the word “aid” more for shorthand and convenience. By this term we refer to the broad range of “humanitarian assistance” which involves relief and intervention during times of calamity/conflict as well as ongoing community and human development. The term “assistance” implies/advocates for partnering together with mutual respect as we assist other humans in difficult situations.
- This presentation is organized into three parts. Part One (slides 1-13): Overview of member care (1-6) and our personal story in member care (7-13) Part Two (slides 14-30): Overview of human need/duty (14-21) and our work in member care (22-30) Part Three (slides 31-40): Overview of ways to connect and contribute (31-34) and future directions (35-40) Note that a core emphasis of this presentation is to encourage people to embrace an integrative, sacrificial lifestyle as trans-practitioners who intentionally cross disciplines, sectors, and cultures for mutual learning and good practice. Reflection and Discussion 1. What are some of your main reasons for wanting to interact with this topic/power point? 2. What member care issues and international issues matter the most for you?
- This quote is a great way to launch us into international mission/aid and member care. It is from a letter sent to the Christian churches on behalf of the over 1000 leaders present at the historic 1910 World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh. The notion of “opportunities, danger, and duty”, sounds very familiar, don’t you think? Many people in international mission/aid work would also use a similar phrase to describe their work and the current world climate. So we wonder, is the “new world” that faced those in 1910 substantially different from the world facing those of us 100 years later in 2010? What do you think? Notes: 1. One important difference is the size of the global population and the number of Christian workers. Currently there are an estimated 6.8 billion people in the world. And there are an estimated 458,000 full-time “foreign missionaries” and over 11.8 million national Christian workers from all denominations (Barrett, Johnson, and Crossing, 2008). 2. For information on four international gatherings in 2010 to commemorate the 1910 Conference in Edinburgh, (in addition to other purposes) go to: http://sthweb.bu.edu/cgcm/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=247:four-2010-meetings-consider-edinburgh-1910&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=38
- Reflection and Discussion 1. How does member care “get people talking”? In other words, why are people (like you) so interested in discussing member care issues? 2. What does the video suggest regarding the need to be creative in accomplishing “goals” such as educational or member care goals? 3. From a purely entertainment point of view, what did you like about the video? Or, any other applications?
- Member care began to be defined more formally in the early 1990s. The above understanding/definition of member care has been very influential and has circulated broadly. A similar description was first published in 1990 in an article we did: “The Increasing Scope of Member Care” ( Evangelical Missions Quarterly , p. 418). We are grateful to people like Dick Hawthorne and Tim Lewis with Frontiers and Sam Rowen and Ken Harder with Missionary Internship (now called Mission Training International) for their ideas on member care in the late 1980s and early 1990s which helped to shape this definition. Notes : You might want to have a look at several short member care quotes, from 1970 and onward—“historical quotes and historical perspectives”. Go to the “Memory Lane” section of the Member Caravan website. http://sites.google.com/site/membercaravan/ 2. To see a core list of member care-related books, and two main recommendations, see the list in the “MC Library” section posted on the Member Caravan website : http://sites.google.com/site/membercaravan/
- This five sphere model was developed in 2000 by Dave Pollock and Kelly. We tried to create something that was easy to understand and as relevant as possible for people from different countries and organizations. Over the years it has been “a grid to guide” and as a “guide to goad.” In the international/macro model of member care, the fourth of the five spheres is “Specialist Care”. This sphere includes the eight areas of: pastoral/spiritual, psychological/counseling, interpersonal/teams, physical/medical., crisis/contingency management, financial/logistical, family/children and training/career. We have subsequently reconceptualized Sphere Four. We refer to it now as “Special Care.” We emphasize the variety of skills (not specialists per se) that can be developed as part of one’s “lifelong learning”. Many people with member care responsibility develop such skills as part of their member care “tool kits”. Specialists are very important and in demand, and the more cross-cultural and mission/aid experience one gets, not to mention life experience in general, the better! You might be interested to know about some of the other developments in this mode. These developments include: A broadening of our understanding of Sphere Three (Sender Care) in light of the diversity of “senders and go-ers”—e.g., the increasing reality of brief mission trips by churches; many workers are not necessarily sent out by a sending group and they too need member care resources; The need for supportive input for sending groups, member care workers, and member care networks themselves (Spheres 3-5); The inclusion of another dimension or perhaps even “sphere”—Sector Care--which overlaps with Sphere 4 (Special Care) and Sphere 5 (Network Care).
- We began working full-time with mission personnel some 22 years ago, after having finished our doctoral studies in clinical psychology in California. After graduation we worked as psychologists in California. Kelly worked in the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health as the psychologist in an outpatient clinic and then taught full time in both the undergraduate psychology and graduate marriage, family, and child program at and Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Michele worked in California at Camarillo State Hospital in the Children’s Unit and part time at Pepperdine University teaching a graduate developmental psychology course. Prior to this: Michele was raised in a military family, born in Paris, lived her childhood years in Europe and the USA, and moved/transitioned often. Kelly loved Spanish and things Latin American and though somewhat landlocked in Southern California, managed to spend the equivalent of one year in Mexico via his many short-term mission trips there in his early 20s.
- Reflection and Discussion 1. Name a couple things on your wall that are the most significant for you. Why are they significant? 2. If you could put anything special on your heart’s wall, metaphorically speaking, what would it be? 3. What are two important things you will have on your walls (physical wall and heart wall) at age 70?
- Well, there is so much more to say, you know, about how we got from there to here and so many places in-between. We have lived in five countries so far as a couple and provided services in some 40 countries. But let us just say that after paying off our school loans (tuition relatively speaking was so much more reasonable back then and somehow our combined graduate debt was only around $10K), getting licensed as therapists, and almost heading to the United Kingdom to accept an enticing offer to work with the National Health Service on an international/interdisciplinary mental health team, we ended up in Amsterdam, supported by donor-friends, providing mental health services as part of and to the staff of an international Christian mission organization. So this was 1988, about two years after the “freeway epiphany”, It took time to prepare and transition well. Our two daughters, Erin and Ashling, were born in Haarlem, The Netherlands. Not too far from the Ten Boom Clock Shop aka “The Hiding Place.”
- In time, we realized that there was so much more to do than to work in a small office and to put out clinical fires, so to speak. We thus began to step out to see more of the mission “world”. Our work and experience became more international, interagency, and preventative/developmental. We got a much better understanding of what is going on “out there”. And with the encouragement of friends, with Kelly’s background also in community psychology, and a vision and conviction that it was time for many people to step forward and intentionally build networks in order to further develop the member care, we embarked on a ministry that was to take us all over the place. It was a ministry and eventually a recognized field that we and many others—our predecessors and contemporaries—would help to shape and establish. DOB circa 1992. Notes : For more information on some of the milestones in the development of member care, see Kelly’s article “Staying Healthy in Difficult Places” at: http://www.fuller.edu/academics/school-of-psychology/integration-symposium-2009.aspx Quote from the above article: The development of member care is reflected in the many conferences and special training symposia that have taken place. Such events have been occurring in the USA for 30+ years, gaining major momentum in the 1990’s and beyond. Similar events have also occurred over the last 15 years in countries like India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, The Philippines, Korea, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Nigeria, Cyprus, Germany, The Netherlands, Brazil, El Salvador, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Member care has truly become international, is increasingly mainstreamed into the ethos of sending groups, and is considered to be a central part of mission/aid strategy. The member care ministry and movement did not develop easily. It was often through crises, mistakes, and failure that we began to realize that Christian workers needed quality support in order to help them in their challenging tasks.”
- Here is some more information about our member care and international work in the Global Office. **1. We live by Geneva, Switzerland. We have lived here for over nine years, and for more than 20 years total in four different European countries. As we mentioned earlier, we began our full-time member care work in 1988, before “member care” had developed into a field per se. **2. There are several hundred Non-Governmental Organizations in the Geneva area. Greater Geneva area has over 800,000 people. This picture here along Lake Geneva with the “water jet” reminds us of our member care work. It depicts the need to help develop “flows” of support for humanitarian and mission workers—flows that are sustainable and effective, refreshing, and accessible. The water jet in the background is called the Jet d’eau. The Wikipedia entry (see link below) says “ Five-hundred litres (132 gallons) of water per second are jetted to an altitude of 140 metres (459 feet) by two 500 kW pumps, operating at 2,400 V, consuming over one megawatt of electricity. The water leaves the nozzle at a speed of 200 km/h (124 mph). When it is in operation, at any given moment there are about 7,000 litres (1849 gallons) of water in the air.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_d'Eau Reflection and Discussion If you look closely or zoom in to this photo, you will see a lovely bed of flowers/tulips in the foreground. Notice anything a bit unusual? Look for the one tulip that has a different color. Now notice the size of this tulip in relation to the other tulips. And also notice the position of this tulip in relation to the water jet. Thinking a bit divergently, what might be some of the analogies/applications for member care and/or your life?
- Estimates of “unreached people groups” (UPGs)--roughly 25% of humans would be in this category. Note that figures vary in light of divergent methodologies and viewpoints! For us, we understand UPGs to be ethno/social groups with a shared sense of affinity (linguistic, geographic, cultural etc) and who historically have had limited to no access to relevant Christian service/witness.
- Reflection and Discussion 1. If you could live and work anywhere in the world, where would it be? 2. What would you like to do with regards to your work? 3. If you are single and wanting to get married, is there a person from a particular nation, people group, or background that you would like to marry?!
- We want to also introduce another term, “officium”? Why? Well, not to be tangential. But because we want to consider our human duty . Officium is Latin for duty, and it sounds nice together with the word office . So we are looking at how God and humans are at work around the world (global office) as well as our human duty on behalf of humanity (global officium). So Global Office and Global Officium are two sides of the same international coin, so to speak. We call it GoGo for short. Officium represents one of the three integrative principles that guide our philosophy of education and work. These principles are derived from Ignatius Loyola: officium (duty), probitas (virtue) and eruditio (learning). All three are core and necessary for “doing member care well.” For more on Loyola’s life and work, go to: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07639c.htm
- We were at Fuller Seminary and the School of Psychology (Pasadena, California, USA) in February 2009. Kelly gave three lectures for the annual Integration Symposium. The three topics were related to member care in mission/aid settings: member care history/future directions, personal and systemic health/dysfunction, and ethics/human rights. Note: To access the lectures for free on line (articles, audio, video) go to: http://www.fuller.edu/academics/school-of-psychology/integration-symposium-2009.aspx As we interacted with students and faculty in this special learning community, we were amazed at the many international emphases and realities present. It was not only the specific classes and the diverse student body/faculty, but also many other more subtle and possibly hidden emphases that reflected just how international this setting was. We thought it would be a good idea for some folks to do an “international map” of some creative sort in which the international nature of this community could be plotted. Maybe this is something you would want to do for your own setting? In addition, we also encouraged students to consider the many ways which they may already be connected with and contributing to the member care field and international issues. You might be surprised to see just how multi-culturally and internationally involved you already are!
- Reflection and Discussion What was going on for you during this video module—your responses: **as we ventured into the global office--into Africa, into HIV/AIDS, into humanity. **as we ventured in to the global officium--into Africa, into HIV/AIDS, into humanity. Notes on HIV/AIDS: 2007 estimates: **More than 15 million children under 18 have been orphaned as a result of AIDS. Around 11.6 million of these children live in sub-Saharan Africa. In countries badly affected by the epidemic such as Zambia and Botswana, it is estimated that 20 percent of children under 17 are orphans - most of whom have lost one or both parents to AIDS. **33 million living with HIV/AIDS **25 million have died since 1981 **2 million die per year as a result of the disease. **Young people (under 25 years old) account for half of all new HIV infections worldwide. **In developing and transitional countries, 9.7 million people are in immediate need of life-saving AIDS drugs; of these, only 2.99 million (31%) are receiving the drugs.
- It is hard to fathom such figures! This is a huge amount of people--and hugely diverse groupings of humanity. There are of course so many other ways to cut the “human pie” as we categorize humanity, so not just in religious terms.
- There are many opportunities for mental health interventions in addition to political and humanitarian help.This is true in areas of community development and nation building. We encourage people to cross sectors and cross comfort zones in order to develop skills and to be in places where they can help. Two other broad areas that can benefit from mental health and other heath services: **Calamities and Neglected Emergencies : Examples: famines, floods, earthquakes. epidemics etc. These crisis may initially get the world’s attention and resources, but then the focus shifts to the next calamity. **Conflicts and Forgotten Wars: Examples: ongoing international war in the Congo with around 5 million dead 5 million displaced. Dire situations with many vulnerable people, in which media and international attention wane; and where donor fatigue occurs. Note: The following quote is from Psychological Support: Best Practices (International Federation of Red Cross Societies, 2001) www.ifrc.org/publicat/catalog/autogen/4516.asp . It highlights the relevance of equipping relief/aid workers with psychological skills. It also reflects some of the emotional consequences that can affect workers themselves. “ The distinction between psychological needs and other priorities in relief operations is an artificial one, as psychological needs permeate and affect all other aspects such as shelter, food distribution, and basic health care. Provision of traditional relief aid is, therefore, not sufficient. Neglecting emotional reactions may result in passive victims rather than active survivors [italics mine]. Early and adequate psychological support can prevent distress and suffering from developing into something more severe, and will help the people affected cope better and return more rapidly to normal functioning“ (p. 5 ).
- Reflection and Discussion One other very helpful and sobering way to view the global office—humanity’s needs-- is through the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are an eight-point road map with measurable targets and clear deadlines for improving the lives of the worlds poorest people. World leaders have agreed to achieve the MDGs by 2015 www.un.org/millenniumgoals 1. How many MDGs could you name prior to watching this part of the power point? 2. What other developmental goals do you think should be priority of for the world (that is, the global office/officium)? 3. Which goals are you the most interested in—and the most passionate about? Keep tracking with this goal/area and find ways to practically connect and contribute to it. We do not have to “wait” to finish graduate school(s), get licensed/certified, pay off all our debts, have a family, buy a house, and help our kids get through university etc. before we can meaningfully connect and contribute! A special note to those in the faith-based sector: stay in touch with what large inter-governmental bodies such as the United Nations are doing. We have seen first hand how God is using people in the United Nations to do some incredible work, such as polio eradication, primary health care, human rights advocacy, maintaining peace in areas of conflict, and helping displaced peoples. A very good read is Paul Kennedy’s The Parliament of Man: The Past, Present, and Future of the United Nations (2006). Here’s a quote from the Afterword, and a challenge to us all: “…can we really offer justice and freedom from want to a mid-twenty-first-century earth of perhaps nine billion people, one-third of whom may live in squalor and desperation?” (p. 289)
- Check out this strategic part of the United Nations—OCHA. Meander through their site and you will likely be amazed at how the Global Officium is linked to the Global Office!
- This is one of the many film and curriculum modules that are available from ITVS, PBS and other media sources, to further orient people about significant international issues. Check out this web site too or PBS (Independent Lens especially) and watch these video excerpts. We saw many such films at a recent conference in Geneva on the use of independent movies for community education and social change, and they were remarkable for the way they could transport you into other worlds (the Global Office) and to learn how other people are helping to deal with important issues (Global Officium).
- Here is an excerpt from the Interview, given for Fuller Seminary’s (USA) The SEMI newspaper in February 2009. The overall interview is two pages and is available at the Member Caravan web site in the “Interviews” section: http://sites.google.com/site/membercaravan/ Ann Yeh (interviewer): Can you describe some of the different contexts in which you’ve had an opportunity to work? Michele: One recent experience was in Central Asia I met with a group who needed debriefing, but I didn’t speak their mother tongue. You find yourself taking something out of your tool kit and putting it together in a creative way and hoping it can help. In this case I helped them deal with their grief/loss and the religious persecution they were facing by helping them to identify the ingredients that they needed to make both “tear soup” and “courage soup” to help sustain them. Another time I was in North Africa with a missionary partner, doing seminars on child safety in that culture. I learned so much about the culture and understanding what is abuse and what isn’t, while realizing that things aren’t as cut and dry compared to Americanized conceptualizations.
- Notes: I (Kelly) was asked to present to the nursing staff and nursing students at this large and respected hospital in southern India. Each day, I was told, an estimated 25,000 people pass through the beautiful hospital complex (staff, patients, families of patients). Kelly ‘s connection to teach here was through a mutual friend/leader with a well-known member care organization in India. Kelly spoke on the topic of healthy organizations, dysfunction, and developing “contextual skills” in order to manage our work environments well. He also met with a small group of leaders and explored the topic of “core issues for adjustment and growth in our lives”. By “core” we mean the matters of our hearts—those normal, internal struggles (e.g.. trust, forgiveness, discouragement, loneliness) that get stirred up when we encounter the challenging external stressors in our work/life. The men and women in this hospital are doing such wonderful work. We learn so much from the people with whom we work!
- Reflection and Discussion This is supposed to be funny. Is it funny? Is it derogatory? 2. What criteria would you use to determine if it is humorous or insulting?
- Brief Case Study for Reflection and Discussion: We have helped to resource lots of field-conferences over the past 20 years with member care services. We usually stay very busy as you can imagine, offering counseling, helping people work through difficult team and family and organizational issues, and doing a lot of skill-development through workshops. We always try to take time every day to take a break and have some fun especially by exploring the local area. Have a look at Frances White’s article “Guidelines for Short-Term Field Consultation” in Missionary Care (1992). It has lots of good suggestions. Well, as with life in general, not everything works out smoothly in spite of our best planning. In one conference we gathered together a member care team from different countries. The services that we ended up offering, however, were limited due to other “priorities” that the conference planners had decided. Hence because of the fairly intense meeting schedule there were not many times that conference participants were available for counseling or consultation. For some political reasons (that is, organizational agendas/unresolved issues) it was hard to push our case to be more fully utilized. Moral of the story: plan as best as one can, negotiate, and act professionally and responsibly. Remember that many times whether we are in-house or outside service providers, we may not have the clout to practice as we wish—we have to negotiate settings and that is part of the skill sets that we must develop also. Without inappropriately demarcating things into “us vs them”, we find it helpful to remember that more often than not “we are guests in their world” to quote Dr. Karen Carr’s article in Doing Member Care Well (2002).
- Reflection and Discussion There are lots of ways to apply this video clip. How do you have fun, deal with boredom, and make life/work more enjoyable? What do you do when people do things that can have a negative impact on you? Concerning the context of our work/life settings : **How do you deal with people who do not play (and work) fairly? 4. How can people develop skills to help shape and manage our contexts/settings better?
- Here’s the opening scenario—and salvo –-from this article on health and dysfunction in mission/aid, “Wise as Doves and Innocent as Serpents.” This could also be a very useful case study for discussion. This article is available in 12 languages at: http://MCAresources.googlepages.com/realitydose What a mess! A humanitarian organization is losing lots of its staff—again. Good folks are leaving and some good folks are staying. Many are broken and disillusioned. Sides are formed. Some say the departing staff are insubordinate and not a good fit for the ministry. Others believe there are significant personal and organizational problems that are not being addressed. Mutual friends try to stay neutral, and are baffled. The governing board wants to maintain the field work, but is also confused about what is going on. There are only brief/vague written policies for grievances, dismissal, or discipline. No safe forums exist to share personal and work-related concerns as a group. No exit interviews are done. No independent review happens. A few well-meaning folks, mindful that this is a faith-based charity, plead for reconciliation. Something is definitely not right, but no one seems capable or willing to do anything. And over the next several months, the toxins continue to take their toll, as unresolved relational discord and ministry distraction spread maliciously to others. What a mess! Reflection and Discusion Even with “proper” procedures there can be a mess in our organizations. Discuss how recognised protocols and clear ethical values/commitments do not always function as protective factors, especially if there is dysfunction.
- This is such an important topic. Read the article (Wise as Doves and Innocent as Serpents) and watch the video lecture from Kelly on this subject! http://www.fuller.edu/academics/school-of-psychology/integration-symposium-2009.aspx
- This subject matter in this article is near and dear to our hearts as we write, train, and consult. Here is a summary blurb for the article. An published and slightly expanded version is available at: http://www.fuller.edu/academics/school-of-psychology/integration-symposium-2009.aspx “ I believe in discretion, not confidentiality.” “I’m too busy to follow-up that difficult matter—give me a break!” “This mistake must not discredit us by coming into public view.” Member care is a broad field with a wide range of practitioners and perspectives on what is ethically permissible. As this field continues to grow, it is important to offer guidelines to further clarify and shape good practice. In this section we will explore several ethical principles and human rights commitments to upgrade the quality of the supportive care that we offer mission/aid staff. We consider five types of guidelines: member care worker commitments, sending group principles, ethical rationalizations, specific ethics codes, and human rights principles. Ethical care is a mentality, a practice, and a commitment, based on moral law.
- Reflection and Discussion 1. Any examples for you when you thought you were helping, but…maybe not? 2. Or vice versa when others thought they were helping you but….maybe not?
- These are the core suggestions that we share with people (e.g., health care colleagues, students) who want to work in the Global Office/Officium, especially in the member care field. **Caravan—don’t go alone through the desert; mutual support; help one another with a similar destiny to get to where they are going; find the metaphorical “oases” to help sustain you **Conferences—meet people, share your dreams and current interests etc. **Credibility—”piggyback” on others’ connections, relationships, work **Cross-cultural experience—take advantage of the many ways to develop multicultural skills, including international movies, friendships, travel, short term field work, and improving your language skills (e.g., BBC online has audio news reports in 32 languages, plus videos; www.BBC.org ) **Contextual skills—In addition to health care, human resource etc. skills, develop skills in managing difficult relationships/conflict, understanding and fitting into organizational cultures, being aware of organizational politics, recognizing dysfunction, negotiation, mediation, and advocacy **Contribute—Now is a good time and in light of your long-term goals Also the P’s—Focus on a couple global issues that REALLY interest you, get great training, take a paradigm-changing course like Perspectives, and stay connected to God ,as you “caravan” with others.
- Reflection and Discussion: What are some ways that you are currently involved (connect and/or contribute) to the member care field? (e.g., books, activities, web sites, colleagues, etc.) 2. What are some ways that you stay actively involved (connect and/or contribute) with international issues which really matter to you?
- Debt ---Many graduate students in the USA will owe well over $100K by the time they finish their programs of study (see statistics for doctoral psychology, for example); others in different countries have far less debt (educational costs are subsidized or paid by the government (taxes); some may consider getting a master’s degree (vs a doctorate) in an area such as human resource management or marriage/family therapy Developmental yearnings —appropriate things like wanting to get married (spouse’s desire for international and mission/aid lifestyle?), have a house (mortgage!), taking care of ageing parents, having a family, etc. Distractions —opportunities in one’s field, career advancement, the good life, caregiving fatigue, etc. Discouragement —life is difficult enough without taking on the difficulties of the world! Diversity —too much of a good thing or many good things Reflection and Discussion Consider the above hindrances and also identify some more for you and others
- Reflection and Discussion 1. List some of your resilient qualities? 2. What has helped you to develop your resiliency?
- We want to refer you to part three of Kelly’s article, “Staying Healthy in Difficult Places.” It explores future directions and resources for member care in light of the diversity of workers/senders and global problems/opportunities. http://www.fuller.edu/academics/school-of-psychology/integration-symposium-2009.aspx Quote from the above article: Treasure 3. Relief/Aid Workers —Psychosocial support is increasingly being recognized as a necessary and ethical organizational resource for workers in Complex Humanitarian Emergencies (CHEs). This support includes briefing, stress management, debriefing, and practical help for relief workers as well as equipping them with trauma/healing skills to help survivors (e.g., see the account in Randy Miller’s interview with a World Vision relief worker, “Staying Sane and Healthy in an Insane Job” (1998) and the many accounts in Sharing the Front Lines and the Back Hills , edited by Yael Danieli, 2001). Many disaster scenarios provide opportunities to interact with and help UPGs, leading to ongoing joint programs in community development. It is especially important to consider the reality of “neglected emergencies”—the ones that get overlooked due their chronic, seemingly unsolvable problems and overall lower profile— including “fragile states affected by ongoing conflict, poverty, corruption, and weak infrastructure (Gray, 2008, Moeller, 2008). One timely resource is the radio program and materials created to help survivors and caregivers in both natural and human-made disasters ( www.seasonsofcaring.org ).
- **Member care and the state of the world are dynamic and will require new thinking, new initiatives, and quality sacrificial work. **Member care workers of all types will need to increasingly cross various “borders” in order to maximize their effectiveness. By “borders” we mean those demarcations that help to identify a grouping of people .However these borders can also potentially isolate groupings of people from each other. **We know that we need to cross cultures and develop multi-cultural competencies. There are gender and generational differences that we need to understand. And we realize from the start that the field of member care is interdisciplinary. **Related to the above “crossing borders mix” is the need to clearly cross sectors so that we are learning and accessing resources for staff support from the military, international business, health, human rights, along with the diverse human resource management and humanitarian sectors. **In the international/macro member care model, this sectoral sphere would overlap with permeable boundaries between the special care sphere (Sphere 4--with its eight domains of care such as health/medical, interpersonal, psychology/counseling, crisis care etc.) and the sphere of network care (Sphere 5—with its emphasis on links and connections).
- **Think of crossing sectors and disciplines as being on a continuum of involvement, with three reference points to help us identify the degree to which we want to connect. But as we shared, we do not want to overwhelm or distract ourselves with too much of a good thing! Crossing and “trans-ing” borders requires boundaries! <____________________________________________________________> Informed Integrated Immersed (occasionally---regularly) (conceptually---experientially) (part-time---full-time) **For us, we work as generalists with specific skills in some areas. And we regularly stay informed with some related sectors and disciplines especially human resources, organizational health, and humanitarian assistance. **So we encourage us all to cross borders (Gestalt psychology: ‘to expand our experiential boundaries” within reason) as we connect/contribute to member care: In light of our commitment to God’s Global Office and Our Global Officium. In light of our sense of call, passions etc. In light of reality grids such as the Millennium Development Goals In light of Calamities and Neglected Emergencies---natural disasters In light of Conflicts and Forgotten Wars---human-made disasters. etc. “… can we really offer justice and freedom from want to a mid-twenty-first-century earth of perhaps nine billion people, one-third of whom may live in squalor and desperation?” (Paul Kennedy, The Parliament of Man , 2006, p. 289)
- This is one of the many wise words that have helped us during the ups and downs of life and our work. It is from the Septuagint, the Greek version/translation of the Hebrew Bible circa 200 BC. Note: This text is apocraphyl and full of great advice. (apocra-full of great advice)
- Thank you for joining us for this interactive power point! We hope that the materials, our experiences, and the opportunities to reflect have been helpful for you. Feel free to contact us to share feedback or for more information. All the best as you connect and contribute to the Global Office/Officium! Remember, as you study, work, and go through life, nothing can separate you from the love of God. See you in the GoGo! Warmly, Kelly and Mich è le O’Donnell