Lately, I’ve been parachuting in and out of Memphis Tennessee, Maple Valley Washington and various corners of the beautiful province of British Columbia here in Canada.
Not literally, of course, though the travel bug inside me has certainly been awakened.
It’s through conversation I’ve had the pleasure of connecting to these regions in new ways as we, at Axiom News, have started work with three new clients.
Upon first glance, the Center for Transforming Communities (CTC) in Memphis, the Tahoma School District in Washington and the B.C. Aboriginal Mine Training Association (BC AMTA) might have little in common.
But in my conversations with a wide variety of people connected to each organization, I’ve begun to discover that education is the key thread that binds these groups together, that and their desire to share their stories and develop their narratives through generative journalism.
The CTC seeks to support a resurgence of the city of Memphis by connecting community development agencies and ministries — of which there are many — under the concept of shalom, which suggests that each person who gives of him or her self to enhance a neighbour’s life will reap the rewards in their own soul.
Our work with the organization has shone a light upon this work in the lead-up to a gathering of 300 community members in Memphis hosted by three thought leaders in spirituality and community development.
Strangers of like-mind learned from each other and the seeds of change were planted, but I believe ongoing growth and understanding through peer-to-peer, agency-to-agency education will be required if these seeds are to flourish.
In the minds of many Maple Valley residents, education through the Tahoma School district is the cornerstone of the community. The small district in a middle-class town punches well above its weight in terms of excellence, and yet it finds itself struggling to maintain that quality as the schools grow more overcrowded and the infrastructures crumble.
To address the challenge, the community must support an injection of funds through increased taxes in the form of a successful bond measure, which it failed to do in the spring of 2011.
My job is to help shine a light on what makes the district successful in the face of mounting challenges, and regardless of what happens when a new bond measure is proposed, I find inspiration in this small town in a corner of the U.S., which I most likely would never have come across, and the passion the people have to make sure their young people have the best chance at a future through education.
And it’s a new future that BC AMTA is helping Aboriginal people in B.C., discover through training and education. Close to 400 people from 150 different First Nations bands have found meaningful employment in a sector that is hungry for skilled workers, thanks to BC AMTA and each candidate’s determination to succeed.
More than 60 per cent of these people transitioned from unemployment, and they’re admired in their communities as they inspire others to consider new possibilities.
There is strength and vision in abundance in connection to all three organizations, and behind it all there is grand desire to share knowledge as the basis for a better future — and they’re pretty fun stories to tell.
Feel free to leave your comments below or e-mail kristian(at)axiomnews.ca.
