26-10
We wrote back to the young health worker, saying that if such a community
existed, its people were probably already working toward social change. And if so,
they might do better without the help of an ‘outsider’ like himself. We encouraged
him to continue working in his own village, and to look for ways of awakening
people to their own ability to change things that affect their lives.
We pointed out that, for 16 years, the village health team that we helped get
started has been trying to get poor farmers in their villages to work together against
the abuses of local authorities and landholders. But it has been only in the last 3 or
4 years that any significant, if small, advances have been made.
Those who work with people toward social change need a great
deal of courage, love, and patience. For change depends on the self-
confidence and cooperative action of the people themselves.
Unfortunately, those whose health needs are greatest are often those whose
opinion of themselves and their own abilities is lowest. These are the poor in
villages and city slums who, no matter how hard they work, rarely seem to get
ahead. Most of the decisions that shape their lives are made by others—by those
who control the land, the wages, the rents, the prices, and the
laws. Because the poor are denied enough land or wages to
adequately care for their families, they are often hungry and in debt.
For their health and survival they become increasingly dependent
on the aid and ‘good will’ of those in control. They learn that it is
safest to suffer in silence, without question. Even without anger.
In time, those on the bottom begin to see
themselves as the rich see them-worthless and
lazy. They believe they are incapable of learning new
skills or dealing adequately with their own needs.
What choice do they have but to silently accept their
fate? They suffer exploitation without protest. They
obediently serve those who make decisions for them.
And they celebrate with explosive abandon when there
is an opportunity to temporarily forget the burden of
day-to-day subsistence.
People who have long been on the bottom of the social order may also have
come to fear the responsibilities that equality, social justice, and personal freedom
require. Since childhood, they have been taught to defend the social order as
it exists, and are suspicious of ‘troublemakers’ who seek to change it. For this
reason, the health worker who speaks out against unfair or unhealthy doings in
his community may find himself rejected even by those whose interests he is
struggling to defend!
The biggest obstacle to change is the idea that change is impossible. The
most important beginning moment in working toward change is when people
achieve some success, no matter how small, in improving something they had never
considered could be changed. On pages 26-36 through 26-38 are some examples of
such successes.