Changing Voices

Posted on 02 February 2009

The blog has been silent for a while as we’ve undergone a transition at the Hauser Center.  I’m delighted to announce that Sherine Jayawickrama, who’s served in a variety of leadership positions with CARE USA over the past ten years, is taking over responsibility for the Center’s work with humanitarian NGOs, which includes writing this blog.

I know Sherine will offer a perspective that’s provocative, thoughtful, and grounded in reality.  I look forward to her analysis and to joining the dialogue alongside the rest of you – and posting guest commentary occasionally!

Since it’s my final official post, I’m taking the prerogative to end with a personal story.  During the holidays I took a friend visiting from Australia to see Over the Rhine (OTR), one of Cincinnati’s best-loved bands (I live in Cincy and have been tele-commuting for my work at Harvard).  OTR’s holiday show at the Taft Theatre is a local tradition and not to be missed.

Between sets, a volunteer approached and asked if we’d like to sponsor a child through World Vision.  Not something I expect at a rock concert.  I already do so, as a Christmas gift for some nieces and nephews – they get the letters and information about the child.  I figured it was a good way for them to make a friend and learn about a new place, and if it sparked some compassion, all the better.

The second surprise came when Kieran responded that he sponsored a child too.  We hadn’t seen each other in 17 years, since playing the minor leagues of professional tennis in France.  He’s a playwright and lyricist now, and the artist’s life hasn’t been particularly lucrative, but he is committed to being a good global citizen.

Toward the end of the show, Linford Detweiler, who with his wife leads OTR, waded into a story about the death of his father earlier in the year.  On March 15, during the band’s load-out in Birmingham, he received a call with the unexpected news.  As he tried to deal with the loss, he decided to sponsor a child born on March 15.  It brought a certain measure of closure and redemption, and the band committed itself to signing up new sponsors for World Vision at each concert.

I was struck by the connectedness of it all.  We spanned four continents among us (including the children being sponsored), and through one organization we were finding a way to serve each other.   Amidst the analysis and theoretical frames and dialogues about strategic challenges, it was nice to be reminded that, at a basic level, these enterprises help us acknowledge and give meaning to our common humanity – help us do for each other what we can – despite distance, cultural and economic differences, and political boundaries.  That’s why they’re important.  They’re models of a twenty-first century community, these NGOs.  That’s why it’s important we get them right.

I’ve enjoyed sharing my thoughts and analysis over the past year, and I look forward to following where Sherine and you take this dialogue next.  Thanks.