Purim in Jerusalem

They seemed to come out of nowhere: there were angels and demons, cowboys and witches, Mad Hatters and Cheshire Cats. I know I had been travelling for a while and it was 3:00am, but seriously, I was not hallucinating - on the main highway into Jerusalem, near the Ramallah turn off - there were groups of young people, who didn't seem to be drunk or stoned, dressed up and dancing on the road!

Welcome to Jerusalem! (See some of my photos in the slide show.)

I had no idea what was going on but decided to keep it to myself until, as I walked through the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, I saw more and more strange, 'happy' people. Adults, children, grandparents and teenagers all dressed up in costumes with faces painted. On Ben Yehuda Street, the main street of West Jerusalem, there were two orthodox Jewish men dancing to very loud music wearing jester hats to the delights of passers by and locals.

Finally I hear, its the Purim festival, a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot be Haman, (read the book of Esther in the Bible). A rather bizarre but happy welcome to the Holy Land.

In the meantime, day 1- I have had the privilege of walking some of the Via Dolorosa, wandering through the Old City, visiting some of the Chapels, Churches and Cathedrals and meeting some of the locals, all who have "half price sales today, sir, only look!"

Tomorrow and in the days ahead I will be visiting some of the projects that we manage in the region, amongst them child friendly spaces, women's empowerment, Keeping Children Safe Online and economic development for marginalised people. So, hopefully, more to come...

Collaboration

I had the privilege of leading a session here in Albania on collaborative leadership. Here’s some of what I said -

It’s amazing what can be accomplished when instead of defaulting to competition we opt for and work towards collaboration! Leadership that builds consensus and collaboration does not necessarily come naturally to people. We are all human beings and therefore, at least a little selfish.

The most efficient way to lead, if you want to be completely pragmatic about it, is dictatorship. But power corrupts and whilst decisions will get made and orders are carried out, often those decisions are bad. Dictatorship, even benevolent dictatorship, is neither healthy nor endorsed by any faith or religion.

So, what does collaborative leadership look like? Rather than marching at the front of the line we come alongside people; we ask questions, then listen well, encourage and strengthen. We don’t do people’s work for them, but we do coach and encourage them. A collaborative leader remembers that the goal is both accomplishing the task and building the strength of the team.

Collaborative leaders are alongsiders. They truly believe that the people on their team might have a solution to a problem that they hadn’t thought of and are not threatened by that. They are willing to help and to be helped, to speak but also to listen, to teach but also to learn.

Collaboration is not the same as delegation - where the leader tells others what to do. Rather, a collaborative leader listens and actually expects the people she leads to solve problems and move forward together.

Collaborative leadership is completely dependent on Trust and Trust is built by Character, Competency and Vulnerability.

Character is being who you say you are, making sure your No is No and your Yes is Yes, making sure your promises are kept – being honest, being truthful, being kind – being a person of integrity.

Competency is about using your abilities and gifts to do your job well and properly. It’s marked by your willingness to combine your knowledge, your skills and your behaviours in an effort to engage people and effect a transformation.

Vulnerability is about being a learner, being willing to say “I don’t know, teach me”. Vulnerability is not about weakness - it’s strength! It’s about putting others before selfish ambition and goal, it’s about inclusion and acceptance even at the risk of rejection, it’s about designing in the face of reality rather than idealistic utopianism – and being willing to change, adapt and fail. (But it’s not generally what the world expects!)

We are charged to be people of collaboration! Not outsider professionals or disengaged managers, not insiders protecting an agenda or a portfolio – but alongsiders, transformers, learners, and leaders.The easy way may be dictatorship. The harder, messier, chaotic, unpredictable - but more sustainable and empowering way is collaboration, interrelation and transformation.

I suggest to you today that the greatest example (and risk) of collaboration is the relationship of humanity with God. You and I are God’s collaborative approach to the future – we are the sustainability plan.

Mother Teresa, in whose homeland (Albania) I write today, challenges us with her words:

People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centred.

   Love them anyway.

If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives.

   Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies.

   Succeed anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.

   Do good anyway.

Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable.

   Be honest and transparent anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.

   Build anyway.
People who really want help may attack you if you help them.
   Help them anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt.

   Give the world your best anyway.

<< MY PRAYER FOR YOU >>

May we seek to know ourselves, with all our complexities,
    as only The Creator (Al-Khaliq) knows us.
May we come to accept ourselves, with all our strengths and weaknesses,
    as only The Giver of Life (Al-Muhyi) accepts us.
And may we allow the Merciful God (Ar-Rahim)
    to change us more and more into true reflection of The Provider (Ar-Razzaq).
Amen.

Snow Fall

It's about a 15 minute taxi ride from my hotel to the foot of Mt Dajti and the start of the longest and highest Gondola cable car ride I have ever been on. It spans 4.2km, rises across the valleys and up the 1.6km high mountain at a speed of about 6m per second, which means the ride takes about 13 minutes.

The clouds were low, but not on the mountain as my Gondola rose up the mountain this morning, but I had only been on top of the mountain about 10 minutes, taken the obligatory photos of the city from the cliffs edge, walked up towards the forest when the clouds came down, and so did the snow. At first it was wet and sharp but it soon turned into light but steady flakes which quickly covered the old snow carpet and turned the whole mountain into quite a beautiful 'christmas postcard' with pine trees dusted with fresh snow and previously quiet, sober adults and young people into snow ball throwing monsters.

Mt Dajti is a beautiful place. A national park with some nice walks - but this morning, even the horses were trying to find shelter. There's a rotating bar seven stories above the mountain top, but this morning there was no view - just a curtain of cloud and snow. With a hotel and a couple of restautants this 'balcony of Tirana' was an amazing refresher for me - and not just because it was freezing.

Land of the Eagle

Over night clouds have descended over colourful Tirana (capital city of Albania) and the snow capped mountains to the east block out a hopeful glimmer of sunshine. The temperature has dropped and the rain is falling steadily. But despite the gloomy outlook, the city laid out before me, home to about one million people is, to me, a fascinating mosaic of the unusual and the fascinating, the depressing and the hopeful.

Just across the way is a once grand marble and glass pyramid erected many years ago to celebrate a past dictator, a man that ruled over Albania for about 40 years and announced Albania to be the world's first 'atheist state'. Since his departure and the movement of the country to a Republic, some have demanded it's destruction - not wanting to celebrate a dismal period: others, more pragmatic, have advocated for its conversion to a worthwhile purpose. But today it stands as a sorry sight painted with graffiti, glass broken, marble damaged and dirty - once proud but now embarrassing.

A little further around, bordering Skanderberg Square a huge colourful mosaic billboard dominates the skyline and the front of the National Museum, whilst next to it the Opera House or the Palace of Culture stand guard around the statue of Skanderbeg on his horse, the hero of Albanian liberation from the Ottoman Empire.

The buildings of the city are colourful. As you look into the distance toward the mountains the houses and apartment buildings are painted all kinds of pastel colours - reminding me of a painting by Max Beckamnn. But prominent in the scene are the large modern St Paul's Cathedral with it's beautiful stained glass window celebrating Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa and just around the corner a brand new Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania, with it's rich gold trim and towering bell tower. (The colourful icon frescoes on the walls are still being painted.)

In the foreground of this picture a park with a pond and fountain are already alive with the 'children of the eagle', (one of the meanings given to the Albanian name). Despite the steady rain and the cold temperature, people are meeting for coffee. This, my local friend tells me is code for, "let's talk". Family and community are the central cog of the culture - relationship and friendship are the currency.

I don't pretend to be an expert on Albania or her people, but from my very short time here I have heard people speak of hope in a way that gives me confidence that, despite the enormous and myriad challenges they face, the future is in good hands.

To Albania and Palestine

Tonight I completed the first part of my journey that has brought me to Tirana, the capital city of Albania, where I will attend and a regional Development, Learning and Impact conference, before meeting with Youth and implementing partners who are part of our Youth Empowerment and Anti-Trafficking project.

Tirana is the first stop on this trip that will take me on to Palestine, where amongst other things, I will meet with youth in Gaza and Bethlehem who are part of the same Regional project.

As with most of my first visits into countries in this part of the world, I was not sure what to expect and, since I arrived at dusk, I am not sure what the city looks like yet. But the scenery on the way in was amazing. I flew into Tirana

It was cold, 10 C, and high, snow capped mountains guarded the airport and the city beyond. But then as I was driven into the city to my hotel, it didn't take long to remember what driving was like in this part of the world. A Mercedes taxi cut in front of us and across three 'lanes'; my driver used his horn to voice his protest before a bright yellow Lamborghini roared past and came to a fast stop as the traffic found five lanes on a three lane road, while other vehicles just stopped and parked wherever they wanted.

But that's just first impressions, perhaps in the cold light of day tomorrow I'll have something different to report.

Sri Lanka, mama enewa (මම එනේව)

I’m moving on - but not far! 

Soon, I will be taking on a new challenge for World Vision Australia as the Program Advisor for South Asia.

This means that after 22 months I will be shifting my focus eastward from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Eastern Europe to Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. As Program Advisor I will take a strategic overview of the region whilst mentoring, coaching and supporting program managers responsible for four of the countries - but, Sri Lanka is my special responsibility.

For those that know me, this is an exciting opportunity! Having grown up in Sri Lanka and worked there off and on over the last 15 years the opportunity to focus my attention on managing World Vision Australia’s engagement with World Vision Lanka is a great privilege. (Someone is going to pay me to visit my Sri Lankan family - oh and work too I guess!)

World Vision Lanka is "restoring the right to dream” throughout the island. Working in 20 districts and 1,120 villages, the 500 plus (fulltime) staff work to transform the lives of approximately 240,000 children and 150,000 families.

Amongst these “dreamers” is Niroma, who is now in her final year of medical training at the Anuradhapura Base Hospital. She says: “I always wanted to be a doctor when I grew up, but I knew it was difficult for my parents to support all three of us to get through school. But my parents always said that education is the only way to get out of poverty. So I wanted to study hard... [and] with World Vision coming to my village things changed.” Niroma was supported to be in school, she learnt English, she was helped with school supplies, and “my first stethoscope is a gift from World Vision.” (Statistics and story from: WV Lanka Annual Report)

So, after some exciting opportunities and learning lots from the people I have had the privilege of meeting in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Eastern Europe, (thank you to you all) I move on to learn more about my second home, and get involved in the lives of a new group of people in Nepal, Bangladesh, India and the Philippines.