The Change We Want
THE CHANGE WE WANT
The change we want begins with us
We can’t just rant without being just
And make our communities feel lost
Yes, they do depend on us
Now it’s time to earn their trust
Let’s begin with our language
It’s part of our heritage
It’s not meant to spark rage
But to let everyone engage
In ways that would bring about change
We don’t need to impose
But give them the opportunity to propose
The words and terms that resonate
With the situations they want to
communicate
Let’s talk about M&E
We say we want to decolonise
Yet all we do is mechanise
Why don’t we rather humanise
All we do is expertise
Rather than strategise
Let’s engage in M&E for all
Then we would have responded to the call
Let’s continue to tell our story
Then we would have made history
We talk about community philanthropy
What does it really mean in our society
How do we ensure its sustainability
How do we handle diversity
How do we deal with complexity
What happened to accountability
And not forgetting legitimacy
We worry so much about delivery
Yet forget about credibility
How do we involve our constituencies
How do we engage our communities
How do we develop their capacities
How do we improve our facilities
These are all our responsibilities
Wait a minute, Our MANIFESTO!
We need to institutionalise
We need to contextualise
We need to actualise
We need to internalise
Then we would realise
That we didn’t compromise
The change we want begins with us
We are the change we want
Together let’s join our hands
And develop the communities we want
About the author
Mabel is a bilingual Cameroonian and holder of a bachelor's degree in Chemistry from the University of Buea. She is currently awaiting defense for her master's degree in Quality Control and Management. She has gained experience over the years as a volunteer and has worked in some local Non-Governmental Organisations in the domain of community development. She is passionate about empowering young girls.
At WACSI, she works with the Capacity Development unit as the Programme Assistant where she provides support in the facilitation of training sessions.
