Fullness of life

The projects we do to help poor people almost always concentrate on physical needs. Nothing wrong with this; the hungry need food, the destitute need clothes and the sick need medical care.

In these days of “participation” the poor tell us they need these things when we do our research, and usually we agree with them. But we also know that meeting those basic, physical needs is not the whole story.

This week I’ve been away from home at United Mission to Nepal’s annual 'Learning Review' where we all meet to share our experiences and learn from each other.

I made a presentation on our use of the United Nations' Multidimensional Poverty Index – no surprises there and I even received a UMN award for 'Innovation and Creativity' in recognition of its value. But the other session I led was rather different.

At UMN we’re always encouraging each other to think more widely about our work. Recently we’ve developed a concept to help us do this.

We’ve called the concept 'Fullness of Life', from Jesus’ well-known words in John 10: 10. Fullness of Life isn’t the neat, measurable situation assessment colleagues expect me to be promoting.

Instead it proposes six aspects of Fullness of Life to encourage discussion outside the conventional, technical development mindset. We want this discussion to expand understanding, open minds and point towards change that really will bring Fullness of Life.

I was able to initiate a good discussion and received some exciting insights and ideas. For once I’m looking forward to being back in the office next week, when we can look at the detail and see where the discussion is taking us.

Meanwhile the sick still need medical care. Katrina is away at Patan Academy of Medical Sciences Advisory Committee meetings, at least that’s what I think they call it. They’re discussing how to bring medical care to the poor rural parts of Nepal that medical services don’t currently reach.

Martin Butterworth, BMS worker in Nepal