Karuna-Shechen is in the process of formalizing a new intervention model called the Altruism in Action Model, which places community participation at the center of all stages of development and implementation, which makes it both fundamental and indispensable. The Altruism in Action Model outlines the technical modalities for implementing community participation with trust and effectiveness.
The purpose of this article is to clearly describe this model, so that those who accompany and support Karuna in its projects can have an accurate understanding of what is happening on the ground. This model is crucial for our organization as it represents a major shift in professionalizing and applying the vision of interventions, explicitly and indisputably emphasizing the partnership between Karuna and the communities it serves.
From Beneficiaries to Altruistic Decision-Makers
Over the years, the humanitarian sector has evolved towards increased engagement of the communities being supported. The perception of the people receiving support has changed to the point of rejecting the term “beneficiary,” which implies a passive reception of aid. This progressive paradigm shift is relevant to Karuna-Shechen.
It is associated the sector’s desire to modify the intervention structure from a “community-centered” model in which the targeted population is involved with external consultants only in conversations about project design and management to a “community led model” in which the communities now participate in the entire the process: project identification, design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. Karuna has been doing this for years now. The two guiding principles of this model are that every person has the right to make decisions for themselves and that they are best placed to do so.
The focus is no longer on providing external solutions in a complex context but on accompanying communities in implementing the solutions they want to put in place, valuing natural resources and local knowledge, and providing them with tools, technical expertise, and financial support. Karuna-Shechen, whose approach was previously based on its experience and of other organizations, has now created its own intervention model: the Altruism in Action Model.
This model formalizes and systematizes the best practices of Small Money Big Change (SmBC) created by Shamsul Akthar (the director of Karuna-Shechen India), the National Solidarity Program in Afghanistan, and the Community-Driven Development (CDD) model worldwide. It enables genuine co-design and co-implementation of projects because individuals in the target communities are involved from the beginning and are considered equal partners with the intention of becoming fully empowered altruistic decision-makers.
Better Future Councils
The fundamental characteristic of the Altruism in Action Model is the creation of Better Future Councils (BFC).
In the targeted regions, villages are grouped into clusters that constitute the project’s intervention area. Each cluster represents approximately 5,000 people and comprises 2 to 10 villages. In each village the inhabitants elect or designate a male and a female resident to represent their village and the pairs from all the villages in the cluster form the Better Future Council. Karuna assigns a woman and a man to serve each council.
The inhabitants of each village are responsible for selecting their pair, with certain conditions: these individuals must permanently reside in the village, have not committed crimes or human rights violations, be available and willing to work for the benefit of the community, and share Karuna’s values. Specific criteria exist in each country, such as the minimum age requirement of 20 years in Nepal and 18 years in India. Before these representatives are selected, their names are displayed in the village so that any potential concerns can be addressed and systematically investigated.
Representatives are chosen to serve for one to three years, with a maximum of two consecutive terms, depending on the context and results from the pilot projects. They are volunteers (with reimbursement of expenses related to their role, such as transportation or accommodation). They receive training in community communication, project management cycle, participatory project planning (including co-identification of priorities and co-design), budgeting, emotional intelligence, and Karuna’s values of compassion and altruism. If possible, exchanges with individuals participating in similar organizations in the region are facilitated.
Once the BFC is formed, representatives appoint operational members within the group, who receive additional specific training. Individuals are chosen to serve as president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer.
BFCs at the core of the model
The Better Future Council brings the pairs of village representatives from each cluster together for monthly meetings. These representatives also organize monthly meetings with the residents of their respective villages during which they listen to the concerns and needs of the villagers and exchange ideas, thus ensuring accurate representation. The BFC plays a central role in all stages of the project:
- Co-identification of needs, issues, and available resources
- Co-design of projects
- Co-implementation of activities
- Co-monitoring and evaluation of the intervention and its impact
Sub-committees can be created at the discretion of the Council members. For example, sub-committees can be responsible for drafting project proposals or monitoring their progress. They can also be organized based on intervention themes.
In addition to their central involvement in all project management cycle stages, BFC members ensure coordination and cooperation with local authorities, other on-site associations, and any other relevant stakeholders. They are responsible for ensuring inclusivity (non-discrimination, gender equity, empowerment of marginalized groups), efficiency (preventing corruption and conflicts of interest, monitoring costs), and good governance (transparency, accountability, decision-making procedures).
The organization of community participation through a cluster council composed of representatives from different villages thus promotes the active participation of communities and the consideration of their specificities, similar to village-scale projects. Through this model the impact is tangible and measurable as the covered territory is not too large and, economies of scale, as well as production pooling, sharing of expertise, resources, and networks, are still achievable.
Compassion Motivators
Compassion motivators from villages in each cluster facilitate smooth, stable, and mutually trusting relationships between Karuna-Shechen and the communities. Together with members of the BFC and under supervision of Karuna-Shechen program supervisors they coordinate the activities and projects while maintaining connections with the residents.
- Facilitate the appointment of village representatives
- Verify that the chosen representatives meet the established criteria
- Co-facilitate community meetings with the selected representatives
- Organize and lead cluster councils
- Support council members in drafting project proposals
They play a crucial role in providing support and coordination, ensuring that everyone finds their place within the intervention model and is informed and integrated in the best possible way.
Supporting the holistic response defined by communities
The Altruism in Action model created by Karuna-Shechen aims to better address the goal that the organization has pursued since its inception: breaking the cycle of intense poverty. To achieve this, the multidimensional nature of poverty must be taken into account. The vulnerable individuals that Karuna supports are affected by multiple interconnected aspects. Living in an isolated village reduces access to resources such as diverse food or education. Lack of education limits professional opportunities, especially those that require leaving the village. Limited opportunities hinder economic development, which in turn limits income and access to resources that are further depleted due to the environmental crisis. Focussing on and addressing only one of these factors cannot support people in lifting themselves out of poverty.
Karuna-Shechen has expertise and experience operating in five interconnected sectors: food security, health, economic development, environment, and education.The issues raised by the residents are managed according to these categories but, if an emerging issue does not fit into one of them it can still be addressed by collaborating with an association with relevant experience on the subject.
The criteria for selecting the issues to address through our projects include the identification of the most pressing common challenges, those that cause the most difficulty for villagers and those that affect the largest number of people. Based on this information, the Council for a Better Future, supported by compassion motivators, gathers to draft project proposals. After this significant and profound work, meetings are organized to present these proposals to the communities and reach agreement before sending them to the international program director for joint validation with the senior management team, which is composed of the country directors, program directors, finance directors and monitoring and evaluation directors of each country. The project is then presented to Karuna’s Board of Directors approval by the Board of Directors. Once the proposals are finalized and have undergone the entire validation process, BFC members disseminate the information to the communities.
A community-driven project
A kick-off meeting is held to explain the project again, identify problems, misunderstandings, tensions, and attempt to resolve them. Monitoring and evaluation procedures and the complaint and feedback mechanisms are all clarified. This allows residents to provide anonymous or non-anonymous feedback to improve the project and raise issues or concerns they may have.
Similar to the smBC model envisioned by Shamsul Akhtar,(which inspired the Altruism in Action model), community members can contribute financially to the implemented project when applicable. The contribution ratio is defined during the project’s co-design process, and the funds are collected and transferred through a bank account jointly created by the male and female village representatives and a Karuna-Shechen employee. Co-financing enables communities to feel involved, and as a result, they naturally take ownership of project management.
Altruism at the heart of actions
Altruism is the core value that Karuna-Shechen embraces, through advocacy and on-the-ground interventions.
At Karuna-Shechen, various practices have been implemented to foster the altruistic potential of each member. This includes daily meditation, regular workshops on emotional intelligence, and opportunities to participate in programs such as MBSR. Work values that promote a positive culture have been collectively established, creating a culture of positivity. These values include embodying teamwork, cultivating joy, listening attentively, being compassionate, remaining efficient, embracing the unknown, expressing gratitude, and using truthful speech.
Acknowledging the importance of altruism and emotional intelligence in the work culture, Karuna-Shechen meetings always begin with a collective meditation to cultivate presence and intention. Each member has the opportunity to express their inner state during a roundtable discussion. Members are actively encouraged to integrate this culture of kindness towards themselves, their colleagues, and the individuals participating in the programs. This is also facilitated through online resource tools for our staff and through bilingual workshops on emotional intelligence, which promote international cohesion.
The values of Altruism and Emotional Intelligence guide Karuna Shechen’s methods and objectives.. Altruistic behavior is also encouraged in the communities we partner with and the people who participate in our programs.. For example, within educational programs, the playful exercises offered to children aim to enhance cooperation. Awareness workshops for adolescents also place altruism and solidarity at the core of the discussion.
Therefore, altruism is the common thread connecting all of Karuna-Shechen’s actions: it is both the method and the objective.
Conclusion
This intervention model, created and refined over the past two years within Karuna-Shechen, is now being tested in real-life through two pilot projects located in the organization’s new intervention regions: Terai in Nepal and Darjeeling in India.
The collaboration between the organization and the communities follows this model from the outset, which is intended to be adaptable to different contexts and modifiable based on lessons learned over time. The modalities defined in the model serve as a reference framework for project implementation. Nonetheless, flexibility is a fundamental characteristic of the model: parameters will be adjusted and fine-tuned based on needs, possibilities, results, and feedback from those implementing and experiencing the programs.
This Altruism in Action model is a framework that brings together numerous scientific and empirical analyses. Designing and conducting pilot implementations is a valuable opportunity to improve and formalize it, enabling the dissemination of practices that allow for genuine community participation with all Karuna teams.
Glossary
smBC: Small Money Big Change, a model conceived by Shamsul Akthar, director of Karuna-Shechen India, which involves providing small amounts of money to community members to empower them (e.g., establishing a micro-enterprise). It is a community planned-community managed model which positions the underserved communities as development actors, engaging them in project planning and management rather than treating them as passive beneficiaries. Starting with 5 remote villages in Bihar in 2013, smBC is currently implemented across all our intervention areas in Bihar and Jharkhand, touching rural lives through the construction of toilets, wells, ponds, dams, culvert and so on. smBC is premised on the three principles of Good Governance namely, Participation, Transparency and Accountability. The program involves active Participation of the rural communities at every step of the smBC project right from the planning stage. Financial transactions are made through the Joint Bank Account held by the concerned community members and Karuna-Shechen India. This ensures Accountability of both sides towards the project. Moreover, real time data is discussed with members of the beneficiary community and prepared at the project worksite in order to ensure Transparency.
CM : Compassion Motivators. These individuals, employed by Karuna-Shechen, live in the communities where they work. Their role is to build trust between their community and the organization, serving as intermediaries and facilitators. They also support the Better Future Councils in project governance, in partnership with Karuna-Shechen.
BFC : Better Future Council, representing the voice of the communities within the partnership with Karuna-Shechen. These councils consist of community members (one woman and one man representing each village in the cluster of villages). The BFC co-designs, co-implements, and co-evaluates programs with the organization.
CDD : Community-Driven Development, a development model characterized by heightened community participation at ALL stages. This model differs from CBD (Community-Based Development), in which the individuals who will be affected by the program are only involved in preliminary planning conversations and consultations.
