The Power Shift: Decolonising Development

In this week’s episode, Tija speaks to us about oral traditions, reparative justice, the violence of colonisation, and how that generates intergenerational harms. We talk about the erasure of culture, the loss of language, and the role of storytelling, song, and intergenerational love and joy as part of the healing process. Tija emphasises the role of culture in addressing mental health and the intergenerational trauma of colonisation. We discuss the importance of storytelling to sustain oral history and keep the languages of colonised countries alive. Tija offers us a hopeful way forward for collective healing from the intergenerational harms of colonisation.Tija Andriamananjara is a trauma informed senior social worker from Madagascar joining us from St Paul, Minnesota (US). Her experience and background include education, child development, mental health and human services. She was a visiting educator in Madagascar at a local NGO helping children and women facing domestic violence. Her graduate studies focused on social justice and reconciliation. Her graduate practicum included working with a 3-aged group of Native American kids, youth and women. Tija published 2 children’s books with songs solely in Malagasy in late 2023 and lastly in October of this year to promote her mother tongue and familial connections through reading at home. If you’re interested to find out more about Tija’s work, take a look here:LinkedInSoaSoa LinkedInRecent work:"Mahaliana ny Mianatra" {In Awe of Learning}"Kintana Mamiratra" {StarShine}Podcast episode about traumaRecommended resources:Decolonizing Therapy - Jennifer Mullan PsyDMy Grandmother's hands - Resmaa MenakemHealing the Soul Wound - Eduardo DuranMitaraina ny tany - Andry Andraina, 1979Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence - Judith Herman, 1992 The Ancestor Syndrome - Anne Ancelin Schutzenberger, 1998The Myth of Normal - Gabor Maté, September 2022The Wild Edge of Sorrow - Francis Weller, September 2015Healing Collective Trauma - Thomas Hübl and Julie Jordan Avritt, November 2020Nonviolent Communication - Marshall Rosenberg , 2003

In this week’s episode, we speak to Silvester Kasozi from Light for the World Uganda about the systemic approach they have implemented to decolonise the way they work.Silvester speaks about the importance of involving all departments of the organisation in their approach to decolonisation, especially driving the change locally from their country offices. We discuss the challenges in putting a system in place that responds to the needs of the organisation as a whole. We talk about putting a strategy in place to approach decolonisation in multilayered ways and interrogate the issue from different perspectives. Silvester speaks of a vision for the development and humanitarian space which is founded on respect, equity, and the decentering of knowledge, where knowledge is valued regardless of its origin.Silvester Kasozi is a humanitarian and development practitioner, a sociologist by training, and currently the country director of Light for the World Uganda, an organisation that works to spark lasting change for disability rights and eye health in sub Saharan Africa. He's also the co chair for the organisation's Decolonisation Working Group and disability inclusion enthusiast. If you’re interested to find out more about Silvester's work, take a look here:Light for the World FacebookLight for the World Twitter / XLight for the World YouTubeLight for the World LinkedInRecommended resources:Organisational Decolonisation Action Plan | VIDEAACFID - Wielding and Yielding Power ToolkitMSF video on Anti-RacismAfrica is not a country

In this week’s episode, we talk to Dr Romina Istratii, who tells us about the DLDL project, which takes an interdisciplinary approach to looking at domestic violence and religious communities.We speak about co-created research which then feeds back into knowledge production and good practices in the West. This challenges Eurocentric norms around knowledge production by reversing the knowledge transfer as a way to shift power.Romina centres the importance of identity and positionality in situating decolonisation efforts, and points at humility and reflexivity as key principles of co-created and community-grounded research.Dr Romina Istratii is UKRI Future Leaders Fellow at the School of History, Religions and Philosophies at SOAS University of London. She is an interdisciplinary researcher, scholar and practitioner working across international development, gender studies, religion and theology, psychology and anthropology to address societal challenges with gender dimensions. She currently leads and manage a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship of £1.2 million in Ethiopia and the UK that responds to domestic violence in religious communities working through an interdisciplinary, decolonial and innovative partnerships model with government, NGOs and grassroots groups. For the past 13 years, she has worked in development-oriented research to promote epistemological reflexivity, ethical research practices and healthy partnerships and collaboration models. She have led numerous initiatives within and beyond the university, having initialised the Decolonising Research Initiative under the aegis of the SOAS Research Directorate and in 2020, and co-founded Decolonial Subversions in 2020. She is the author of the monograph Adapting Gender and Development to Local Religious Contexts: A Decolonial Approach to Domestic Violence in Ethiopia (Routledge, 2020).If you’re interested to find out more about Romina's work, take a look here:Dr Romina Istratii | LinkedInDr Romina Istratii | SOASRecent work:Istratii, R. and Laamann, L., eds (2024) Orthodox Churches and War Politics in Ethiopia and Ukraine: Historical, Ecclesial and Theological Reflections. Studies in World Christianity. Vol. 30, no.2.Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Relevant resources:Our multilingual website: Home - Project dldl/ድልድልOur Outputs, listed under Research, Engagement & Intergration, and Knowledge Exchange: Outputs - Project dldl/ድልድልAll our webinars and conferences on Vimeo: Project dldl/ድልድል (vimeo.com)Our theologically-grounded training manual used in workshops with Ethiopian Orthodox clergy, a programme co-created and co-delivered with EOTC DICAC: Booklet_final_English—PDF.pdf (projectdldl.org)A recent policy brief on working with religious leaders and clerics internationally to respond to DVA/GBV: Polcy Brief Template.indd (projectdldl.org)Conference proceedings from our 2022 conference in Ethiopia: Conference-Proceedings_FINAL.pdf (projectdldl.org)Trailers to our film Tidar on YouTube (which we just launched yesterday):

In this week’s episode, we talk to Shilpa Alva about Surge for Water’s model of partnership with community led organisations to address the global water crisis. Shilpa speaks about the importance of building trust and elevating the voice of community led organisations.Shilpa tells us about centering the social context and cultural norms of the communities they partner with to establish long term relationships. We also talk about maintaining an open dialogue with local partners and creating a flexible space for partnerships to change driven by the local partners’ vision.We speak about partnership models that make space for a responsible exit strategy that generates long-term revenue for local organisations.Shilpa is the founder and Executive Director of Surge for Water, a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the cycle of poverty through access to safe water and sanitation solutions. Since its founding 15 years ago, Surge has impacted hundreds of thousands of lives across 12 countries. Shilpa’s journey didn’t start in the International Development World. After graduating from Johns Hopkins University with a Chemical Engineering degree, she joined the corporate world and earned her MBA from the University of Minnesota. After a successful corporate career, she made the choice to transition to running Surge full time.If you’re interested to find out more about Shilpa’s work, take a look here:Surge for Water websiteSurge for Water LinkedInSurge for Water InstagramSurge for Water TwitterShilpa Alva LinkedIn