Orphans as agents for change
Transformative experiences can happen at unexpected times, in unexpected ways. This paper tells the story of how a gift of a goat can lead to the transformation of a life. Many organisations globally are engaged in a struggle to overcome poverty and injustice by providing livestock as a means for tr...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Sciendo
2015-12-01
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| Series: | International Journal for Transformative Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/ijtr-2015-0008 |
| _version_ | 1797334125067108352 |
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| author | Gjotterud Sigrid Mari Krogh Erling Dyngeland Cecilie Mwakasumba Nicholaus Solomon |
| author_facet | Gjotterud Sigrid Mari Krogh Erling Dyngeland Cecilie Mwakasumba Nicholaus Solomon |
| author_sort | Gjotterud Sigrid Mari |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Transformative experiences can happen at unexpected times, in unexpected ways. This paper tells the story of how a gift of a goat can lead to the transformation of a life. Many organisations globally are engaged in a struggle to overcome poverty and injustice by providing livestock as a means for transformation. The animals in themselves are not enough for the transformed lives; they can be a valuable starting point. In the Uluguru Mountains in Tanzania, a Tanzanian and a Norwegian together took one such initiative in order to support teen-age orphans, one of the most vulnerable groups in the community who were struggling to survive. As practitioners and researchers, the four authors had been taking part in the development of the Mgeta Orphan Education Foundation (MOEF), which had developed through action learning/action research. Selected students received a goat and training, and the opportunity to join and develop a network of orphans throughout the region. In this article, we discuss the benefits and challenges the orphaned youngsters face when joining the foundation. How do they benefit from having the goat and what are the challenges, how do they learn and how do they contribute to fellow farmers in their communities? We claim that many of the students have experienced transformation, and provide examples to give evidence of this claim. However, the students are not the only ones who are transforming; so are we who, as co-researchers, have had the opportunity to play a role in and witness their efforts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T08:15:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-27aaf322d57e43268c67899c1d79e819 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2353-5415 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T08:15:10Z |
| publishDate | 2015-12-01 |
| publisher | Sciendo |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal for Transformative Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-27aaf322d57e43268c67899c1d79e8192024-02-02T07:30:55ZengSciendoInternational Journal for Transformative Research2353-54152015-12-012231510.1515/ijtr-2015-0008ijtr-2015-0008Orphans as agents for changeGjotterud Sigrid Mari0Krogh Erling1Dyngeland Cecilie2Mwakasumba Nicholaus Solomon3University of Life Sciences, NorwayNorwegian University of Life Sciences, NorwayThe University of Sheffield, Sheffield Institute for International development, Department of Animal & Plant Sciences, EnglandMgeta Orphan Education Foundation (MOEF)Transformative experiences can happen at unexpected times, in unexpected ways. This paper tells the story of how a gift of a goat can lead to the transformation of a life. Many organisations globally are engaged in a struggle to overcome poverty and injustice by providing livestock as a means for transformation. The animals in themselves are not enough for the transformed lives; they can be a valuable starting point. In the Uluguru Mountains in Tanzania, a Tanzanian and a Norwegian together took one such initiative in order to support teen-age orphans, one of the most vulnerable groups in the community who were struggling to survive. As practitioners and researchers, the four authors had been taking part in the development of the Mgeta Orphan Education Foundation (MOEF), which had developed through action learning/action research. Selected students received a goat and training, and the opportunity to join and develop a network of orphans throughout the region. In this article, we discuss the benefits and challenges the orphaned youngsters face when joining the foundation. How do they benefit from having the goat and what are the challenges, how do they learn and how do they contribute to fellow farmers in their communities? We claim that many of the students have experienced transformation, and provide examples to give evidence of this claim. However, the students are not the only ones who are transforming; so are we who, as co-researchers, have had the opportunity to play a role in and witness their efforts.https://doi.org/10.1515/ijtr-2015-0008action researchcommunity developmenttransformative researchtransformative learning |
| spellingShingle | Gjotterud Sigrid Mari Krogh Erling Dyngeland Cecilie Mwakasumba Nicholaus Solomon Orphans as agents for change International Journal for Transformative Research action research community development transformative research transformative learning |
| title | Orphans as agents for change |
| title_full | Orphans as agents for change |
| title_fullStr | Orphans as agents for change |
| title_full_unstemmed | Orphans as agents for change |
| title_short | Orphans as agents for change |
| title_sort | orphans as agents for change |
| topic | action research community development transformative research transformative learning |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1515/ijtr-2015-0008 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gjotterudsigridmari orphansasagentsforchange AT krogherling orphansasagentsforchange AT dyngelandcecilie orphansasagentsforchange AT mwakasumbanicholaussolomon orphansasagentsforchange |