Aloysius P. Fernandez
January 1, 1993

1. During the past year and a half we have spent considerable time and effort to streamline organisational matters. No doubt this was necessary because the expansion of MYRADA and the dissimilar situations prevailing in various projects, especially during the start-up phases of each one, had required ad-hoc decisions. While the variety of MYRADA’s partners also fostered these differences, the decentralisation of programmes and authority which was promoted during the latter part of the 80’s was mainly responsible for allowing diversity in organisational procedures to continue even where partners were quite open to change and where these differences were no longer required to cope with the local situation and had begun to be taken for granted. Some of our donors also tended to focus exclusively on procedures. Together, therefore, the dominant message conveyed to the staff during the past year and a half was that procedures were not only important but that compliance with procedures was the only factor on which performance was assessed. During 1993, we intend to change the message; not to deny the previous one but to balance it with a strong focus on Mission; we will also consider the impact of the Mission on the organisation internally, namely in its style of functioning, and externally in its programmes and linkages with people’s institutions, Government and other NGOs. This focus on the Mission will logically result in a stronger message on the importance of certain core values within MYRADA, on the fostering of participatory processes and institutions in our programmes, on the importance of innovation and commitment and on the need to work together and to rise above petty jealousies, self interest and politics of which, being human, MYRADA has itsfair share.

2. This is not the first time that MYRADA has focused on its Mission. Way back during 1984 - 85 our staff spent considerable time in evolving a Mission Statement. The potential of each staff to implement this Mission was assessed in a participative manner with the peer group playing a major role in the exercise. On the basis of the findings, a HRD programme was designed to help develop staff potential to realise the Mission of the organisation. As a result of the programme  which spread over 2 years, the  organisation developed a good second line of leadership and shared a common approach. The study entitled "Management by Values" carried out in 1988 - 89 indicated that people’s participation, self-reliance and equity were high priorities on the value profile and were practiced within the organisation as well as in its approach and strategy. To my mind, the Mission Statement is still valid; however the organisation has absorbed new and innovative experiences during the past few years and a few modifications in the Mission Statement may be called for in order to reflect its present position more adequately.

3. The time has come, therefore, to shift gear again. No organisation can remain relevant if it does not make an effort periodically to revive and assess its Mission in the context of changing realities. Attitudes harden quicker than arteries. Therefore, this exercise is required atleast once in three to five years in order to remind older staff of the Mission and the values and strategies it incorporates, besides being necessary for new staff who join the organisation and need to absorb its culture. There is also an all-round deterioration in social and moral values which is bound to influence the staff. I am referring here not only to the increasing acceptance of corruption as a way of life, but also to the declining commitment to sincere and regular work, the increasing consumerism fostered by commercial television (TV) which reaches every home, and the increasing pressures to put career and self before the needs of others. It is even more imperative to nurture a value system for social workers who, like teachers and lawyers (and perhaps religious persons), cannot separate their work from their lives. All three categories nurture and uphold values in society. Therefore, even if they are excellent, committed and honest during working hours, they cannot afford to get drunk, steal, use foul language or disturb family relations after office hours. These remarks are not meant to cast aspersions on any one in particular, but to remind ourselves that complacency can easily set in unless we are constantly aware of our Mission and of the responsibilities it places on us. With the growing demand for MYRADA staff to share the organisations experiences outside the project areas, each staff is an ambassador whose clarity and coherence in thinking and presentation and whose behaviour on and off the field throughout the stay are essential dimensions of MYRADA’s message.

4. Before we consider the Mission further, however, it may be useful to dwell on the organisations VISION. A Vision can be roughly described as ‘how would we like the world to be’. From my discussions with colleagues during the past year the general picture I get is that most of us old like to have a world where there is no poverty. But what does this mean? We surely need to be little more precise or descriptive. An effort in this direction, indicates that we want everyone to have adequate shelter and clothes so that they can live like respectable human beings with a degree of dignity; together with these assets, they should also have adequate income generating opportunities to enable them to have not only sufficient  nourishment to live a normal and health life, but also to have adequate surplus to meet emergencies and to invest in a better future, at least, in terms of their children’s education. It is this vision that prompted me to urge programmes to focus on ensuring that every poor family can have at least a pucca house and two income generating programmes to meet daily needs and to generate adequate surplus. Of course, given the inadequate medical and educational services provided by the Government’s medical and educational systems, MYRADA has also to mobilise people to exert pressure for better management of these services at the village level and to provide equipment and support in these areas as well as in others - like animal health and milk marketing at least in areas where we work. Though by concretising the Vision into a pucca house and two income generating programmes may be anathema to some development experts, it is useful to enable all our staff to get a foothold and not get lost in theory.

5. Is a Vision important? What role does it play in the life and culture of an organisation? If there is no Vision, commitment tends to be diluted. A Vision gives rise to and nurtures values, values are strong beliefs supported by a deep understanding of reality and form the basis of stable and balanced behaviour patterns. A person who has values is not easily pulled here and there by fashions or the promise of recognition or awards, or even by personal interest when the common good is at stake. A Vision therefore helps to place the organisations goals ahead of one’s own when there is a conflict of interests, and is particularly helpful in times of crisis or if one is in a leadership position when a higher level of commitment is called for. Without a Vision, a person (or an Organisation) will give priority to procedures in his/her dealings and will be content to operate at a low level of emotion and understanding. What gave the Gandhians, the churches and the radical movements their impetus, was a Vision which was not only written about and articulated in speeches but also expressed very clearly in the lives of their leaders. Unfortunately, organisations like MYRADA do not have a Gandhi, they do not even have the little Red Book of Mao; the source of their vision has to come from their religious upbringing; their education, or from their studies of and contact with eminent personalities; it can also come from being involved in disaster situations like floods or wars where the human spirit is seen and experienced at its best and worst. This is why I have often suggested that MYRADA staff should have the experience of working in a disaster situation. One of our colleagues who is now in Liberia and facing a major disaster, wrote to me saying that he now understood the value of this suggestion. To develop and sustain a vision, I recommend strongly thatevery staff member reads daily such writings of eminent persons that contain values. Besides, every staff member is strongly urged to spend at least 10 minutes daily in silence and meditation; this is food for the souland will also help to give a  sense of balance. Let us remember that procedures gain importance only when values and visions become weak; if self- discipline is not exercised than external controls through procedures are required.

6. What is a Mission? Though a Vision is important there are many ways to pursue the Vision; this is where a clearly stated Mission is important. For example though the common shared vision of MYRADA is a world where there is no poverty, the staff of MYRADA may have different ways of pursuing this vision. For example, there are those in the radical stream with a similar vision, who would opt for a Mission that "Fosters a process of ongoing change"; but more about this later. The issue gets further complicated since we have several sector specialists like Veterinarians or Foresters whose perceptions of their mission may be limited to the production of milk or the planting of trees which is appealing since the goals are tangible. The Mission Statement of MYRADA which emerged in the early 80’s has been slightly modified to reflect the growth of the Organisation. It now reads as follows:
   

   To foster a process of ongoing change in favour of the rural poor in a way in which this process can be sustained by them through building and managing appropriate and innovative local level institutions rooted in values of justice, equity and mutual support. To recreate a self-sustaining habitat bas  on a balanced perspective of the  relationship between natural resources and the legitimate needs of people. To promote strategies through which the full potential of women and children are realised. To influence public policies in favour of the poor. To strengthen networks and linkages between and among formal and informal institutions that can foster and sustain the impact of development initiatives.