Tim za socijalno uključivanje i smanjenje siromaštva

Author: Vidan Danković (Social Inclusion Blog)

The room is filled with a special kind of energy when Peđa says “People”. It gives you the chills. Could it be than in the few of us he sees a thousand, and ten thousand, and a million?

At first, the question “Who are our people?” made me cramp up, because I knew that after answering the question I have to go out and talk to all those people and explain to them why I think the proposed action is good for everyone. /discussion – invest time, energy, open up, tell your story/; /action – (1. actio fr. eng. action) action, activity, acting, effect/.

And it’s hard. The time for such talks with people is never right. Not taught to be explicit during conversations, returning from meetings I used to imagine conspiratorial whispering across rooftops, convincing, manipulation. /explicit (lat. explicitus) said out loud, open; ant. implicit/.

At first, so it was. Sotto voce I begin my tale. I am ashamed, my voice trembles, while my head is ringing with the questions “Who am I?”, detecting the question hovering in the eyes of the person across from me “Who are you?” “What do you want from me?” and attempts to respond by gaze alone…

And then, I start to understand. “My name is Vidan, I am volunteering so that things in Serbia become better, and I want you to join me.” /Volunteering (voluntarism) non-profit and unpaid activity whereby individuals, alone or within a group or organization, contribute to the welfare of their community or all of society https://sh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volonterstvo / /join – invest time and energy to achieve common goals /

I raise awareness. When I talk to people, the number one thousand becomes faces and names. It also gains three thousand doubts and questions, but one force. The force that can turn into power. The cramps are gone. Is it possible that something had to teach me to talk? To openly tell you what I’m planning to do and ask you if you want to join me?

The room is filled with a special kind of energy when Peđa says “People”. It gives you the chills.

An organizer is a leader who does not lead, but gets behind the people and pushes.” – Fred Ross

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The text in its entirety can be found on the Social Inclusion Blog.