Process of Empowerment: A struggle of strategy
with Bill Fagan

Rapporteur: Sheila Stewart

Bill described the struggle of a low-income community in the St. John's, NL area in trying to have a government agency overturn a decision not to fund a literacy project. The project, L.E.A.R.N. (Learning, Empowerment, Action, Reflection Network) was a framework of 10 education/literacy projects, and included such activities as learning how to edit a community newsletter, developing computer skills, or learning how to help children with their school work. The community consists of 155 families, about half of whom are headed by single parents. Of approximately 135 school age children, about half are not successful in school, and are dropping out in their early teens; there have been no graduates from grade 12 in a three year period.

Two community representatives struggled for eight months to have the government agency reverse its decision not to fund this community education project. Bill kept a journal and was able to identify nine strategies within the empowerment process. Five of these were strategies used by the agency, the empowered, to block or disempower the community: delays, linguistic mazes, us and them, paper trail, and dependence. Four of the strategies were supports that the community used: identifying a target audience, conviction, stamina or persistence, and enlisting support. Implications for dealing with these strategies were discussed. Unfortunately, the community was not successful in its struggle for funding.

Key words:

power          empowered          disempower          strategy          literacy          low-income