Nothing changes, if nothing is done to change

...by now we should very well know, that when working together with people, only very seldom do things run according to plan! The biggest lesson I learnt today was, that if you don’t do anything or follow up on something, things will not materialize. I noticed how important it is to be proactive as an OT and not to fall into the trap of institutionalization!

As I approached the university, big, dark clouds of smoke rose up to meet me. I decided not to let the strike get the better of me today, so I forced a smile as I greeted the other OT’s. It turned out that all of the buses were able to safely get out of the university gates without being harassed by fire and stones. So did ours, even though it took us a little longer than all the others. Our driver seemed to be in no rush at all! We on the other hand, had a morning of meetings to get to, which we had scheduled last week already.  Even the councillor was on our list of meetings for the day!

The first meeting went well and we got to learn more about a disability organization, which we may use to refer clients to when we are on home visits. The organization has 95 members. They run support and educational groups every Tuesday. The second meeting was scheduled with the councillor who sadly never showed up. Look, I understand that upholding an important position such as the councillors, can be a tough and busy job but letting us wait there for 45 minutes without a word from him to us or his secretary, I found was a little indecent. So we decided to get his contact details from his secretary and to reschedule another meeting. The third meeting was with the OT working at the clinic. What a lovely team of professionals! She is a real inspiration because due to her fair amount of practical experience, she has found and is still discovering, means and ways of working with and within the government system in a more efficient way. She has build up the clinic together with the physiotherapist. To me, the two professionals are truly proactive! The most exciting part of our day however, was the screens that we got to order on the government tender, for the day care centre. This was done to separate the room that the children in the day care centre use to work in, so that they can work with as little distraction as possible J  

The days happenings reminded me of the third principle that the book, ‘Occupational therapy without borders’ speaks about, when working in the community. ‘Nothing changes, if nothing is done to change.’ It is important to view every person and community as a whole and to find out what the community is carrying with it from the past which may explain the way things are being done. These factors should be closely examined and if need be, changed or adapted. As a health professional it is important to ‘practice what you preach’ as people mostly judge by performance. ‘Sticking’ to ones word will gain you respect and TRUST. There is no productive working together with people if ‘trust’ is not present in a relationship. Keeping the person in the centre of the intervention is risky but worth it. Only with real trust will we be able to ‘change’ things were the need arises.   (Kronenberg, et al, 2005, p.7)

Reference

Kronenberg et al (2005). Occuaptaional Therapy without borders, Elseve Publishers