yesterday i finally got the typed up "interview" about the artisans collective that i visited in venezueal. i had to ask a friend to do the interview for me, because we got there so late that we only had about 10 minutes there before we had to leave again for the town near the airport. she said it had been a good interview and that they had got lots of information. now what she sent me is about 1 page!!!! i am meant to do a 10 minute presentation on that. no info about techniques, no info about the running of their collective. and i had really written down all the questions for her! argh!
if i had known how little she had, i would have looked for a different interviewee in the last three weeks since we've been back. now i have to find an alternative in the next week or so - the presentation is at the end of march.
do any of you know about artist/crafts collectives in the London area? (UK)
i have just come back from a two week holday in venezuela! it was one of the most interesting experiences i have had in my life. the country is absolutely beautiful and i couldn't stop taking pictures!
but the most important thing is that there is a revolution going on in venezuela. people are taking the things promised to them in the constitution and improving their lives. it is a slow process, but it is happening everywhere.
health care there is free and working towards prevention rather than treatment. also, alternative medicine is included in the GP practise. there are community committees that visit sick people in hospitals and at home to keep track of what the doctors are doing and if the work is not up to standard or the patients are not cared for properly, the doctor can be sacked. the same is true for any public service. the community always makes sure that people get what they are entitled to.
the money that venezuela gets from the re-nationalised oil industry goes directly into the communities and there are food programmes, literacy programmes, schools and hospitals are being built. the military there is not just used as defense for the country and the revolution, but the soldiers also grow food, build houses, schools and roads. they are seen as part of the people, not as separate. this is also why the coup there (set up by the US) did not work. the military wanted Chavez back as much as the rest of the population.
anyway...people are so encouraged by all this and they are really so much more upbeat than i have seen anywhere else in the world. compared to people's lethargy and depression about the situation here in the UK, that was such a great experience!
so....if yo want to travel to an interesting country wher you can learn how to do community organising, venezuela is the place to go.
so....this is my first post....it feels a bit weird writing stuff in english even though my mother tongue is german (although i do use english all day every day, so i am used to it) but i feel that even though i would like to write in german sometimes, english will give more people the opportunity to understand my blog and take part in creating it.
