‘Culture of dependency affects communitisation’

Staff Reporters Dimapur, February 3 In Nagaland, the culture of dependency is so deep-rooted that it threatens the creativity of Naga society. The communitisation of education sector which is a partnership between state government and the community involved has failed in the management and delivery mechanisms. This was observed by Rev. Dr. Chingmak Chang during his lecture on ‘a people’s approach to development’ on Wednesday at DABA Elim Conference Hall Dimapur. A short documentary on the works of Dr.Chingmak was screened which drew the attention on the development of communitisation with case in point of Eleutheros Christian Society(ECS) an NGO started by Dr. Chang and his wife which has done incredible work with drug addicts, AIDS patients, women, education and basic rights. The documentary also drew attention to the concept of Sochum implemented by Dr. Chang in Chang villages for imparting education with the idea of Sochum, based on the ancient Naga practice of a morung. In the course of his lecture, Dr. Chang pointed out that public services are not reaching the right places with the government failing to be transparent with people. Talking on the concept of communitisation, he laid emphasis on dynamics of social transformation and emphasized on the importance on leadership which he said communitization can happen with the participation and sense of ownership of the community. However, he said this is one area where government has failed to plan, act and evaluate together. “If we wait for the government to deliver then nothing can happen” said Dr. Chang. Government and individuals, both have failed in communitization with the government failing to be transparent with the grassroots. “Are we really investing in communitization scheme?” wondered Dr. Chang. Elaborating on issues of communitization, he said, government is also looking for good partners, and expressed the hope that the church can also play an active role for development of the society through their involvement with communitization activities. The programme was organized by The Morung for Indigenous Affairs and Just Peace and The Morung Express.