This week we celebrate the World Day of Social Justice on 20th February.

Defining justice and social justice

For the most part, we are more familiar with the meaning of justice: fairness, egalitarianism, absence of bias.

But social justice. What do you understand it to mean?

Social justice is best understood in terms of equity in the distribution of wealth, opportunities, power and privilege within a society. It is the idea that every man, woman and child has equal worth. And that this needs to be protected by all other members of a community.

These are foundational understandings of a just and fair society.

Yet, it comes at a cost.

Setting aside self

One of the greatest struggles of 21st Century life is the struggle against the over-emphasis of self. The tenet that ‘me and mine’ are more important than ‘you and yours’.

The struggle that once lurked at the back of our minds or depths of our hearts is one that many now wear loud and proud.

Inequity is the antonym for social justice. With self and greed, key elements in the elixir.

But social justice resists such an ideology. Instead, it requires that self and greed give way to others and sacrifice.

I am not talking about setting aside the important cogs of innovation, personal drive or ambition. But I am suggesting that it is critical to recognise that these qualities, at the core of personal success, can be generously shared offering equity and opportunity for all.

In this way, “individuality gives way to the struggle for social justice”. With the expectation that there is enough to go round.

A lesson of immense worth

In mid 2017, I heard a radio interview with an Aboriginal leader recalling a difficult period in his youth, forcing him to leave his rural community and move to the city. His uncle had volunteered to transport him to the town centre to catch his bus. When they arrived, his uncle stopped to share a few words,

“I don’t have anything much to give you. But I do have this bit of advice. First of all, there is no one in the world better than you. And secondly, you are no better than anyone else.”

Today as I think about social justice day, I think of those words. If we all lived like this was the highest form of truth in the way we relate and care for one another then society would look very different. Poverty would look different. Success would look different. Relationships would look different.

And today is one of those days that we dream about the kind of world we want to create. I dream of a world that is just and fair for all. Where each one can say, “No one is better than me. And I am no better than anyone else.”

So our Foxglove team has been on leave for a few weeks. Taken holidays and gone fishing. It’s necessary in the world of helping others that we stop to make sure we’re personally and collectively travelling well. And we’ve learned some things.

So here’s our top 3 lessons learned in 2017:

1. MEASURE IMPACT NOT ACTIVITY

It’s so easy to measure organisational achievement by numbers that measure activity: training sessions conducted, girls in school or business start ups. The discussion becomes all about efficiency. Price per head, expenses as percentage of income etc. etc. But measuring impact means looking at outcomes AND progress. From every angle. Of course, there is a need for numbers but only when applying well considered measurements. What is this number telling us? And add to that stories, feedback from family and community, and a list of achievements or even learnings from failed initiatives.  Together they form a picture of the impact we can collectively celebrate.

2. FROM LITTLE THINGS, BIG THINGS GROW

Sustainable progress takes time. Don’t over-emphasise endpoint outcomes and miss out on the milestones. Along the way there is so much beauty: a village running a community meeting about girl health and education, a family reforming after addressing long-term issues of domestic violence, a woman reading for the first time, a girl joining her mum in a family ‘business’ and even buying her first plot of land. It’s a tiny parcel, barely an Australian vegetable patch, but she’s overwhelmed at the possibilities. I don’t want to miss the small moments in chasing the big outcomes. From little things, big things grow.

3. LEARN FROM THE JOURNEY

People matter. Every person matters. The direct beneficiaries. Their communities and family members. The Foxglove team. And our donors and supporters. So, the objective is sustainable life change for everyone. When there are so many people in the Foxglove chain, we have to be prepared to slow things down. It’s not my personality but I’m learning like everyone else that I need to discover options that build for the long-term not the quick fix. And that also means working through the challenges in our personal worlds. When we recognise this for ourselves, we give others permission to ‘stop and smell the roses’. Funnily enough, this applies just as much to women in the Developing World. We are all at risk of valuing ourselves according to what we do rather than who we are.

I trust you’ve had a wonderful break. Now I’m ready to get back on the horse. Not galloping wildly. Not meandering without purpose. More of a graceful canter carrying Foxglove towards more opportunities to do good and inspire others. Who knows the lessons we will again learn along the way in 2018!

❤ Kelley