Pulling Out of Bird Village

At Bird Village, there was a local saying about mythological people whose feet face backward—even as they are facing you, they lead you in the opposite direction. This sounds horrible, but the saying was reserved for people whom they connected with and trusted to take them out of their miseries. The villagers believed that the very step of such a person unraveled their problems. Behind my back, they started to use that phrase for me. That became the myth of me and I saw the danger signs. People would not remember the formula for power or the essence of development. They would just remember the man.

For that reason, I felt it was necessary to leave Bird Village. Activities were at the peak and much was happening. It was a way to bring home to the people that positive changes were happening because of their efforts, because of the power within them individually and collectively, not because of Trees for Life. They had learned what they needed to do and they were doing it without direction from me. The flame had ignited the candle and should now leave.

I discussed the idea with our Trees for Life staff in Wichita. There was a great uproar. The entire group met without me and decided I needed to reconsider my decision. We had invested so much time, effort, and money that it would be foolish to change course now. After that, they met with me. I explained to them we were setting a pace not just for the Bird Village project. We were setting an example for the process of development. We had to demonstrate that people could do things by themselves rather than being dependent on others. And, for us, if we were to serve people, we had to be caring, but not emotionally attached. We, as a group, had to learn and practice that. 

The team in Bird Village reacted as though they were being abandoned at the height of their glory and fame. They asked me what they had done wrong and what they could do to keep us there. I assured them of our love and caring for them. I was leaving not because they were lacking anything, but because they were doing very well. It was time for them to fly solo, to use the lessons they had learned. It was time for them to be the leaders of their communities and spread the idea that they could lift themselves up.

Practically everyone predicted a collapse. 

Over the years, things worked out very well. The state government realized we had made that 40 acres of land highly productive and took over the management of the area. As a result, the tree nursery was expanded and started to provide between 300,000 and 400,000 saplings annually. The area that had looked like a moonscape was now full of greenery. The lake was taken over by the fisheries department. The village developed a fish hatchery there and other villages dug their own lakes and produced fish for their meals and to sell. Schools and colleges were built, some specifically for women. Tens of thousands of water wells were dug where there previously were none. The income of the farmers increased many-fold. People who had been living in grass and mud huts were now living in brick houses. 

We did not do all of that. The people did it themselves. And they knew it.