Archive for the ‘India’ Category

Emerging Trends from our Evaluations

February 9, 2009

We are starting to see trends emerge from our evaluations across different countries and contexts, from Nepal and India to Sudan and Kenya:

1.  People are listening to our training content again and again.
2.  People are listening in groups.
3.  People are memorizing the stories and the songs.
4.  People are discussing the content with others.

Here is some recent data that supports these trends:
–In India 66% of the listeners to the MT4 players said they listened more than once.  In Kenya, 71% listened to the content three or more times; 49% listened more than 10 times.

–In India, the average listening group was 6-10.  In Kenya the average listening group size was also 6-10; 28% in Kenya listened in groups larger than 10.

–In India, the percentage of listeners who could tell various Bible stories very well grew from only 13% on average beforehand to 65% afterwards.  In Kenya, the percentage grew from 28% on average beforehand to 81% afterwards.

–In India, 83% said they have told one or more stories to others who have not listened to the MT4 player.  In Kenya, 100% said they discussed the content with others in their listening group.  100% said they discussed the content with others not in their listening group.

These four trends indicate that a significant transfer of training is occurring.  People are not just hearing information; they are internalizing it, owning it, discussing it, sharing it, and changing their lives and communities as a result.

Posted in Evaluation, India, Kenya | Leave a Comment »

India Project Results

January 29, 2009

Preliminary data is in from our third party evaluation of our project in Punjab, India.  It appears that we have another project that is showing dramatic shifts in knowledge, attitudes and behavior as a result of our approach to training among oral culture people.
–Regarding symptoms of various diseases, we saw shifts from 8% of people understanding certain symptoms before our training to 42% afterwards.  In one case the shift was from 8% to 92%.
–Regarding treatments of various diseases, we saw shifts from 29% to 85%, 21% to 75%, and 29% to 75%.
–Before our training, no one surveyed could tell the story of Moses in Bible.  Afterwards, 58% could tell the story very well.  13% could tell the story of Abraham, Isaac and Sarah beforehand; now 83% can.  Only 7% could tell the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 beforehand; now 83% surveyed can tell that story very well.  75% can now tell the story of Jesus calming the big storm and 67% can tell the story of Jesus casting out the evil spirit, whereas only 20% could tell those stories before our project.

These are not just statistically significant.  They are dramatic changes!

A key indicator of impact of a training project in an oral culture is whether people are retelling stories they have learned to others.   If they can retell a story, they have obviously learned the material.  But if they are volunteering to retell the story to others in their community, then the material has really impacted them to the point that they want to share it.

So a key finding from our evaluation is the fact that 83% of those who have listened to the MT4 player content have told one or more of the stories to others who have not listened to the MT4 player.  We have started a conversation in Punjab that is reverberating around the community.  It is this dialogue of telling and retelling stories and songs that leads to transformation.

Tags:
Posted in Evaluation, India, Pete McLain | Leave a Comment »

Western Euphemisms in play

July 15, 2008

The more I travel, the more I’m confronted with the mixture of western culture in the 3rd world, which is where I travel most of the time.  Some euphemisms that have struck me as funny coming from the lips of friends and strangers here are as follows:

  • Nepalese using the phrase “I don’t/they don’t have a clue”  (first heard by my ears in late 70’s early 80’s in college)
  • Indian boy on TV last night in Delhi “I told him, Dude – you didn’t know…..?”
  • The new term in the US that I’m noticing and just waiting to hear “Not so much….”  which I guess is a more sophisticated modification of SNL’s “Not!!”

On a more serious note, in India, one of our partners is writing his doctoral dissertation on what it means to be an Indian Christian – how to maintain the Indian identity while being part of the body of Christ.  He feels that Western culture has added much to the definition and I’m agreeing with him the more I see.

Posted in Ed Weaver, India, Travel | Leave a Comment »

Punjabi Distribution

June 19, 2008

On June 2nd, 80 pastors met in Ferojpur, Punjab, India as part of the Good Shephard Community Church network ( a ministry of OM India) to receive the T4 Global MT4 kits to use as a ministry tool to reach those people in their communities who can’t, don’t or won’t read. We received pictures of these just yesterday – so I’ll add several other pictures with comments. Ready to go!

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Ed Weaver, India, Initiatives, Listening Groups | Leave a Comment »

OM India – Lucknow Offices

March 6, 2008
I’m not sure you could call Lucknow a quaint town, but in the old section, it is quaint. This is where OM India has their offices in North Central India. It’s walking distance from the hotel where they put up their guests and is a great compound for offices, training, and dormitories. It’s a little oasis away from the poverty on the street.


OM India – Lucknow Offices

Originally uploaded by t4global

Posted in Ed Weaver, India, Travel | Leave a Comment »

Golden Temple Holy of Holies

February 29, 2008

Holy of Holies
Originally uploaded by t4global

This is where the 11th guru stays during the day – the Sikh holy scriptures. The scriptures are taken out of the temple each day in order for the guru (the scripture book) to rest, and brought back into this “holy of holies” each morning. No cameras, cell phones, etc are to be used in this area of worship, which is essentially a man-made island in the middle of the lake of holy water in the center of the Golden Temple in Amristsar, India.

Posted in India, Travel | Leave a Comment »

Our first impromptu listening group in Punjab

February 29, 2008

After lunch at Pastor Howell’s home (in Firojpur, Punjab, India), a women’s bible study group listens to a drama on the issues around female infanticide in northern India. Even in this country where there are no laws prohibiting multiple children (such as China), this issue is large in certain states of India, as the Hindu culture puts such a high priority on the need for a son who can light the fire of his parents funeral pyre when the time comes.

This picture is taken in their rear courtyard, or carport, as it appears with various motor scooters. Young men look on – not just because of the young women, but fascinated by the audio player perched on the seat of the second bike.

Posted in India, Listening Groups, Partnerships | 1 Comment »

India shows Pakistan how its done

February 27, 2008

Each night at sundown, the Indian and Pakistani border guards put on an amazing show of lowering their respective flags, which are no more than 10 meters apart. 5 guards from each country take turns marching toward each other in a ferocious manner and then retreating with tough looking faces and gestures; appearing to dare the other to cross the border (which is a painted line at that point). As the only white man in the crowd, I was given a seat of honor in the gallery to watch this incredible spectacle. As my friend, Raja, told me – “It would not be hospitable of us to keep an obvious guest of our country from watching this event in the VIP section”. Indian and Pakistani crowds in their respective galleries cheer their guards at each stage.

Posted in India, Travel | Leave a Comment »