[nukkad] everybody has a dream

[adheer <>]

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Sad is his lot, who, once at least in his life, has not been a poet. 
-Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine, poet, statesman (1790-1869)
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Some years ago I took on an assignment in a southern
county to work with people  on public welfare. What I
wanted to do was show that everybody has the capacity
 to be self-sufficient, and all we have to do is to
activate them. I asked the county to  pick a group of
people who were on public welfare, people from
different racial  groups and different family
constellations. I would then see them as a group for
 three hours every Friday. I also asked for a little
petty cash to work with as I  needed it. 

 The first thing I said after I shook hands with
everybody was, "I would like to  know what your dreams
are." Everyone looked at me as if I were kind of
wacky. 

 "Dreams? We don't have dreams." I said, "Well, when
you were a kid what  happened? Wasn't there something
you wanted to do?" 

 One woman said to me, "I don't know what you can do
with dreams. The rats are  eating up my kids." 

 "Oh," I said. 

 "That's terrible. No, of course, you are very much
involved with the rats and your  kids. How can that be
helped?" 

 "Well, I could use a new screen door because there
are holes in my screen door." 

 I asked, "Is there anybody around here who knows how
to fix a screen door?" 

 There was a man in the group, and he said, "A long
time ago I used to do things  like that, but now I
have a terribly bad back, but I'll try." 

 I told him I had some money if he would go to the
store, buy some screening, and  go and fix the lady's
screen door. 

 "Do you think you can do that?" 

 "Yes, I'll try." 

 The next week, when the group was seated, I said to
the woman, "Well is your  screen door fixed?" 

 "Oh, yes," she said. "Then we can start dreaming,
can't we?" She sort of smiled at  me. I said to the
man who did the work, "How do you feel?" 

 He said, "Well, you know, it's a very funny thing.
I'm beginning to feel a lot  better." That helped the
group to begin to dream. These seemingly small
successes  allowed the group to see that dreams were
not insane. These small steps began to  get people to
see and feel that something really could happen. 

 I began to ask other people about their dreams. One
woman shared that she always  wanted to be a
secretary. I said, "Well, what stands in your way?"
(That's always  my next question). 

 She said, "I have six kids, and I don't have anyone
to take care of them while I'm  away." 

 "Let's find out," I said. 

 "Is there anybody in this group who would take care
of six kids for a day or two a  week while this woman
gets some training here at the community college?" 

 One woman said, "I got kids, too, but I could do
that." 

 "Let's do it," I said. A plan was created and the
woman went to school. 

 Everyone found something. The man who put in the
screen door became a  handyman. The woman who took in
the children became a licensed foster care
 person. In 12 weeks I had all these people off public
welfare. I've not only done  that once, I've done it
many times. 

 Virginia Satir



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