Jake Lloyd, a Manchester-based communications coordinator for the global Arukah Network, shares how his participation on a Training for Learning and Serving (TLS) course had far reaching benefits in Sierra Leone. 

‘How much Biblical Hebrew do you know? I don't know much, but I do have a favourite word ‘Arukah’. Arukah appears a few times in the Old Testament, notably in Nehemiah, where it describes the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls. But Arukah’s true meaning is not contained in bricks and mortar – it is much bigger than that. Arukah means wholeness, restoration and health. It is spiritual as much as civic, and lots more besides.

‘My day job is as Communications Coordinator for a group called Arukah Network – a support network for people who work in community development in Africa and Asia. We’re a diverse bunch: health workers and development professionals, entrepreneurs and farmers, artists, thinkers and more. A global network of local people who want 'Arukah' in the places they live. 

‘I enrolled on the URC’s year-long Developing Community Experiences course in September last year because I wanted to join with, and learn from, others in the UK with a similar outlook to those in my job. I wanted to take some time out to learn about the theology of community development, and to start doing something practical myself. The course is part of the Church’s TLS programme.

‘The course – which finished in June 2017 – certainly satisfied this hunger, and it’s led to me becoming a kind of eco-ambassador at my church and community centre in South Manchester, as we explore ways to engage the whole community on environmental issues. But it’s had an unexpected benefit too – in Sierra Leone. 

‘In Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital, a group of national leaders recently joined our network. Representing the Ministry of Health, faith groups, and NGOs, they are all part of an emerging movement in the country, one that is harnessing local collaboration and enterprise, and starting to do what had previously only been done by foreign aid. They are leading a process of getting the country away from aid dependency, and ‘back on her healthy feet’ as one of them described it to me. 

‘But to increase their impact, they need to connect with and inspire others. And so, they looked to our network for some relevant training. In response, I was asked to be part of a small team that would design and lead a two-day training course in Freetown on communications and advocacy. As someone who has worked in BBC News for eight years, I had experience of the content. However, I didn’t know much about teaching it. 

‘Thankfully, both the spirit and structure of the TLS course were exactly what we wanted to emulate: we didn’t want to dump information on participants, or prescribe a formula that is ill-suited to a foreign context. Rather, we wanted to stimulate deep thought, honest discussion and genuine participation, and to embolden participants – who after all have the deepest understanding of their own locale – to navigate a way forward that fits their own community. 

‘The TLS course influenced how we designed this training, but it also gave me the confidence to deliver it. One participant subsequently told us it was the best training course he had been on. Others have now taken the training back to their own organisations to deliver there. And further afield, we are now planning to roll out this training elsewhere in our network. 

‘It’s not always easy to measure the impact of a training course, but it’s become clear that what I gained on the TLS course is rippling out much further than I imagined – contributing a little more ‘Arukah’ to a world that sorely needs it.’

Reflecting on Jake’s experience, Fiona Thomas, the URC’s Secretary for Education and Learning said: ‘It is a delight to hear how Developing Community Experiences has helped Jake to make a difference in Sierra Leone. This one year course is part of the TLS programme which has had more than 1,000 participants in the past two decades. However, the programme is now in its final year, but the creativity and rigour which has been a hallmark of TLS will be carried forward in its successor programme which will begin to be available from September 2018 as part of the Church’s emphasis on Walking the Way: Living the life of Jesus for today.’