I am sorry I am late. I should have told you this story weeks ago but I stalled because I want to give justice to the richness of the conversations during the PIE steering committee meeting last August 20, 2021. PIE stands for Powershift Inclusive Excellence, an initiative of World Pulse to become a leader in inclusion to shift power to globally under –represented voices. The PIE steering committee is a cross-section of community leaders, staff, board and global advisory network of World Pulse. The energy within the group is amazing despite the challenges brought by the pandemic to women, our work and campaigns. Where do we draw our energy? Prayers, encouraging, sharing and appreciating people and  “the joy from a daughter’s smile” keep us going.

The PIE meeting last August 20 centered around decision-making.  Deciding to decide or how will the group make decisions. What methodology will be used by PIE for decision-making that is inclusive, consultative and built on consensus?   The previous meeting of PIE talked about the fist to five method. A fist means  I vote No or I object or I don’t understand the idea or proposal.  One (1) finger means  “I think there is lot more work to do on this proposal”.  Two  (2) fingers means “I don’t like it much but I’ll go along” or “I need more information”.  Three (3) to four (4) fingers means “the proposal is fine” and those who are excited and love the proposal a lot will show their five (5) fingers. The group tried the fist to five method  to decide if the PIE steercom will apply the fist to five in decision-making and many voted 4-5. Hence,  fist to five will be in the garden bed of  PIE's decision-making methods.

Then a community building activity was introduced. The members have to answer a set of questions meant to build self-confidence, among them was about how to handle criticisms. The meeting ended with a sharing about what keeps us grounded. Some do yoga, sitting back on a tree, walking, singing, working with supportive people, meeting sisters, the bonds that we share, the privilege of being present.

 What can a group of committed, powerful and articulate sisters do in one hour with very efficient facilitation? A lot.