One-and-a-Half Years After the Democracy and Human Rights Sessions, 2011

The chapter analyzes 2011 interviews and focus groups and compares them to 2010 findings. In 2010 respondents report intentions to acquire beneficial practices; in 2011 they report successful efforts to acquire them. Respondents in 2011 describe remarkable changes, for example, increased school attendance, new health practices, and expanded roles for women. A new theme becomes apparent: changing self-understandings. New schemas of the self are woven into their descriptions of an expanding, inclusive public sphere; organized diffusion; and aligning community actions with their knowledge of human rights and responsibilities. In portrayals of community action, they identify their own and others’ new capacities and self-understandings, which enable them to create more just and caring practices. Revised self-schema through action emerges as a mechanism critical to the theory of change.