Due to the lack of a reliable internet connection while we were in Malawi, I wasn't able to post anything to our blog. To make up for that, I kept a detailed field journal with thoughts and reflections on the workshop. I'll share bits of it here in the coming weeks.
6/30/13: 1 day before the Salima Project
The workshops are starting tomorrow. Today was a mix of emotions and thoughts. Excitement, nerves, confidence, trepidation, relief. I went over the whole schedule with Genna and she seemed very positive about the curriculum which relieved some of my nervous energy. They will love it, she says. I guess I am not so sure. I am anxious that it will not go well - that people won't participate in the games, that they will be too shy.
I also sat down and spoke with Mphatso today about the schedule and the discussion produced a number of emotions for me - I felt calmed to know that I have an ally in him - I hadn't been so sure when we met yesterday because he is so shy. I got quite nervous talking to him - I felt rushed - so I spoke too fast. I'm not sure he understood everything I meant to say about the work. I think he got the general idea, but I'm nervous about the question we need to ask to generate the forum plays. Posing the question correctly is the whole point, after all - if you pose the wrong question, or pose it the wrong way, you maybe aren't as effective as you could be in doing this work.
But then another part of me wonders if I am getting too caught up in small details. Genna keeps saying that just being here will be immensely beneficial for the group. Then again - I never want to be complacent in my work - it is in that moment of complacency that it risks amounting to less than its potential, doing less than it could, or worse - doing the opposite of our intentions.
Other things to remember: human dignity - keep asking - what is the other person's experience? what am I not seeing? Remember to look with love and compassion. JOY.
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