Well my first full week at
my organization was a huge success… Community mobilization and trainings on
child neglect and prevention, HIV counseling and testing outreaches, lifeskills
sessions, and more.
I was eager for the week
to wrap up, as today I had a lifeskills session at a local secondary school
that supports some of our OVC, orphan and vulnerable children, population.
The topic?
Decision making.
Something that may seem
innate to many of us but in this culture is something that we have to address,
especially in terms of young girls having the power, strength, and voice to say
no. When my Counterpart and I arrived at
the school we were made aware that the girls were not available until 5p, due
to another required meeting.
Note. Why they school administration fails to tell
us this when we call in the morning to verify I have no clue. Oh Uganda.
My Counterpart and I
choose to work with the boys and have a more intimate session to go into more
depth on the subject matter.
Light bulb! Maybe we will have the boys teach the girls this
subject when we return next week. #awayforward
As we are setting up in
the classroom, I am getting more and more excited at teaching and getting back
into the swing of things. At full
capacity, the class is 23 in total but being that no girls were attending, we
had 12, which was perfect. This allowed
for good discussions and for everyone’s voices to be heard.
We listened to stories,
acted out role-plays, and discussed the differences between aggressive,
assertive, and passive communication and how this impacts our decision.
The girls joined us at the
tail end of the session to share in sodas and biscuits. We will fill them in on everything come
Monday.
Standing up in front of a
classroom, chalk in hand, and peeping eyes peering in from the barred windows
have made me realize one thing.
Teaching credential once I
am back in the States?
