I have started going into the villages to do Train the Trainer. Rehema and Abraham coordinated the arrangements in terms of finding space and reaching out to their 100 groups and ensure everyone attended the training. We are doing three sessions in different areas. These sessions are much longer (6-7 hrs each) which is long and intense in the Africa sun. OneLove is paying for the space rental, a hot lunch and the training materials. As I type this I realize how normal and ‘North American’ that sounds. I can assure you the hall is definitely not a training or conference centre and the lunch (although tasty and warm) is far different from what we would eat. I also am paying for my transportation and translator. Because many of the participants have to come such great distances, OneLove is paying a subsidy of 15,000 TSchillings for each person (equivalent of approx $9). I was lucky to even get out for the first session. We are now in the rainy season and it was pouring rain to the extent it was hard to get though on the roads. Once I arrived someone had to come and meet me with gum boots in order for me to walk in through the very deep mud. I was teasing everyone that it’s the first time I’ve taught in gum boots. We did the training in a small cement/mud hut (approx 10’ square) that had a few benches to sit on. There is no power in the building but fortunately there were a few ‘cut-outs’ that allowed the light to come in. At approx 12:30 a table just suddenly appeared outside the front door and lunch was served. The second train the trainer day was similar however there was no rains/mud and the training was held in an existing school. Still much different than we expect of schools but it was much bigger.
It is a lot to cover in a day. I created a separate facilitation/train the trainer guide as a complement piece to the business handbook. As mentioned it is intense. I only have six hours to cover the same material I am delivering in 32 hours to the Tusaidiane women. I am very pleased however that it seems to be working. Every hour I went through a review. By the end of the day they were all able to respond to random questions without looking at their book. Additionally, they all said they learned a lot (as Rehema and Abraham confirmed) however they are very gracious people and I’m not sure they would tell me otherwise. J My focus this week is to try and find a printer so that when the trainers go back to their villages they will have a handbook for each student. Big undertaking considering there are 3,000 people however where there’s a will there’s a way! J
Feeling positive but tired. Long days with lots on the go. More to follow……
It is a lot to cover in a day. I created a separate facilitation/train the trainer guide as a complement piece to the business handbook. As mentioned it is intense. I only have six hours to cover the same material I am delivering in 32 hours to the Tusaidiane women. I am very pleased however that it seems to be working. Every hour I went through a review. By the end of the day they were all able to respond to random questions without looking at their book. Additionally, they all said they learned a lot (as Rehema and Abraham confirmed) however they are very gracious people and I’m not sure they would tell me otherwise. J My focus this week is to try and find a printer so that when the trainers go back to their villages they will have a handbook for each student. Big undertaking considering there are 3,000 people however where there’s a will there’s a way! J
Feeling positive but tired. Long days with lots on the go. More to follow……
