Today was exactly what I needed after countless hours in a
classroom and everything worked out perfectly. This week has been a bit of a
test drive for group 39 as we split up into groups of 3-4 trainees and were
instructed to be co-facilitators on different topics that were important to the
youth. The topics that were chosen dealt with HIV and other STDs and how
quickly they can be transmitted to key elements of sexuality ranging from
intimacy and body image to puberty and respect for culture. I was part of the
group that presented today and our topic of discussion was quite broad and we
did not have much time to plan how our activity would go today. I would have
been worried, but I had two incredibly supportive co-facilitators with me. We
planned our activity during the 10 minute drive over to KAYEC learning center
and boy were we excited to get on with it!
To our luck we were the second group to teach the learners
at KAYEC because two other groups had gone yesterday and discussed HIV and
picture-grams and we felt a bit more comfortable with the same group of
learners. We began our activity with a solid icebreaker titled THE PENIS GAME.
The title itself deserves all caps because the first person in the activity
whispers the word penis and each person thereafter says penis a bit louder
until the last person is screaming as loud as possible. Next we lectured for
about twenty minutes on defining youth and asking why we work with youth as
well as the key elements of sexuality (Sexuality, Relationships, Intimacy, Body
Image, Respect for Culture, Puberty, Reproductive Health). I would say that
this part was a drag if I had to present all of this information, but let me
tell you I barely said anything because these learners HAD IT ALL. To have been
present during such a lecture was an honour because I was able to witness first
hand what these learners are capable of and I hope I’m alive to see it! They
will be the masters of the universe for sure! This moment gave me such a jilt
of energy as well as hope and helped me to realize that I’ve got a hell of a
lot to compete with ;). I was blown away to say the least! The eagerness to
learn and understand what topics are being discussed and also contribute to
open discussion was a sight to see and I was blessed to be one of them! After our discussion/lecture we played
the “Pat on the Back game” This game is an awesome game to boost self-esteem
and is quite simple to play. We cut out sheets of paper and stuck them on the
back of each learner. The learners were instructed to write a positive comment
on each paper. Thanks to another
trainee’s brilliant idea we had each learner take the paper of their friend and
read out what compliments their friend got as well as introduce the person. The
learners seriously enjoyed this game and some placed their positive comments
card on their chest. Lastly, our main activity was to have the large group of
learners break up into three groups and draw a picture of a boy/girl and
his/her changing body. We also drew a picture in class earlier during our
session and it was a sad excuse for a stick figure. Whereas each of the
pictures that were drawn by the learners looked quite close to the human body…
I mean WOW these learners not only had extensive knowledge on the elements of
sexuality that were discussed earlier but they also had the artistic eye of a
painter… I should have grown up in Namibia for real… Lastly, they worked as a phenomenal team when they were in
groups drawing the changing body and listened to one another to agree on a
decision of what to add together. I had to pinch myself a few times to make
sure today was real!
Also, my new name is Sandy according to most of the learners
I spoke with at Kayec, which is totally fine by me. Now the serious challenge
for me is to learn everyone’s names… They’ve got one foreigner’s name to learn
and I have at least 25 learners to remember in one day… To prove that I will
fail I don’t remember what I had for breakfast this morning. Dag nabbit!
I'll post pictures if I get some tomorrow... If not I will hate myself FOREVER.
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