Thoughts of a minibus traveller

    This blog is one of a series of Facilitation Thoughts which look at various aspects of facilitation.  The Covid-19 pandemic has made it necessary to conduct different kinds of meetings online. I facilitated my first virtual session in April 2020 .  I continued to learn with each subsequent 'online' session - as a participant and as a facilitator.   These are some additional points to the Facilitation Thoughts to enhance the virtual facilitation experience. Learn/Adapt The virtual environment means that facilitators have to adapt and be creative. Working virtually means thinking of how to achieve the facilitation objectives in a  different space.    It does not mean transferring the face to face, to the computer/tablet/smart phone. For example, presenters have to check the legibility of text on their presentations. In face to face , the presentations are magnified through projectors on to a wall - in this virtual environment, th...

I look at the small video image of me on the laptop screen and I jump.  I see that I am sitting slumped in the chair with my hands on my head. I hear the voices from adults in my young days... "take your hand down from your head and sit up".. I watch myself in the little video screen follow the instructions in my head. I am distracted for a few seconds from the voice being spoken by the screen with the red band around it The young people agreed to participate in a Zoom conversation on prevention of domestic violence.  I agreed to facilitate online.  In face to face sessions, I would be alert to safety issues for the participants, in case anyone felt the need to disclose their personal experiences with violence. Building a safe environment usually involves some meeting, introductions, facial contact and cues, setting guidelines for the room. I check all the 'teaching' tips and so to get ready. I would plan to speak for about 40 to 50% of the time, ensure t...

The National Coordinating Coalition is a group of NGOs who have organised to deal with common issues of sustainability and advocacy on common issues related to HIV/AIDS and other concerns. The NCC is implementing a project which includes an advocacy component. They have developed a comprehensive advocacy plan. I facilitated a learning session on Lobbying and Engagement of Policy Makers .  The participants indicated satisfaction with the session I  am sharing the resources used in the training. Please feel free to use and adapt. These resources would be most suitable to Guyana. There are other countries which have strict lobbying laws and regulations. Methodology The session should be  designed so as to be interactive and participatory.  The agenda should be flexible to accommodate the needs of the participants. The agenda I used was designed to answer the following questions :- What is lobbying? How does lobbying fit into advocacy objectives? What are...

Group Discussion : Police Recruits, workshop on prevention of Gender Based Violence Roadside Baptist Skills Training Centre, October 2016 "You don't know what you talking about, why don't you shut up" - the retired headmaster told me. We were talking about alcohol and domestic violence in the space under the No 68 Village Roadside Baptist Church. Nalin Katryan smiled at him and I took courage from that smile. The man was a respected elder and she had invited him to the workshop on preventing domestic violence.  I was young in the facilitation work, nervous about breaking uncomfortable silences and not wanting to offend anybody. The smile was encouraging. The man calmed down and did not walk out That smile was always present. Always encouraging.  The first time I met Nalin Katryan and her husband Pastor Almond Katryan was in 2001. I was nervous, taking on the challenge of a workshop in Black Bush, a place where I did not know anyone.  People of Indian origi...

Young man abruptly said 'I am leaving now' and walked off. His friend and I quickly realised something had gone wrong in the conversation. His friend said, he does that sometimes. I kicked myself over and over. The young man's father had abandoned him. He was amazing in his talk about technology. I thought I was encouraging him to take one step at a time before he achieved his dream, and to hold the dream one side while he got work and some experience to aid in the dream. The place where he was staying was noisy he said. I managed to make contact with his caregiver and hope that they could check with him and that some repairs could be done. If I was in a counselling or other situation, I would have been working my mind through the usual steps of listening. There were other things the young man mentioned.. that's not my name, i hope to change it, to finally get rid of my father.... I have applied counselling skills, and I think managed empathy, when peop...

This blog is one of a series of Facilitation Thoughts which look at various aspects of facilitation. What makes a good facilitator? Different people have different styles and some qualities are needed more in certain settings. A good facilitator has to communicate well. It sounds cliche, but the ability to speak clearly AND to listen well are important. Speaking clearly which means using words which the participants would understand and listening which reflects what is being said. In Guyana, creolese should be freely used and accepted in most parts of the coast.  Juliet Solomon worked as a community facilitator in Guyana's hinterland and noted that 'creole' is not often spoken there. Some of the other characteristics are described here. Empathy Empathy is demonstrated in understanding that people have different experiences and ideas. Some sessions are organised, eg domestic violence, child abuse prevention, to change behaviours and ideas, and empathy helps...

The Clerk of the Committee Special Select Committee On Guyana’s Commitment To The United Nations Human Rights Council With Regard To The Abolition Of Corporal Punishment In The Schools, The Abolition Of The Death Penalty And The Decriminalization Of Consensual Adult Same Sex Relations And Discrimination Against Lesbians, Gays, Bi-Sexual And Transgender Persons (Resolution No. 23 Of 2012) Committees Division Parliament Office Public Buildings Georgetown Dear Sir/Madam Re : Submission on the attitude of Guyanese, especially parents and children, to corporal punishment and its possible abolition; My name is Vidyaratha Kissoon . I am Guyanese. I have been beaten as a child and have witnessed other children being beaten. I taught in a secondary school for one year and during that year, I beat a child upon the request of the Headmistress. I used to think that it was okay to beat children. Thanks to the Guyanese who are working against domestic violence and child abuse, my ...

The young woman told me ".. a nd another thing, you are cute.. if you were ugly I would have been distracted by wondering why you so ugly" Due to some cosmic irony, fate has pushed me in the direction of getting invovled in doing training - mostly around domestic violence and child abuse prevention. Irony because I am inherently anti-social and do not like 'public speaking'; my preference is to avoid socialising with any group which has more than three persons. My inability to manipulate my karma has resulted in facing the challenge to find ways of animating so that people could learn the content.  Pedagogy has all kinds of styles.. and I think that the massa style.. wild cane, rote, examination , ridicule .. has prevented us from thinking of other ways of teaching and learning.  I was fortunate though that in the learning for the work to be done with Help & Shelter, the facilitators and trainers all used participatory methods and encouraged full interactio...