Out in Khayelitsha

Over the past week I have watched my interweb world ever so slowly fill with more and more pictures of friends reuniting back at JMU and citing "back at the best place in the world", "reunited with my best friends" or the like. I admit it struck me hard. It is weird to be thousands of miles away from somewhere that holds so many great memories but then at the perfect moments I am reminded why I'm here, writing from Africa.

My team was out of the office all last week so I was left with very little to do after only being in the office for 2 days. Maybe a blessing in disguise because I was able to spend two days out at site in the township of Khayelitsha. On Thursday, I got to observe and take part in my very first GRS intervention!!!!! I wish everyone reading this could have been there with me-it was incredible. The intervention was our utshintsho curriculum for grade 10 learners. Utshintsho means change in xhosa. It is the curriculum that follows our Generation SKILLZ for grade 9 learners. It is geared more toward changing power relationships and gender stereotypes. 

Coaches getting ready for the intervention

I went to a high school down the street from the center with 3 coaches, Eric and Anna, and Bulweka. We walked in to a crowded classroom filled with students ranging in ages from maybe 15 to 25 dressed in their matching red uniforms. After several whispers and stares we were given seats in the back of classroom as students got up and squished in their friend's desk to accommodate us.  The intervention required students to break up in to groups and of course the coaches pushed each of us into a group. I was greeted by several hellos/molos, some phrases in xhosa, and a wink from the boy I sat down next to. The groups were asked to discuss what they learned from Utshintsho (it was the last day of the curriculum).  I missed most responses due to a very large language barrier-my vocabulary remains at hello, thank you, and how are you- but luckily the boy sitting next me would give me a run down every now and then. The answer I got most was "how to say no". They tried to speak English as much as they could for me but it was hard. I was even asked to respond to the questions we were discussing and give my opinion. They made sure I expanded on my responses and never forgot me in the group. The second class had even more learners and again my group was great at trying their best to include me and make sure I knew what was going on. After the interventions when school was out, we were walking out of the school and we passed several students from my group in the first class. They smiled and waved as if we hadn't just met. As always I am amazed at how friendly people are. What amazed me more was hearing the responses from students about how they can say no, how to respect a woman, and how to break down power relationships. It may be only a small start and may be only words and not action from the students but at least it is there in some space. 

Coaches doing an activity on giving feedback

On Friday, I was able to sit in on a coach development session. GRS coaches are as important as our program participants. They are the young adults that are giving their time to implement the curriculum, being role models for their communities, and directly changing lives. Coaches are only with GRS for two-years and in that time we hope to equip them with professional and life skills as well as to empower them to be great facilitators and educators in their future. These development sessions are just a small part of the opportunities for coaches to expand their skills. 

SONI!

The topic of this Friday's session was constructive feedback. The coaches were broken up into groups for several activities that included walking through scenarios and creating constructive feedback situations. Now mind you that this is a group of about 30 young adults (ages 18-25) that are all high energy and very outgoing. It made for several times of outburst laughter and few of frustration from Buntu-the group leader. The session ended with coaches breaking up into groups of 5 to discuss their 'most significant story'. They were then asked to share their stories with the group at large. The stories that were told were those that you might read in magazines. We would be here for a while if I recounted all of them but as discussion spurred after coaches told stories and experiences one coach chimed in with something that almost put tears in my eyes. And I quote this from Scott's blog--he was taking notes on the session:

“The choice to change is on the participant. We have already made the choice to change ourselves, to be the change we want to see.” Everyone smiled, easily recognizing the paraphrase of Ghandi. “The most we can do is give others the opportunity to do the same. That is why we are coaches. With GRS we can give these young people a chance to choose. We should not be so critical on ourselves if some decide not to make that choice.”

These coaches are amazing

The session ended on that note. Heads nodding in agreement. A smile from ear to ear appeared on my face as if I just been handed the key to life.

After these two days I can't help but smile and know exactly why I'm not at JMU. It's not so that I can change the world but so I can share the stories of the truly amazing people already changing their communities every day.