Refresher Training Course - Tick!

We survived! We made it through 3 full days of teaching and out the other side relatively unscathed with only a few minor bumps and bruises to show for it! Teaching via a translator is a very odd experience – not always convinced the subtleties were conveyed and often had to rephrase my sentences to make a woppingly blunt point. Seemed a bit stilted at times but no other way round it as my Swahili not good enough yet!! Participants (37 in total) really keen which was encouraging and up for getting involved and doing group work. Team building session was a hoot. We divided the group into teams and got them to build a giraffe in 5 minutes out of two pieces of flipchart paper and a roll of selotape. Lots of laughter and some very odd shaped giraffes (ours included!) whilst the winning giraffe was hotly contested! Most sessions tested our facilitation skills well and truly – particularly when it came to reshaping dodgy ideas! The poverty and social needs of the patients (money, food etc) raised its head several times which is always tricky. Time keeping also interesting – much to do with the fact breakfast and lunch ran late every day and our ‘reliable’ lift often did not get us to the teaching venue on time! Needed to do quite a lot of jiggling on the hoof but fitted a lot in and got some key messages across, which was pleasing. Will be interesting to see when we visit with the volunteers and palliative care team now over the next few weeks whether they are using or practising the skills we taught. Fingers crossed!  

The energisers were fun – I have a groovy little video of us leading a fast round of ‘head, shoulders knees and toes’ and I have learnt to give people ‘hot ones’ – if you’re good, I’ll give you one when I get back! For the last day we managed to get our outfits made which went down a treat! For the princely sum of £10 I have a tailor made traditional African top and skirt made out of groovy material. By the end of the day Grace and I did feel like ‘mzungu dolls’ – you know like ‘African barbie’ that you can dress up in her African style outfit! Comedy! If only I could uploads my pics but either the internet or the computer (I’m not sure which as I’m not computer savvy enough) won’t let me … boo hiss boo! I’ll keep trying…

The closing ceremony was just that – a ceremony. Everybody thanking everybody else, prayers and lots of handshaking whilst a certificate for each individual made its way down the line of ‘officials’ and mzungu dolls before finally being delivered to the joyful recipient! It seems the more mzungus the more prestige as some poor water engineer from Canada who is working in Shinyanga not only had to endure 3 days of palliative care teaching - he also somehow got roped into the official handshaking and certificate presentation ceremony  also!!  Can’t say we’re not delivering our message to as many people as possible!! All in all very reminiscent of school sports day and prize giving…. Happy days!!

Feels great to have got this big bit of teaching done and dusted. We have more teaching planned at the regional hospital, kolandoto hospital and the nursing school over the next 6 weeks but will be able to draw on the resources and sessions already prepared to plan these. As I said before the real test now will be out in the field and whether or not they are using what they’ve learnt i.e. the proof in the pudding and all that….

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm……….……. Pudding!!!!!!!!

xx