I had been quite sick over the weekend, possibly from too much R&R, possibly from food poisoning. And some of you who know me well, know that I sort of turn into a baby when I'm sick. So this weekend I stayed in bed, feeling sorry for myself, and was just really missing home.
Today, still not feeling well and debating taking another day of rest, I reminded myself that today I would be co-facilitating a teacher seminar on 'Leadership' , and that I couldn't let people down.
On Friday afternoon I made an agreement with my colleague to help with a training session, stressing the fact that I would co-facilitate and not take over the entire seminar. He was the one who had done this for over 5 years and understood the context of the group and the content of the training. However, this morning when I was still feeling not myself and wanting to run home to crawl into bed – my colleague said to me “I am not feeling well today, you will take over the seminar and I will be there to help”. Instead of saying “Well, I'm not feeling good either, so maybe I should just go home, sorry”, I said “Sure, no problem”. What was going through my mind? The fact that I had been given this amazing, yet terrifying, opportunity to actually run a seminar for teachers – and the fact that the seminars topic was “Leadership”. It would have been pathetically ironic for me to give up, go home, crawl into bed, and remain in the fetal position until Tuesday arrived.
You see, these women (some of whom are probably younger than me) have taken on this responsibility to become head teachers in their communities. They come from remote, rural, and impoverished areas. They have decided to take a big leap to come to the city of Mombasa and take a week long training course to improve themselves, their schools, and (insha'allah) their communities. So why can't I also take a big leap, for them?
Before I knew it, I was working alongside my colleague, reading through the training materials and producing flip charts. My nervousness and homesickness melted away. I told myself that, yes I can do this. It may be a slightly different from singing “The Wheels on the Bus” with a classroom of Chinese kindergartners, but only slightly.
Since grad school, where I had discovered the wonderful world of 'capacity building' and 'facilitation' I decided that is where I fit in: to see changes happen in people; to work with others to build their confidence, energy, and hopefully inspire them to make change in their lives and their communities. It is an exciting process when it works. And I had seen it work before. In Guyana we developed a youth leadership skills workshop and taught children 5-15 about positive life choices and the risks they may encounter : HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, physical abuse, etc. Out of my group of 20 kids, one girl came up to us afterwards and said “I want to be a community leader, I will go and teach my friends and family about these risks and how to make better decisions”. It was that one girl that inspired me to continue a career in community development.
So here was my chance, to see community development in the making, and hopefully be a part of it. My colleague and I discussed the outline of the workshop, and I made sure I knew what part I was taking care of. (He decided to begin the workshop after all). Of course, last minute he decided to give me another part. No problem, right? He opened up the workshop with some brainstorming topics: What is leadership? What are the qualities of a good leader? What is teamwork?
The room wasn't too energetic at this point, and it was at this point when he turned it over to me and sat at the back of the room. OK, I said to myself, just remember all those parents, teachers, and 5 year olds you sang songs and danced in front of in China. It can't be that bad...
And it wasn't. All said and done. I encouraged the group to think about different styles of leadership (i.e. Democratic, authoritative), and different factors that can contribute or inhibit effective teamwork. I then numbered them off into groups, as per usual, and the room was buzzing with activity. I did my usual run around to see how they were faring. We shared some laughs about spelling mistakes and proper grammar (English is their second language). I ensured they elected a 'leader' to present their brainstorming ideas to the rest of the group, and we all did a fine job in discussing and clarifying all the elements that were brought forward. I also had an opportunity to use the 'praise' system introduced to me during the training seminar in Ottawa by a man who flew all the way from Uganda to tell us about Early Childhood Education in Africa. You clap your hands three times, stomp your feet three times, and clap your hands once more as you push them forward, towards someone – and this is how you give praise for their input and suggestions.
These women, these head teachers, have taken on a big role and responsibility within their communities. They are previously trained teachers in Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) and have taught for a number of years within the Madrasa Preschool system – the schools that my office, the Madrasa Resource Centre – supports. Within this system, the preschools are community owned and operated. Small amounts of funding trickle in from various donors and funding agencies. But the essence of the Madrasa ECDE programme is that communities take on the responsibility of building, maintaining, and running the schools so that they have the capacity to sustain it. The head teachers are in charge of ensuring the schools run smoothly, that teachers are paid on time and in the right amount, that new students are enrolled each year, and that parents and other community members are active within the school committees. They are the “mirrors” or the role models for the schools. In essence, they are already leaders.
What we learned today is that there are many styles of leadership, and it is possible to possess characteristics from all of them. And I learned that on those days when I really don't want to deal with the world, I should face it head on.
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