Striving

My Facebook access is officially blocked, all  of the modes I was using to get around the blockage have been cut off. While it's not really all that big of a deal, I've been able to realize how much time I misuse on FB, nevertheless it's a nice way to promote my page here. 

I've been co-planning for a series of five day summer camps, meeting with the various government ministries, visiting schools, interviewing new trainers, catching up with the current trainers and continuing to navigate a one room office work environment. Cubicles all of a sudden don't look so bad!

I was reviewing some readings from UMT and came across this Carl Rogers quote:

“The actualizing tendency can of course be thwarted or warped, but it cannot be destroyed without destroying the organism.  I remember that in my boyhood the potato bin in which we stored our winter supply of potatoes was in the basement, several feet below a small basement window.  The conditions were unfavorable, but the potatoes would begin to sprout — pale white sprouts, so unlike the healthy green shoots they sent up when planted in the soil in the spring.  But these sad, spindly sprouts would grow two or three feet in length as they reached toward the distant light of the window.  They were, in their bizarre, futile growth, a sort of desperate expression of the directional tendency I have been describing.  They would never become a plant, never mature, never fulfill their real potentiality.  But under the most adverse circumstances they were striving to become.  Life would not give up, even if it could not flourish.  In dealing with clients whose lives have been terribly warped . . . I often think of those potato sprouts.  So unfavorable have been the conditions in which these people have developed that their lives often seem abnormal, twisted, and scarcely human.  Yet the directional tendency in them is to be trusted.  The clue to understanding their behavior is that they are striving; in the only ways they perceive as available to them, to move toward growth, toward becoming.  To us the results may seem bizarre and futile, but they are life's desperate attempt to become itself.  It is this potent constructive tendency which is an underlying basis of the person-centered approach.”  Rogers, Carl. The Foundations of a Person-Centered Approach. La Jolla, California: Centre for Studies of the Person, 1979; pgs. 2-3.

We're striving to become something a little more and hopefully, unlike the potato sprouts, we will become closer to our full potential. 

Living In Malabo and Beach Day

Arena Blanca Beach, Luba, Ecuatorial Guinea

Today, Sunday June 16, 2013, we decided to finally take a break (I’ve been working up a storm and one of these days I’ll share a bit about that with y’all, however I’m being called to share some of my joys and travel experiences with you today). By us, I am referring to my roommates and I. I haven’t shared with you the details on my living situation here in Malabo. I have three roomies, interns for an American NGO Startup which has provided my housing. While our three bedroom apartment is by no means luxurious, thankfully we tend to have electricity nearly 24 hours a day, allowing such luxuries as a refrigerator that keeps our food and water cold, air conditioning to cool down the house from the steamy heat outside and we can charge our electronics just about whenever we please. We’ve had a few power outages here and there, but thankfully up to now it has neither been with much frequency nor does the power stay out for too long.

Hermit Crabs Chowing Down

The most inconvenient part of living in our house from my perspective is our situation with running water, or lack thereof. In the two weeks here, we have gone for two separate periods of 3 to 5 days without running water. Gracias a Dios on more than one of those days it rained and I was able to collect rainwater and our neighbors/landlords/the American NGO Leadership team allowed us to fetch water from their third floor apartment. When the water does arrive, it arrives between the hours of 6am and 8am. We have a few buckets, about 50 gallons, of which we can fill up and store the water for use later. While it’s definitely inconvenient, it’s certainly not the worst problem to have. I am thankful I don’t have to walk 100 yards or further every day to fetch water for bathing, washing and cleaning, although I am remembering to be judicious with my water usage.

Still going to town on the seed

My roommates have become friends with a community of oil industry workers who are here on the island. Through their friendship, our new friends invited all of us to the beach for the day near a small town called Luba on the southern coast of the island of Bioko. Our new friends drove us, thankfully, since public transportation around the island is basically non-existent. Within the city public taxis are plentiful. They’re white cars with a red hood, roof and trunk. The taxis don’t have any fixed route, which can be a bit frustrating because you have to continually ask where they are going as they pass by common commuter paths.

This guy was casually walking down the beach with a Shark!

The beach we hit up is about an hour away, had a few tables set up in front of small shacks serving food and beverages. The water was warm and inviting, the beach itself was a nice small spot. I had my first taste of Antelope, or maybe it was venison, which if it was venison it was the best I’ve ever had. The day was a much needed respite from the city, work and it was refreshing to see a new part of the island and spend the day with quality and relaxing group of people who are quickly becoming my friends.

Lava Rocks on the Beach

Malabo, Equatorial Guinea

“Anxiety is experiencing failure in advance. Tell yourself enough vivid stories about the worst possible outcome of your work and you’ll soon come to believe them. Worry is not preparation, and anxiety doesn’t make you better.” – Seth Godin, V is for Vulnerable, Life Outside the Comfort Zone.

I have been in Equatorial Guinea for the past ten days and realized that I’ve been blogging about South Africa and Cape Town and my time with Grassroot Soccer (GRS). So, now I am in Equatorial Guinea (EG), a small coastal country underneath the horn of Africa composed of five islands off the coast of Cameroon and the mainland tucked in between Cameroon and Gabon. The capital city of Malabo is located on the largest of the five islands, Bioko, and the most populated city of Bata is located on the mainland. Here's a link to google maps.

I am living and working in Malabo with a small NGO which focuses on promoting youth volunteerism as well as women’s health, employment and empowerment.  Much of their work is rooted in HIV prevention and life skills training. Grassroot Soccer partnered with the NGO about a year ago and trained a good number of coaches (they are youth leaders or peer educators) to teach an HIV and malaria prevention curriculum. Grassroot Soccer and their Partner NGOs tend to see a large amount of success upon partnership. However, the situation in EG has been quite different. GRS has seen an unusually low number of interventions.  Hence, yours truly steps in to try and support a wonderful group of dedicated individuals and an organization unlucky enough to work in a country steeped in bureaucracy, pessimism and lack of trust. 

My goal now is to make plans for a beach trip, be flexible in work and have fun with my roommates, co-workers and neighbors. I just realized I haven’t done a dinamica in almost ten days, since I’ve been here in EG and I’ve yet to meet the team of coaches. I think I need to do a dinamica and laugh. To date in Malabo I have seen a Gospel show, timed the national youth development swim team at the Olympic center, been on national television and am living without running water in the middle of the city (I woke up at 6am today to fill up 30 gallons of rainwater in our storage tank which is a pink trashcan). Fun has definitely been had and the only thing to really do about the water situation is just laugh and hope the water comes tomorrow. I’m learning to get clean with a liter of water, which is a skill I’m definitely putting on my resume! Definitely feeling the balancing-act right now…

“Birl that log. Find your balance by losing it, and commit to feet in motion until you’re birling and the log is spinning. The log isn’t going to spin itself, you know. A spinning log is stable for a while, but not forever. That’s why birling is worth watching.” – Seth Godin, V is for Vulnerable, Life Outside the Comfort Zone.

Dinamicas

“Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning do to do afterward.” - Kurt Vonnegut

Laughter, fun, joy, simple as they are, seem distant when one is under pressure, stress, operating from a fearful, judgey, dark place. Living, working and experiencing the culture of the DR was both frustrating and exhausting at times, especially in the beginning when everything was new, different and unexpected. I remember feeling in quite a dark spot at points during the first year of my PC service. Something that truly helped bring lightness into my Peace Corps service in the DR were Dinamicas. What are dinamicas? Simply put they’re icebreakers. Dinamicas could be a song, dance or interactive game, get to know you activities and a promotion of fun and or solidarity. Yeah, I hated this kinda stuff for a long time, like I said, I was in a frustrating and dark place. Somewhere along my journey my attitude flipped when I saw how much fun everyone was having and I was exhausted sitting on the sidelines being unhappy. I wanted to feel part of something greater, bigger and well, have some fun! Laughter brings light to the darkness. In my case, dinamicas brought light to my darkness.

I embraced the use of the mini-teambuilder/energizer/song and made it work to my advantage. I became more at ease beginning meetings with an icebreaker. I imagine you might say, “icebreakers changed your service Dan? Really? You went halfway around the world, left behind your family and friends and a decent job to ‘discover’ a songs from third grade grammar school?”

Uhm, yeah!

I can remember being quite nervous standing in front of an audience, no matter how large or small, and trembling at the prospect of speaking with all eyes on me. I remember thinking, “What are they going to think of me? Are they going to believe I’m some kind of idiot up here blabbering on about nothing? I’ll go blank and forget what I was going to say, lose my train of thought! They’re going to JUDGE ME!” I’m certain to actors, teachers, and public speakers may experience this, especially when they are novice.

So, the icebreaker or dinamica gave me the opportunity to shake off the nervousness, let the negative feelings drip off my pores and release, allowing me to embrace my joy, laughter and have  a little fun. It gets me out of the dark place. Dinamicas became part of my routine, working with kids or adults, professionals. I would start off most any class, presentation or meeting with a dinamica.

I was very excited to learn upon my arrival to Cape Town and the offices of Grassroot Soccer that the culture of using icebreakers and songs is deeply embedded in the experience. I can tell you the joy I felt in the first encounter with the GRS representatives from all over Africa, at a professional development conference where thousands of dollars were spent getting people to the event, was a DINAMICA! LOVE IT.

I’m posting a video of one of the dinamicas which was led by two of the Grassroot Soccer staff members during our second day of training. I caught a majority of the icebreaker on video, which is a new one to me I might add. The leaders formed two groups, one who prefers coffee and the other who prefers tea. Watch what ensues!

I hope you integrate laughter into your life with kids, adults, and humans! I continue to doing my best to keep laughing.

 “There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.” - Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

“And I have one of those very loud, stupid laughs. I mean if I ever sat behind myself in a movie or something, I'd probably lean over and tell myself to please shut up” – J.D. Salinger, Catcher in the Rye

Oh yeah, I can identify with Salinger, I’m that guy in the movie theatre and yes, people, mostly loved ones are usually telling me to shut it.

To be of Use

I was going through some of my old graduate school readings and came across this poem. It spoke to me and still does. Thanks Nancy! 

TO BE OF USE

The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bouncing like half-submerged balls.

I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.

I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.

The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.

Marge Piercy

South Africa, Cape Town, First Impressions

South Africa, Cape Town

After living in the Dominican Republic for 33 months, I went to Indianapolis for about five days then journeyed off for my first trip ever to what my friend Laura calls the “Mamma Africa” and on to the small coastal town of Cape Town. Cape Town South Africa! Never in a million years would I have thought I would arrive here in Mamma Africa. It always seemed so distant, foreign and unreachable. Africa was the place for, well I don’t know really what I had made up, however it was just too far removed from my experience. I think I had put up economic barriers, like usual, along with which came a variety of other barriers (mostly psychic and make believe but man those seem so darn real sometimes) which really aren’t helping anything or anyone in the long run.

Anyway, perhaps you aren’t reading this necessarily to see the inner/outer workings of my thought processes. I’m going to take a stab at doing this blog again, to keeping you updated to my physical, emotional, professional, cultural and various other meanderings.

To catch you up on my life most recently, one of the projects I worked on in the Peace Corps Dominican Republic was an HIV prevention curriculum based on teaching basic HIV knowledge through the use of games, activities and fun. The curriculum was developed by Grassroot Soccer, an NGO based in South Africa, and we (Peace Corps DR and DREAM Project) adapted the lessons to fit the cultural context of the DR and named the curriculum Deportes para la Vida or Sports for Life. The lessons are simple, easy to teach, easy to learn and in the end of each lesson a simple preventative message is taught. In addition, the program is not only a curriculum, but also a leadership development program. Typically the lessons are taught by host country nationals, in my case by Dominicans, Haitains or Dominico-Haitianos. The local leaders, whom at the end of the five day training earn the title of trainers or coaches, are taught the program methodology through the five day course which includes teach backs, a variety of ice-breakers, leadership, planning and becoming part of a larger community of volunteer leaders. The trainings and ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the coaches are supported by the DREAM Project (a local Non-Governmental Organization or NGO) and the Peace Corps Dominican Republic. I had the good fortune to work with the program delivery (teaching) for essentially my entire service. I was directly associated in working on program administration and delivery with the inspiring National Director of the Sports for Life initiative who is a DREAM Project employee. Throughout my project I collaborated with a great number of highly dedicated, motivated and passionate Volunteers, staff and Dominicans.

In the DR we have literally BLOWN UP (this is a good thing) this program by developing a large number of trainers who partner with Peace Corps Volunteers in their communities to teach the program. We have seen success implementing the curriculum in terms of number of youth reached (the target age range for recipients is 12 to 18) and number of trainers/coaches developed. Peace Corps Dominican Republic, in partnership with DREAM Project, had developed a leadership and incentivizing structure which includes a way to move up the ladder to becoming the next level coach. I have seen some incredible growth amongst the youth leaders who at each step of the way are able to take on more responsibility, leadership and ownership of the program.

That’s the short of it…I’ll write more about it when I get down to finally writing my masters paper…

So, through what I call my good fortune, I was offered an opportunity to come to Cape Town, South Africa to spend a week with the Grassroot Soccer staff before heading off to Equatorial Guinea as a “Consultant” on one of the Grassroot Soccer programs in development here on the great “Mamma Africa.”

The flight to Africa was surprisingly smooth. With the exception of a two and a half hour delay at the commencement of my flight in Indianapolis, all of my connections were well timed and the international airlines have their shit together. I got food and tons of it (I can’t even venture to remember the last time I received one full meal on an airplane much less three), all you can drink beer and wine (I only took advantage of having a couple beers) and the movies and television were all you could watch. Needless to say, I felt like a kid in a candy store, much like I felt for the entire week in Cape Town.

Upon arrival in Cape Town, my first impressions of the GRS staff was absolutely incredible; warm, friendly, kind, sincere, authentic, energetic, professional and fun. Whether or not the office climate is truly that way when there isn’t a conference or major event is to be determined, nevertheless they seem to know how to put on a good face. I immediately felt welcomed both professionally and personally. I spent a week representing the Dominican Republic, Deportes Para la Vida, Peace Corps DR and DREAM Project (despite not being directly asked to do so by any of the organizations nor GRS, I just did it).

The conference I attended has been developed to connect the GRS programs operating throughout Africa and allows their leaders the opportunity to meet, share best practices, discuss solutions to common problems and overall participate in the family atmosphere of GRS. Included in the conference were representatives from Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Zambia and South Africa. GRS operates in partnership with either local NGO’s or have fully developed an Affiliate program in these countries.

I was able to take advantage of getting to know my Equatorial Guinean project partner a little more and learning about the multi-faceted GRS operation on the continent of Africa was, to say the least, exciting and stimulating. Throughout the entire week I felt encouraged to express my opinion, fully participate in the conference and generally get to know the GRS culture. The environment created was just what I needed coming off of a three year stint as PCV. While in Peace Corps I did experience aspects of what I will call “learning culture” it definitely did not permeate throughout Peace Corps. While it is possible I have been blinded by my excitement upon arrival to “Mamma Africa,” I trust my feelings to guide my experiences and I have an optimistic feeling about it.

One of the commonly shared frustrations amongst program managers was difficulty in motivating volunteer coaches and specifically how much to pay them, if anything. After struggling with this very issue with our Dominican Republic program for the last year of my Peace Corps Service, it was reassuring to note we aren’t the only program feeling as such. While GRS doesn’t offer any tried and true solution to any issue (they certainly do not offer a one size fits all answer), I was encouraged to learn GRS has organized a Coach Development curriculum and are invested in the coaches learning and futures beyond working in the capacity of program delivery.

I was quite simply excited, honored and felt very fortunate to be the Dominican Republic representative chosen to come to the Promised Land of GRS. We speak often of GRS in the DR and to actually see and experience the oft referred to office, meeting the founders and the experiencing the caring staff was like going to Mecca for me and likely would be the same for many of my fellow PCV’s and DPV colleagues. I perhaps have seemed to put GRS on a pedestal, making them out to be this wonderful and perfect group of people, perhaps they are. Nevertheless, if I have put them on a pedestal, they asked me to join them on that podium as part of their family and firmly embraced me with thoughtfulness, support and love on my journey.