TOT

Last month, REDES hosted its first annual TOTs, Training of Trainers. While it was a whole lot of work, it was also a whole lot of fun. By the end of the five three day trainings held throughout Mozambique, about one hundred REDES facilitators left motivated and excited to go back to facilitate their REDES groups.

The facilitators were a mix of seasoned veterans, who have been with REDES since it started in 2005, and new facilitators who are just now starting to think about starting groups.

Our TOT in Homoine was a small group, there were only thirteen facilitators, and it was an even split between women who were familiar with REDES and women who were just starting to get involved.

In between all of the singing and dancing that we did during the training, we also managed to be quite productive. We talked about different ways to present information to girls. We talked about the biology and transmission of HIV. We talked about decision making and goal setting. We voted for leaders among the group and we established our group's goals for the year.

While the whole training was memorable, I think what to me was the most impressive was how we were able to create a space safe for these women to discuss so many issues that are often not discussed.

We created a detailed diagram of a woman's reproductive system and the women were able to point to different parts of our bodies and talk about their form and function. We were able to answer questions about why certain things make us feel pleasure and how so many men don't understand those certain things.

We did a condom demonstration, complete with a step by step explanation about how important condoms are but also how tricky they can be. We talked about tips for the women to take home to try during condom negotiation in their own lives and we talked about how to talk about condoms with young girls who are not yet sexually active.

I think these two examples are particularly telling because even in the states we cannot talk about many of these things. We often find that talking about sex with young people is difficult, and it is. But without explaining how to be safe, young people cannot protect themselves against the reality of HIV in their communities. We talked about how in Mozambique one in five or six people is infected with HIV and almost all of us are affected by the virus. We talked about the importance of making people more aware about the ways to protect themselves from HIV and the ways that girls' empowerment is integral to handling the epidemic in Mozambique.

We also set goals. I have done goal setting exercises with my REDES group in Manjacaze, and I always love it. So seldom in Mozambique are girls asked what their goals are, where they see themselves in ten, twenty, thirty years. Even these women, who are leaders in their communities, seemed genuinely excited to share with a group what their goals were. Their faces lit up when they talked about how they wanted to go on to have a family, to become college professors, or continue working with girls in their communities.

I love I working with girls and women and encouraging them to think about their futures and the potential in their lives. But at the TOT, I got to see some of these goals being put into action. Because of the variety of participants, we also had a variety in the facilitators of the sessions. Some of the sesssions were facilitated by Peace Corps Volunteers, but the majority were facilitated by group leaders from different places. Marisa, Vilma, and Celest each did an amazing job.

Marisa has been involved with REDES for years. She knows lots of ice-breakers, she can get people talking, and has a great presence in front of a group. Vilma and Celest, new facilitators were incredible to watch.

Celest, my counterpart and close friend in Manjacaze, did an amazing job. She was really nervous the day before the training, and came in to go over her session plan with me. While I had worked with her on a few trainings in Manjacaze, she was much more excited about this material and she wanted to give it justice. Though she was younger than many of the other facilitators, she did a great job getting the women talking and was able to facilitate two wonderful sessions.

When I met Vilma I knew she was going to be amazing. She is a counterpart for a group in Inhambane, and has a lot of experience facilitating for groups as she is running a small course with another volunteer in Inhambane. She stood in the front of the room and the volunteers just looked at each other wondering who this girl was.

Vilma is the kind of woman you hope to work with as a Peace Corps volunteer. Like Celest, she is young and has lots of great ideas. She is always willing to try something new and she has this ability to gain the respect and interest of a group. She is an amazing facilitator, and REDES is lucky to have her.

As we were going around discussing goals, all three of these facilitators explained how they hoped to continue working with girls and women and continue facilitating REDES groups. It could not have been more inspiring had it been scripted. Talk about thinking toward sustainability-without being prompted these women were thinking about it on their own, and it was something they wanted. Their goals would become our motivators.