On the 23rd to 24 July 2010, two members of the SELL Team, Jonathan and I went to Tafawa Balewa Local Government area, Bauchi State to deliver a workshop which we see as very successful, though the participants at the workshop were only 13. They said their number which was normally above 50 was reduced to 13 because most of the young adults had gone to farm since it is raining season.
The unit of the SELL programme that was delivered at Tafawa Balewa was the Peace Building unit. Despite the few number of participants, the workshop was not boring; it was as though participants were carefully selected. Their contributions were brilliant and we got a sense from the end of workshop evaluation that they understood the essence of the Peace Building unit. It is unbelievable that with the publicity on sexuality, particularly HIV/AIDS and how it spreads, most people are still ignorant about the way it could be contracted. During the session on sexuality, one of the participants Hajaratu, contributed that she has heard and believed that men cannot contract HIV from women through sex but only women can contract it from men. So she was educated and given the fact by the facilitators and other participants that both men and women are equally at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS from each other if they have sex (especially unprotected sex). Other participants at the workshop added that HIV is majorly contracted through having sex and other means which are minimal like blood to blood contact; through the use of sharp object like unsterilized clippers, blood transfusion, cuts and mother to child transmission. etc.
I informed you last week that Moses and Leo will attend a Peace Mediation Meeting in Jos. The Meeting which was supposed to take place at an area in Nasarawa Gwom community of Jos was postponed due to the recent unrest in the area. Though the Team of mediators went to the area and met both the Christian and Muslim Leaders who advised that the meeting be fixed for another time and this was agreed by all the parties involved. The peace meeting is organized by the Damietta Peace Initiative Project. We shall announce this new date to you in due time.
Last weekend, Pius Paul a Bauchi SELL Team facilitator and Jonathan went to a Pentecostal church in Bauchi and delivered a Personal Growth workshop for the youths of the church. The Number of participants met were 20. Most of them said they have never attended a life giving workshop like the SELL workshop. They have requested that we include them in our next years programme so that they may be able to finish all the SELL units. We want to thank our link person John and the Youth Pastor of the church for working tirelessly and making sure that this workshop held.
Also on Thursday the 29th of July 2010, Moses went to Jos to continue the training he started last two weeks in on “Alternative to Violence Project” organized by the Damietta Peace Initiative Project. Participants at the training are drawn from crises prone areas particularly Jos. As I gathered from Moses the second training is more comprehensive and academic than the first. The first training which took place last two weeks was an introduction to the processes used in the second training. The second training covers Anger Management, Conflict Resolution, processes like Mediation consensus, confrontation, compromise and consultation among others. The third phase of the training which is also the facilitators stage will be coming up in September. We in our Team want to commend Sr. Helena, Maji Peterx and the carefronting facilitators from Kaduna for their courage and skills in organizing and delivering this workshop.
UPCOMING EVENTS.
• This weekend, the SELL Team will be delivering a workshop on the Community Building unit of the SELL programme at Boi Community in Bogoro Local Government Area of Bauchi. This time, Jacob Paulus one of the Bauchi SELL Team facilitators and Moses will be there to deliver the workshop.
• It’s over a year now since one of our Team members went on sabbatical leave in England, Noel McGeeney a priest of the Saint Patrick’s Missionary Society has arrived back to Nigeria and to us at the Youth Formation Centre. We are happy to have him back.
• Lastly the date for the Training in Ghana is getting close, Leo has already traveled to Ghana to plan some of the logistics for the training and next week, Jonathan and I will join him.
I informed you last week that the training will be for 14 persons but its is our joy to say that 2 other young adults are joining in to make a total of 16 trainees.
You will hear more on this training in our next editions, so stay with us.
Maria
Communications, YFC.
The unit of the SELL programme that was delivered at Tafawa Balewa was the Peace Building unit. Despite the few number of participants, the workshop was not boring; it was as though participants were carefully selected. Their contributions were brilliant and we got a sense from the end of workshop evaluation that they understood the essence of the Peace Building unit. It is unbelievable that with the publicity on sexuality, particularly HIV/AIDS and how it spreads, most people are still ignorant about the way it could be contracted. During the session on sexuality, one of the participants Hajaratu, contributed that she has heard and believed that men cannot contract HIV from women through sex but only women can contract it from men. So she was educated and given the fact by the facilitators and other participants that both men and women are equally at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS from each other if they have sex (especially unprotected sex). Other participants at the workshop added that HIV is majorly contracted through having sex and other means which are minimal like blood to blood contact; through the use of sharp object like unsterilized clippers, blood transfusion, cuts and mother to child transmission. etc.
I informed you last week that Moses and Leo will attend a Peace Mediation Meeting in Jos. The Meeting which was supposed to take place at an area in Nasarawa Gwom community of Jos was postponed due to the recent unrest in the area. Though the Team of mediators went to the area and met both the Christian and Muslim Leaders who advised that the meeting be fixed for another time and this was agreed by all the parties involved. The peace meeting is organized by the Damietta Peace Initiative Project. We shall announce this new date to you in due time.
Last weekend, Pius Paul a Bauchi SELL Team facilitator and Jonathan went to a Pentecostal church in Bauchi and delivered a Personal Growth workshop for the youths of the church. The Number of participants met were 20. Most of them said they have never attended a life giving workshop like the SELL workshop. They have requested that we include them in our next years programme so that they may be able to finish all the SELL units. We want to thank our link person John and the Youth Pastor of the church for working tirelessly and making sure that this workshop held.
Also on Thursday the 29th of July 2010, Moses went to Jos to continue the training he started last two weeks in on “Alternative to Violence Project” organized by the Damietta Peace Initiative Project. Participants at the training are drawn from crises prone areas particularly Jos. As I gathered from Moses the second training is more comprehensive and academic than the first. The first training which took place last two weeks was an introduction to the processes used in the second training. The second training covers Anger Management, Conflict Resolution, processes like Mediation consensus, confrontation, compromise and consultation among others. The third phase of the training which is also the facilitators stage will be coming up in September. We in our Team want to commend Sr. Helena, Maji Peterx and the carefronting facilitators from Kaduna for their courage and skills in organizing and delivering this workshop.
UPCOMING EVENTS.
• This weekend, the SELL Team will be delivering a workshop on the Community Building unit of the SELL programme at Boi Community in Bogoro Local Government Area of Bauchi. This time, Jacob Paulus one of the Bauchi SELL Team facilitators and Moses will be there to deliver the workshop.
• It’s over a year now since one of our Team members went on sabbatical leave in England, Noel McGeeney a priest of the Saint Patrick’s Missionary Society has arrived back to Nigeria and to us at the Youth Formation Centre. We are happy to have him back.
• Lastly the date for the Training in Ghana is getting close, Leo has already traveled to Ghana to plan some of the logistics for the training and next week, Jonathan and I will join him.
I informed you last week that the training will be for 14 persons but its is our joy to say that 2 other young adults are joining in to make a total of 16 trainees.
You will hear more on this training in our next editions, so stay with us.
Maria
Communications, YFC.
RSS Feed