Hello Friends,
All of us here in the Resource Room send you warm greetings. We trust you are doing well in all your endeavours and that you want to hear from us. After a month long leave period for the Resource Team members in August the Resource Room reopened on the 3rd of September. A lot of activities took place in September and we hereby bring you updates as always.
The fourth training of our Volunteer Facilitators which was done in September was on the Community Building Unit. It was the major activity in both the Navrongo-Bolgatanga and Tamale zones – the Upper East and Northern regions of Ghana respectively. In the Navrongo-Bolgatanga zone the training session was from the 6th to the 9th. A total of 31 young adult facilitators who were already trained in three of the units were present for this fourth training – the number was made up of 10 females and 21 males.
All of us here in the Resource Room send you warm greetings. We trust you are doing well in all your endeavours and that you want to hear from us. After a month long leave period for the Resource Team members in August the Resource Room reopened on the 3rd of September. A lot of activities took place in September and we hereby bring you updates as always.
The fourth training of our Volunteer Facilitators which was done in September was on the Community Building Unit. It was the major activity in both the Navrongo-Bolgatanga and Tamale zones – the Upper East and Northern regions of Ghana respectively. In the Navrongo-Bolgatanga zone the training session was from the 6th to the 9th. A total of 31 young adult facilitators who were already trained in three of the units were present for this fourth training – the number was made up of 10 females and 21 males.
The Tamale training session was from the 27th to the 30th. The facilitators were previously trained on three units of the programme. The total number of trainee facilitators present for the training was also 31 of which 10 were females and the remaining 21 males.
In both groups the facilitators were taken through the six sessions of the Community Building Unit. The sessions are Mind-Map, Process Work on Identity, Exploration of Perspectives, Global Community, The Role of Women, and Sexual Addiction and Internet. The essence of this particular unit of the programme is to look at the task of building and sustaining genuine community life using the family as a starting point and the necessity of good communication in building community. The challenge of intercultural living is also explored.
After going through these sessions and other capacity building materials, the trainee facilitators expressed their gratitude to the Resource Team, Presentation Brothers and the benefactors of the programme for the opportunity given them to explore, share and learn together how to contribute towards building and sustaining good communities. The other capacity building materials also added more gloss inasmuch as community building is concerned. For example, the opening session was ‘Build with What You Have’. In this session trainees were given an item each of their choice among several items. They were then asked to go into groups to put together their individual items to make something meaningful while working in silence. The insights from this exercise show that every individual in their uniqueness can contribute towards building community. It also shows how creativity can spring from silence, patience and observation.
There was also a prayer session designed with the theme centering on community building. Scripture readings were taken from the Christian and Islamic religions and a Proverb from the African Traditional religion. The prayer reflection was taken from the Rainbow Story which shows the colours coming together to form a bow despite their individual uniqueness. This symbol shows how humankind can come together with their differing individual uniqueness to foster unity in diversity and to build good and peaceful communities.
Reading materials on Team Work, Gender and Relationships, God and Human Relations, Social Media, Care for the Earth and Thinking were given to facilitators in seminar groups to read and to find creative ways to present their reading materials as groups. It was so amazing watching these young people present their materials in groups as they did it with passion, commitment and a lot of creativity. The presentations were in drama, role play and poem forms.
After going through these sessions and other capacity building materials, the trainee facilitators expressed their gratitude to the Resource Team, Presentation Brothers and the benefactors of the programme for the opportunity given them to explore, share and learn together how to contribute towards building and sustaining good communities. The other capacity building materials also added more gloss inasmuch as community building is concerned. For example, the opening session was ‘Build with What You Have’. In this session trainees were given an item each of their choice among several items. They were then asked to go into groups to put together their individual items to make something meaningful while working in silence. The insights from this exercise show that every individual in their uniqueness can contribute towards building community. It also shows how creativity can spring from silence, patience and observation.
There was also a prayer session designed with the theme centering on community building. Scripture readings were taken from the Christian and Islamic religions and a Proverb from the African Traditional religion. The prayer reflection was taken from the Rainbow Story which shows the colours coming together to form a bow despite their individual uniqueness. This symbol shows how humankind can come together with their differing individual uniqueness to foster unity in diversity and to build good and peaceful communities.
Reading materials on Team Work, Gender and Relationships, God and Human Relations, Social Media, Care for the Earth and Thinking were given to facilitators in seminar groups to read and to find creative ways to present their reading materials as groups. It was so amazing watching these young people present their materials in groups as they did it with passion, commitment and a lot of creativity. The presentations were in drama, role play and poem forms.
There were social night gatherings on the Saturdays during the training in both zones – a night of recreation and socialization. This provided the volunteers with the opportunity to release stress and also to deepen their knowledge of themselves and to entertain themselves. They danced, created jokes and participated in other recreational activities.
During the Tamale training the closing Mass celebration was carried out in the nearby parish of Saints Peter and Paul. In this thanksgiving ceremony the programme was reaffirmed in the community by Fr. Leo Traynor a resource person to the programme who was the main celebrant of the Mass. The facilitators were introduced to the people. The young adults were encouraged to avail themselves for workshops when announcements are made about the programme in the community.
Apart from the training there were other activities undertaken in the month of September. On the 17th there was an introductory workshop in Damongo in the Northern region of Ghana. This after the Resource Team was invited by the leadership of the Catholic community that place to come and introduce the programme there. Twelve members of the youth leadership team were taken through an overview of the programme. They expressed the desire to have the programme functioning in the place and the readiness to support the Resource Team with free accommodation for the training of Volunteer Facilitators as part of their local contribution. The Resource Team is putting structures in place to reach out to them in 2019.
Finally, there was a fourth and final outreach workshop in Wa zone – the Upper West region of Ghana. This time round the venue was in Tumu Deanery. The Team arrived at Tumu on the 21st and were warmly received and accommodated by the FIC Brothers in their Tumu Community House. On the 22nd, 26 young adults from Tumu and its neighbouring parishes and others from Tertiary schools in the area were gathered for the workshop. Exploring the sessions together the participants happy to have more of such coming their way from the SELL Team. The main purpose of the workshop was to introduce the workshop to that particular deanery and to select suitable Volunteers to be trained as facilitators of the programme.
The Resource Team is immensely grateful for the support from several people which made it possible for these activities to be carried on successfully. We are forever indebted with gratitude to our generous benefactors whose resources underpin the progress of the programme. The Presentation Brothers continue to support the Resource Team as it is their programme the team is running. For the various support and for their presence to encourage the Volunteer Facilitators during the Tamale training session, we cannot thank them enough. We appreciate the FIC Brothers in the Tumu Community House for their hospitality and support to the Team during our outreach workshop in Tumu. We pray that they find fulfilment in their ministry as they also serve young people. We are ever grateful also to our Volunteer Facilitators for the sacrifices they continue to make to ensure that the programme reaches out to other young people. We continue to prayer for them and their families that they may find peace and live peace as they preach peace. To all who are with and for us in all we do, thanks.
SELL RESOURCE TEAM, GHANA
During the Tamale training the closing Mass celebration was carried out in the nearby parish of Saints Peter and Paul. In this thanksgiving ceremony the programme was reaffirmed in the community by Fr. Leo Traynor a resource person to the programme who was the main celebrant of the Mass. The facilitators were introduced to the people. The young adults were encouraged to avail themselves for workshops when announcements are made about the programme in the community.
Apart from the training there were other activities undertaken in the month of September. On the 17th there was an introductory workshop in Damongo in the Northern region of Ghana. This after the Resource Team was invited by the leadership of the Catholic community that place to come and introduce the programme there. Twelve members of the youth leadership team were taken through an overview of the programme. They expressed the desire to have the programme functioning in the place and the readiness to support the Resource Team with free accommodation for the training of Volunteer Facilitators as part of their local contribution. The Resource Team is putting structures in place to reach out to them in 2019.
Finally, there was a fourth and final outreach workshop in Wa zone – the Upper West region of Ghana. This time round the venue was in Tumu Deanery. The Team arrived at Tumu on the 21st and were warmly received and accommodated by the FIC Brothers in their Tumu Community House. On the 22nd, 26 young adults from Tumu and its neighbouring parishes and others from Tertiary schools in the area were gathered for the workshop. Exploring the sessions together the participants happy to have more of such coming their way from the SELL Team. The main purpose of the workshop was to introduce the workshop to that particular deanery and to select suitable Volunteers to be trained as facilitators of the programme.
The Resource Team is immensely grateful for the support from several people which made it possible for these activities to be carried on successfully. We are forever indebted with gratitude to our generous benefactors whose resources underpin the progress of the programme. The Presentation Brothers continue to support the Resource Team as it is their programme the team is running. For the various support and for their presence to encourage the Volunteer Facilitators during the Tamale training session, we cannot thank them enough. We appreciate the FIC Brothers in the Tumu Community House for their hospitality and support to the Team during our outreach workshop in Tumu. We pray that they find fulfilment in their ministry as they also serve young people. We are ever grateful also to our Volunteer Facilitators for the sacrifices they continue to make to ensure that the programme reaches out to other young people. We continue to prayer for them and their families that they may find peace and live peace as they preach peace. To all who are with and for us in all we do, thanks.
SELL RESOURCE TEAM, GHANA
Facilitators from Kpandai community in Tamale crossing a river to get to the training
Tamale Facilitators with Parishioners of SS Peter and Paul Parish
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