The other night I had one of the biggest scares of my life.
I had stayed up pretty late working on a report for VSO and as the darkness started to fall around me, I knew it was time to head to bed. My bedroom is downstairs by the front door and just as I reached the bottom step, I noticed a black shape by the wall. There was not enough light to be able to make it out - at first I thought it was just a sock but as I looked closer I realised it was far too long and thin.
I took a picture on my phone and then zoomed in on the photo from the safe distance of my bed. It looked like a dead snake, but I couldn’t be sure. With thoughts of poisonous serpents slithering around my brain, I decided it was safest to stay put rather than risk stepping over it again.
Can you spot the mysterious shape?
I decided to hide beneath my mosquito net, tucking the edges under my mattress I hoped the sun would rise soon. I also sent my neighbour a quick text asking her to contact the guard as soon as she wakes.
Japan holding the black mamba
Somehow I fell asleep (though I had particularly creepy nightmares with images of deadly snakes and other disgusting creatures writhing below me). When I woke the snake was gone, its disappearance was ten times scarier; I was now 100% sure it was alive.
The rescue
After nervously waiting for one more hour, I finally heard my neighbour and the guard shouting me to unlock the front door. With my heart in my mouth, I left my haven and ran like there was no tomorrow.
I could tell that Japan, the guard, wasn’t taking me seriously, though he still agreed to come and search my room, stick and machete in hand, and that’s what counts. He checked the bed and behind my rucksacks, but nothing was to be seen. Then he checked the bathroom.
When he shouted ‘It’s here!’ - I’m embarrassed to admit that my neighbour and I dashed out of the house. Even from outside we could hear Japan bashing his stick against the floor.
A few seconds later, Japan came out holding the intruder. When I asked Japan what species it was, he just said ‘it’s a snake’. So I sent photos to my snake expert friend - turned out it was a black mamba, whose deadly venom can cause a human to collapse in 45 minutes!
Needless to say, my landlord and I spent the day blocking up any holes a snake could get through. I wanted to make sure that I slept soundly the next night, as I’d be running a children’s rights workshop the next day.
Children’s Rights Workshop
Working with the groups
Whichever country you work in, children’s rights must be a teacher’s priority. As children spend a large fraction of their time at school, it is part of a teacher’s responsibility to ensure their rights are protected and promoted. So after a rocky night’s sleep filled with black mamba fears, I headed off bright and early to help run a two day workshop on children’s rights.
The aim of our workshop was to strengthen the networks between - wait for it - head teachers, social workers, education coordinator officers, village executive officers, ward executive officers and community development officers (I know right!). My goal was to help any group who are actively involved in children’s lives work together to ensure that children’s rights are not being abused. We had over 50 participants; all enthusiastic to find new ways of improving the lives of children.
The Problem Tree
Example problem tree
For the first activity I aimed to map the current situation of child abuse in each of the communities we work in. To do this we used problem trees to clearly demonstrate the issues and see which were area specific and which were common across all.
I asked the room to split into groups based on their villages. I gave each lot a flip chart and they drew a tree, with each branch representing a common type of abuse they have had to deal with.
The twigs would be examples of that abuse and the roots would show the key causes.
Once they finished their drawings I asked them to present their trees to the room. I was pleased to hear how many appreciated this activity because it gave them the chance to identify common patterns, view the situation as a whole, and find possible solutions.
The Flow chart
On the second day, I asked participants to divide up into their job types and examine a case study about a boy called John. Then using a spider diagram they mapped out possible interventions and obstacles which they presented to the room.
For the second half of the challenge, I asked them to regroup into their villages and create a flow chart identifying who could help overcome each obstacle and how. Many began to question traditional procedures, with social workers complaining that although they’re given details of who to contact for what, they never get a helpful response.
The flow charts
As a result many proposed alternatives to the status quo, making the workshop very constructive and engaging, while others developed an improved awareness of who they can refer to for help.
It just goes to show the difference that can be made when people work together, and this wouldn’t be possible without people like you supporting VSO.
Stay tuned for more!
Andrea
