A month seemed like such a long time when I left for this trip. During the trip there were times when I felt the pangs of being out of one’s own rhythms. Yet as the last week rolled out, the feeling changed to, ‘Where has the time gone? There is still so much to be done? I am going home already?”
Local people seemed to adjust their expectations of when I would be available similarly. My prior two week trips always had people misjudging how long I was to be there and then not having time to schedule meetings with me. This time even with twice the time here, the same thing happened.
As I reported in my last post, we have made great progress in the areas we identified as critical. Despite quite a bit of drama in week 3 due to some longstanding issues between individuals within the group of initial participants and their leadership before I ever came on the scene, we ended on a very good note. I have observed that this group clearly understands the depth of the opportunity they have. More than once they have confronted situations that could have severely affected their ability to progress by overcoming those obstacles.
Without going into too much gory detail, we recognized the need to deal with these issues and had started using a conflict resolution facilitator. After the first session, we had a complete blow-up between a number of members, I mean shouting and yelling. But after letting everyone cool off for a day or two, I reminded everyone of what was at stake and the choice they had to get bigger or smaller as people. I am happy to report that the last week was a vast improvement. I think the world of this group. Each challenge is met. They have much longer to go, but I am confident with the right guidance they will achieve all they seek.
Sometimes when you are in the middle of things, it is hard to see the magnitude of the changes that have taken place. I was asked by those doing our website and developmental work to get some up-to-date video footage of our participants talking about how they have changed as a result of the program. We did this the last week. The videographer is the same person who did your initial video work a year ago. When it was all over, he made a point of telling how astounded he was over the change that had taken place with the women. He commented they were calmer, more confident and more articulate. He said they conducted themselves as professionals. A far cry from where they were a year ago. I had him do a testimonial video as well!
The month finished off with the first ever all-hands meeting (virtual) of all who are volunteering time for the program. This was 22 people including the six participants, covering 10 time zones. It is a far cry from just six months ago when it was mostly my other founder and I. We are entering a period where we have the opportunity to take this venture a significant step forward.
And…finally…our website
1 comment:
A website! It looks amazing. Congratulations on how much you and the entire group have achieved. It is great to watch.
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