The last weeks before closing a project can be stressful, there are always so many things you want to do... people to see, finish documents, fill in documents, say goodbyes, close all financial reports, evaluations...etc.
Knowing myself, I know I'm not good at keeping things for the last minute, so in general, I stress 2 weeks in advance (like it was the last minute, lol) so that in the last week I can have time for any eventuality.
The last week of the project was saved in my calendar to have final meetings with the organizations I have been working with: Precious Virginia Home, Rise and Shine Special School, EARC and of course Wefoco.
We discussed the work we did together and followed up implementation of actions learned in the training and in the action plans.
(Feedback from training participants on their knowledge level to support children with disabilities, before the training, now and future needs)
(Plan of action to improve services and meet further learning needs).
A sample of a Facilitator Manual to provide training on How to Support Children with Cerebral Palsy and Profound Multiple Learning Disabilities together with supporting resources (handouts, posters in English and Swahili) was delivered to each Institution. This resource will allow these organizations to continue to facilitate training at a local level by to staff members, parents/caretakers of children with disabilities or other community members.
Certificates were also delivered to all the participants in the training sessions from parents, cooks, caretakers, gatekeepers to teachers, directors and therapists.
But there is no goodbye without a proper party. To my surprise, when I reach Precious Home, ready to have our final meeting, all the staff, some parents, the director and even the local carpenter we involved in the workshops for assistive devices, were there waiting for me with cake, soda and lunch.
During the meeting parents, caretakers and the director expressed how they are implementing what was learned and the impact of having the EUAV working closely with them. The feedback was very positive: parents shared that now they know better how to position their children and how important it is to keep a good positioning, and caretakers shared how they are using the learned strategies to improve the communication with the children on a daily basis. Even the local carpenter shared that he had never done this kind of products before (adapter chair, standing frame, roll...) and now he feels more confident in the making of these devices and its a new skill that was added to his previous ones.
After delivering the certificates, a beautiful “Farwell Andreia” cake was waiting for me! there were singing and dancing and has the social rule demands the guest (me) cuts the cake and gives a piece to each person.
After the cake the party was not over yet, there was a photo session, where we joined everyone together with the supplies created in the workshops and the therapy supplies donated to support the therapist work. A lot of photos, a lot of smiles and a great celebration vibe was in the air.
There was not enough time to cook the chicken for the lunch, so tradition demands we need to take it home. Since the chicken was a male it was gifted to the male member present in the day: Diego - videomaker from Mondo that was following my day has a volunteer in Shianda. Quite handy for me since I don't eat meat! :)
With a feeling of gratitude, I said goodbye to this amazing team.
Knowing that even at a distance we will keep in touch!
No comments :
Post a Comment