A New Job!
March 12, 2008 by adelantefoundation
March 3, 2008
On my first official day on the job at Adelante, I had the opportunity to sit in on a Community Educator Training Session. Each Asamblea (a group of about 25-30 Adelante clients) elects one Community Educator that facilitates the educational talks at every bi-weekly meeting. Every month, all the Community Educators from all the Asambleas in the department of Atlantida come to La Ceiba to participate in a training session about the educational talks that they will be facilitating that month.
So my first day at Adelante was spent with 30 very enthusiastic Adelante women, and some of Adelante’s staff educators. The staff educators help with the creation of the educational talks, support the Community Educators, and give the educational training workshops.
The Adelante educator who facilitated this workshop - who is also Adelante’s Educational Coordinator - was full of energy and enthusiasm, which easily spread to the rest of the crowd. The women - most of whom only knew each other through previous educational training workshops - were full of good humour, laughter, and eager to participate. The room erupted into bursts of giggles when the Adelante educator led the group in a name game: each woman said her name, as well as her favourite dish. Then, in a second round of the room, each woman said her first name, and substituted her last name for her favourite dish. This resulted in hilarity, and many women were easily able to remember each other’s names, and learned something about the rest of the group.
Each educational talk is aided by large, laminated flip chart paper with drawings describing the topic at hand, which help make the talks accessible and interesting. With her friendly enthusiasm, the staff educator captured the attention of the women and kept them involved and participating throughout the entire workshop, even when lunch was a little late in arriving.
My first two direct experiences with Adelante - and the first two topics for this blog - have both provided a window into various elements of how the organization functions. Later this week I will have the opportunity to visit another Adelante office and attend some Asambleas in another, very different, region of the country. Through these and future experiences, I am learning about how Adelante operates, as well as given a glimpse into how the organization has touched the lives of its clients and staff. Through this blog, I hope to share my experiences with and learning about Adelante, to offer those interested in the organization an “insiders” view, from a volunteer’s perspective.
