Be The Change

Viviane and I wrapped up Workshop One at lunch-time today. It is hard to believe it's done already. When we opened the workshop on Sunday, we were unsure of what to expect or if our planned presentations and activities would be well received, or fall flat! We were delighted that most of the workshop participants arrived right on time on that Sunday - being a traveling and family day, we weren't sure if people would be able to make it on time or not. The workshop venue was quite lovely. It was a large treed compound with two meeting halls and basic rooms to stay in. We used the larger of the two meeting halls for our workshop and the smaller hall for breakfasts, lunches and dinners.

29 teachers including the two Education Directors for Kasese Municipality attended. It was great to have the ED's there as it demonstrated the level of support and commitment from the district level. One of the highlights of the workshop was a visit to a local school to conduct a group environmental analysis and discuss possible solutions to the issues arising. The school campus faces flooding issues caused by building directly up the hill from the school. Poor drainage from these building sites have caused a mass of water to funnel directly into the school yard to the point where the school buildings are in danger of being washed away. Many ideas were shared and discussed to help this school mitigate this problem.

Another highlight was the "field trip" to the forest education centre in the hills outside of Kasese. An education program led by the forest guides, a walk through the forest and follow up activities demonstrated just how serious the issues of deforestation, the illegal pet trade in primates and the bushmeat trade are, and the fact that action needs to be taken immediately to save the environment and our precious species of wildlife. The forest centre is also run by the Jane Goodall Institute in Uganda and welcomes school children from throughout the region to share the same message and experiences we had.

For me, the best part of the workshop was getting to meet and know the participants. Not only did I learn so much from them, but I feel I made many new friends as well. I also know that together, we brought the Knowledge - Compassion - Action cycle full circle, ending our time together with enthusiasm, hope, new knowledge and many plans of action to change the world for the better. Think global, act local!

Be the change you want to see in the world (Mahatma Gandhi). Watch out world, I think some change is coming!