2013 Tete REDES Workshop: Success!

After lots of preparations and organization, the day finally came for our Tete REDES Workshop to start! The workshop had been postponed from mid-July due to the political unrest, and there were a couple of bumps along the way in planning and execution, but on August 23rd, twenty-four bright-eyed and excited girls showed up at our school in Mavudzi-Ponte, excited to spend a weekend together learning about life skills and women's empowerment.

Szasha's girls sing on the bus on the way to the conference.

First order of business: Give each girl a T-Shirt!

More like a dress. This was actually the smallest size.

 Gosh, just take a look at those t-shirts. Whoever designed them must be a creative genius. 

Our weekend was packed full with sessions and activities for the girls to do. There were songs to be sung, games to be played, health information to be learned -- so much to do in just one short weekend!

Singing the REDES Anthem

Redi discusses HIV/AIDS transmission and women's health.

Some of the girls were a little shy at the beginning. Talking about thins like women's health, safe sex, HIV/AIDs and other sexually transmitted diseases is not something that's usually done in Mozambique. And when the topic is approached, its usually just adults throwing information and advice (often fallacious) at young girls. Our facilitators tried to keep it casual, and get the girls to open up, and use games to motivate participation. Our girls soon got much more interested as soon as it became a competiton.

"True or false? A girl cannot get pregnant if it's her first time having sex."

Got the answer right!

Celebrating a team victory in the Puberty Quiz Game.

In addition to life skills, a large component of the REDES workshop is income generation. We want the girls to have the skills and resources to start a small business in their town. For our workshop, my girls have been practicing the cross-stitching we learned this year, and finally had a chance to show off their skills while teaching the other girls. Redi did a cross-stitching demonstration, and then the girls all got to try their hand at it. Very few actually managed to make the small heart-shape pattern we provided, but all of them had a blast and said they'd keep trying at home.

String confusion.

Redi helps one of the younger girls.

Szasha gives out stickers for a job well done.

After finishing all of our sessions, it was picture time! People here just love to have their picture taken, though it's not part of the culture to smile in photos. I took one "Mozambican" photo of each group (where they are all glaring) and then told them that they had to smile so big I could see all their teeth for the "American" photo. Naturally, we took a couple of silly photos too.

Our whole REDES group!

Our silly picture.

Me with my two co-facilitators, Vanda (left) and Redi (right)

All the Tete Province group facilitators.

"Szasha and Helen: the inseparable volunteers."

The whole group!

After all that sitting around, the girls had some pent-up energy to expel. What better way to unleash it than to have a volleyball and soccer tournament? A bunch of the neighborhood kids came by to watch the volleyball game, and they got especially excited when the girls finally managed to talk me into joining one of the teams. I haven't played volleyball in a long time, but it was a ton of fun!

Getting pumped for the game.

Contesting a call by the judge.

A sassy spectator.

Celebration of the winners!

All all that excitement, the girls were hungry. Thankfully, our fantastic cook, Laurita, was on the ball making three meals a day for thirty people. 

Laurita makes delicious feijão.

Peeling an entire bucket of potatoes is hard work!

Refeuled from dinner, what better way to end a great day than with a dance party? I was noticeably absent from said dance party, since,

1) Mozambicans LOVE to make fun of White People Dancing.
2) I was wrestling with my newly-broken computer
3) I was busy chasing annoying neighborhood children away from our event, threatening to hit them with a stick. (What has Mozambique done to me!?)

Redi boogies with the gals.

 After two full days of learning, bonding, dancing, making friends, playing, and giggling, the conference finally came to a close on Sunday morning. We had a small ceremony, where each girl got a certificate, we thanked the facilitators for all their hard work, and we sent the girls on their way home, hopefully with a bit more wisdom and some new skills.

Mozambicans LOVE certificates.

Everyone left, and I remained behind with a completely messy classroom, a sweaty and dirty shirt, and a severe case of sleep deprivation. Still, I was over the moon -- our conference was a resounding success. Since this was the first big event I've planned, and it was for the most part me doing the logistics and organization, I was very worried something would go horribly wrong. But it didn't! The girls had a blast, I had a blast, and I can't wait to do this again next year.

But someone else can plan it, then.