dyton mupawaenda
Fadzayi Maposah-Correspondent
I love talking.
I consider speech as a wonderful gift that I celebrate.
I hope that I am using the gift to encourage the next person. When I was younger I used to get in trouble for talking when I should be quiet.
Now I have learnt and realised that there are times I should just be quiet and be a calm listener.
It has taken a lot of practise and skill though, no easy walk in the park!
One can be itching to talk but then realise that being quiet is better. My writing is one way of talking and I love it so much.
When I write, I talk to those who read the articles.
They hear my voice as they go through the words that is what I tell myself anyway.
One way that I have come to put the gift to good use is by being a trainer.
One cannot train and be quiet. There is the aspect of making presentations. There is the other aspect of assigning participants group work or activities. Then there are questions to answer.
Even during group work, there are moments that one has to talk reminding the participants of the assignment. When they make group presentations, they require feedback on whether they have been able to tackle the assignment as expected. Feedback time is great, the other groups besides the one presenting also get a chance to comment.
There are episodes of laughter. There are episodes of surprise when a group realises that they missed a point that seems so obvious. In some instances, the group admits that they had wanted to put up that point but some group members had said it should be left out. Or something has to be removed or corrected after discussion.
I am a reproductive health trainer.
Reproductive health is a broad subject and a rather sensitive one too.
When some participants initially arrive for the training, they are rather reserved and not free to participate in the discussions.
Some later on confess that they felt their privacy was being invaded in a big way. When they become part of the group, they are comfortable and eager to participate in the presentations, group activities and look forward to when they will also cascade the information that they have gained.
It is like learning to walk, baby steps initially and being careful not to fall, yet now when one walks they do not put much thought into it. It is close to just being mechanical.
There is no pre-meditation about putting one foot ahead of the other.
It just seems to fall into place. Take time to observe a child learning to walk, the confidence is low and there is a lot of hesitancy and so much fear as one attempts to venture into an unknown world.
So it is with the participants when they first arrive for their reproductive health training.
When tasked to name body parts some of them are shy and the sessions are punctuated with whispers as participants discuss their assignments.
In one of the sessions that I train human sexuality, there is brainstorming and reflection part as participants come to terms with how they view some issues.
During the sessions even those who think they are highly accommodative suddenly realise that they are not as `modern` as they call themselves, that their values have a serious bearing on what they think and how they react to scenarios.
Back to the brainstorming session.
So the word sexy is put upon the board. Usually in bold capital letters.
Just by looking at the participants faces, one can tell they are not sure how it will end. Since I will be at the front I have a great view of their facial expressions.
Having de-roled during the introductions sessions one would think all eyes would be on the board. However, some opt to look down, they would rather just hear what is being said than look up.
Since I started training, I have observed that it is during this session that some participants put their artistic skills to work, drawing flowers and little cars and in some instance developing little aeroplanes with sheets of papers.
These are adults mind you. The participants are either seconded by their employers or self-fund their trainings, either way, their behaviours are the same.
So after writing “sexy” I then ask the participants to draw what comes to their mind when they hear that word.
Then usually hmmmm, mumblings and gasps of surprise or is it shock?
There is always initial resistance but when they are informed that it has to be done or they will not receive their certificates! There is always at least one aaah.
Now who would want to go back to work without a certificate only just because they could not draw something sexy in their notebook. I have never been to a training where breasts have not been drawn.
What differs is the artistic skill and the size of the breasts. It is across the sexes, both men and women draw breasts, others will draw people kissing, hugging, holding hands and other pictures where I need an explanation of what is there because even with my spectacles on I cannot pick it up.
October is Breast cancer awareness month. This month I shall talk about breasts.
I do not want to be like some of my participants who just draw a picture so as to get me off their backs. We need and must take the first step. Raise awareness. Wear the pink ribbon, get a mammogram done, encourage someone to learn how to do a self-breast examination.
Talk about it.
Do not look down, look up, and ready to take the first step. The ride this month may be emotional or bumpy for others but we must take the step, walk the talk. This has to be done.
Online Reporter