REDES Training of Trainers

After my whirlwind of calculating first trimester grades, I went straight into my next major challenge: REDES Training of Trainers.  So hopefully you remember that awesome Peace Corps initiated girls empowerment group, REDES. Well, 2 other volunteers and myself organized and led a weekend long conference for our Mozambican counterparts.  Basically, since we’re constantly fighting the uphill battle of ‘sustainability,’ we decided it would be beneficial to plan this training .We focused on things like reproductive health, effective communication (especially with teenage girls), HIV/AIDS education and how to write a simple budget for any activities where the groups may want to request funding.

Twenty three women between the ages of 22 and 48 attended this seminar.  After a particularly stressful day of travel to Chimoio – where the conference was being held - I was already worn out, especially after that whole “conselhos” madness. However, once we got started with our sessions, I completely changed my mind. I was incredibly excited at how productive each session was. The women had so much to say and so many good questions. Many of them (the majority of which already had children) still didn’t understand the basics of any kind of birth control. Having a space with just women – all of whom are invested in female empowerment – appeared to be a very special thing for these women.  Not only did they become fast friends, but they all seemed genuinely interested in helping with women’s issues here in Mozambique. 

There were obviously a few low points of the weekend – but I don’t really want to get the “international development is an ugly beast” ball rolling right now. It’s just too big! I’d rather share something happy….

One of my favorite women I met this weekend was Ofelia.  She was the youngest participant at the conference (22 years old), and in my opinion is the poster child for the REDES project. When she was 16, she joined a REDES group that was led by a PCV at her secondary school.  Now, at 22, she has finished college (which is AMAZING), speaks beautiful English, and is applying to graduate schools (including some in the States).  And on top of that, she started her own REDES group to help younger girls. One evening when talking with me and my friend Emily, she told us that many Mozambicans think that women simply aren’t capable of the same things as men. Her Peace Corps teacher told her that wasn’t true – and to get people to change that way of thinking, they needed to get out in the community and prove them wrong.