Pictures For Perspective

"Main activities"

Hello all.

Katie P. just had us (Mike & myself) come up with descriptions of your main activities for the "QPID Volunteer Contract." It occurs to me these might be helpful for you to see here, to think about, ask about... Might serve to push us forward, see what you think. Perhaps the first one is the most important for us to be thinking about right now; the rest will flow from it:

1. Cooperants will begin by developing their own learning/working processes, using observations of local life, personal and group reflection on these observations, selection of facilitative methods and finally, by creating the daily program structure.

2. Cooperants will create the program structure, which includes but may not be limited to designing curriculum; gathering and making learning aids and materials; developing schedules and record-keeping tools.

3. Although marketing has already begun, cooperants will help to recruit participants via community-based social marketing.

4. Cooperants will facilitate two “summer” leadership programs offered mainly but not exclusively to village youth: a) an English & Media Literacy class aimed primarily at girls, and b) the participatory design and construction of a nursery school playground.

5. Cooperants will engage in a regular evaluation process, both of their own experiences and of the programs’ unfolding, culminating in a descriptive and analytic product that reflects upon and critiques the two projects and provides recommendations for their re-implementation as ongoing after-school programs.

Hello, Jenn! Your introduction,, that is under Kate's March posting, has some good ideas! What is the name of your text about women's empowerment?? It will be interesting to get your input on organizing an educational system that will be most beneficial for these people. Since we all have different strengths and abilities ourselves, we will naturally begin "dividing and conquering" (don't really like that word, conquering, but it's the expression) to reach and teach the various students. ............Enjoy the journey

I'm that guy

Hello all

sorry you haven't heard from me - been watching the posts and enjoying the chatter - my input has been finding its way into Alice's posts

So tech stuff - computers (anywhere from 6 to 9, some are running Windows XP, older working models are running 95 I think) The new computers are equipped with a whack of video, audio software and photo software (Picasa, photoshop, illustrator, dreamweaver, Sonic Foundry Collection, Vegas Audio, Premiere)

We have one digital camera that is getting used and plan to pick up a couple more, one digital video camera that hopefully just needs to dry out (I was in the Kanuku Mountains and the camera was stressed with humidity and drastic temperature changes) Probably getting one more of those ---

We have one digital projector which we've been using to watch movies (vhs and dvds) and other media from local events (people love seeing themselves on the big screen)...

There was a post about bringing your own equipment. Great but know that you set the rules of use and you are solely responsible for whatever personal equipment you bring. You'll be here in rainy season with humid weather.


HIV/Aids - Stats on the Rupununi are questionable. A number of groups have come through the village to discuss/test/distribute info. The common belief is that HIV isn't in the Rupununi but the number of people that get tested for it is L O W... People are typically "bareback" riders. There is a lot of migration (males, females, youth and adults) to and from Brazil for work and mining areas in Guyana. Stigma surrounding the virus is generally the same as elsewhere people are afraid to get tested and if they are positive what that means and what reactions being positive will illicit (you're probably familiar with that scenario). Girls seem to receive a lot of attention after the age of 12 and are "old" by 16. I get a lot of stories from the male perspective full of machismo (feels like a hockey change room) and whispers of the female perspective. Guys here that are my age (25) seem very quick to talk and joke about the "sweet" girls (young 13 - 18).

Hey Ladies,
I also like the idea of AIDS education, but also curious - is that a prevalent health issue? I am starting to accumulate a book list appropriate for grade 5/6 reading level that cover self-efficacy issues, as well as enhancing literacy. Any suggestions in titles or authors please send them my way. Also looking into DVD’s. Is anyone bringing a video recorder (digital?)? It would be helpful to know what technologies we have available. Also, does anyone have further insight into the entrance test/high school exit test?
Take care,
Kate

Hello,
I've just posted this comment elsewhere, but I think this location will be more accessible, so I'm sorry if this is the second anyone is reading this. Anyhow, I hope evryone is doing well and I'm sorry for not posting more frequently, life has been really busy with exams and applications etc.
I don't know who best to address this question to, but I was wondering what the current state of HIV/AIDS is in Guyana and whether or not people would be interested in addressing this issue within our lessons. If people are on board, I am very interested and I think that we can do a lot of good things. Let me know what you think!
Maia

Exam focus

Hi, Kate! You mentioned as a learning direction a high school exit test. Alice had mentioned a common entrance exam. The materials neccessary for these types of assessments would be good tools. I had thought about us helping the students who are more likely to go to the University of Guyana head in that direction. Good ideas. (:

Hi Everyone,

I like the discussions so far. I am trying to get a bit more focused on exactly what cultural experiences are going to be exchanged. I know I will gain a lot, but I want to be as productive and beneficial to our group as possible. So I suppose my question is - is it appropriate to start to create/gather/collaborate all the resources we will be using all summer (I have lots of girly movies!) or Alice - do you have specific things you would like to cover or generally what has been discussed so far? Can we start "collaborating with the group members to define a compelling mission"? (that was your response to Maia's post) I think it's important for the students we're working with (women especially) to realize the everyday application of their education. I know many good team building and leadership, self-worth training activities from my time at camp. As well, I have a handle on some media programs, digital cameras and recording devices and hopefully I will be able to bring along some resources to share. Do you have any there already, other than the computers? Also, I think the women's self-efficacy promotion/education would greatly benefit the male 'together we FLY' students as well.

I was wondering if there is a site or if anyone has the "curriculum" or what are the students taught in the school? Also, how do I find what the requirements are for the high school exit test? This would be great to know so we could possibly direct the learning process to fit with the contexts that have been learning in so far.

Google Sketch-Up is a great program and I was going to suggest that if you had an alternative program!

Hope you're all doing well and I'm getting excited for the summer - take care!

Reply to Suzanne

Suzanne sparked some thoughts for me.
She wrote:

"It is unfolding that this is going to be a sharing & exchanging of cultural experiences more than a “traditional” classroom experience."

I think this is correct, except that I'm hoping that one will lead to the other. Meaning:

a) that by using the outsider role -- the "tell me about this because I don't know" role -- you volunteers can prompt thought about and expression of how life works for your participants, and
b) that these thoughts and expressions can take on verbal & written form that involves the improvement of English (see Suzanne's suggestion of journals in her first post, about ESOL teaching) and
c) that "class" discussion and the use of visual/oral tools (like MP3 players or video cameras) will prompt the improved speaking of and listening to English.

If we add English readings and movies on "girl" topics as I suggested yesterday, so much the more fodder for talk and thought. On top of that I'm thinking keyboarding and Rosetta Stone practice...

Suzanne then wrote:

"The women in the Yupukari can become more aware of possibilities. However, what then do they do with this knowledge, or awareness?"

I think we are in, to borrow a 60s expression, the "consciousness-raising" phase of development in Yupukari. The basis for any psychological, social or political growth.

Content with CONTENT

Hi, All! It is unfolding that this is going to be a sharing & exchanging of cultural experiences more than a “traditional” classroom experience. This in itself makes for a rewarding timeframe.
The women in the Yupukari can become more aware of possibilities. However, what then do they do with this knowledge, or awareness?
This summer will be their eye-opener (or continued from what Alice has already shown them), and they will then have to take action. (Or each year as more females gain insights, action will begin to take place).

Alice, you mentioned jumping into the “fray” in your response to Kate on the 19th. Ha, I don’t think its quite a fray, but it’s good to have an understanding. Kate, that was a good point about the tools………Alice, as we get closer to the summer, you will be again mentioning specifically what you need (that we can actually bring).

These are all “baby-steps” on the way to the larger picture. These people probably have no idea how special they are. Alice has honed in on what it means to be female. It’s probably equally amazing to consider what it means to be Yupukarian. But, many places in the world have trouble recognizing the value of the women. So, concentrating on the women’s lives is a good, solid platform. (that will naturally lead to other interesting tidbits of info.) The idea of that content creating the basis for our form of instructing and sharing is a good one. (:

What Maia said...

Maia said...

Hi Alice,
I've been doing some brain-storming about what types of lessons I can bring to the table this summer. Should our primary focus be increasing the girls' self-efficacy with confidence based activities, or would classes on more baisc skills (ie reading, writing, math) be a more appropriate start? I'm open to any suggestions,
Maia

February 6, 2007 10:46 AM

This was a great comment that I missed seeing until today -- my apologies, still gettin the hang of this blogger thang. Think it would help all us newbs if everyone would sign in at the top right of the blog home page (http://girlpowerliteracy.blogspot.com) as soon as they arrive at this site and POST instead of COMMENT.

Now to answer Maia. But I really want everyone's brain on this, because it's central to how we're going to work and we've got to thrash it out together until everyone's comfortable and clear.

My current thoughts: I think the CONTENT (something to do with growing up/being female in Yupukari) drives the FORM (using English, cameras, MP3 recorders, computers, etc). Meaning, Dickens didn't sit down to write English novels, he sat down to tell stories, and the medium was English.

I'm thinking that if we start by collaborating with the group members to define a compelling mission (to tell the stories of their lives/their mothers' lives/their grandmothers' lives/all three?) using words in English, pictures, moving pictures, audio recording and the computer as the interface, they will develop the SKILLS as we go. They will also see how lack of skill hampers them from expression, and perhaps derive greater motivation to improve their basic skills as a result (start to see a rationale for their schooling, much of which is pretty dopey, frankly).

That said, I think it would be fab to collect readings, bring movies and anything else you can think of that shows women/girls thinking about and expressing being women/girls. Preferably this stuff would be not too long or esoteric, and from a variety of cultures. Right now my brain is going to chick lit and girl flicks like A Little Princess (the remake) or Little Women, never saw Girl, Interrupted, really don't know this stuff at all ... Sex from the female POV is good too as long as it steers a careful course around obscenity (thinking politically now).
Over to yall.

Kate's comments as a post, Alice replies

Kate commented:

Thank you for posting your proposal. Together We FLY is a great idea. I have a couple of questions before I can start my accumulation of resources and preparation for this project.

Questions for the Community-Playground Activity:
What computer design program do use on those 9 computers?
Other than hammers, what tools are available? What materials? (ex. wood, sheet metal)
Would you like ideas/pictures of multi-play playgrounds from us? Or does the community already have an idea in mind?

Girl’s Literacy Questions:
What potential jobs are available, if any, to these women if they do enter/complete high school? What computer skills should be taught (ex. typing skills, research, data input)?
Do you have any resources in the library to meet the needs of this girl’s self-advocacy program? (ex. resources to address the question – what does it mean to be a girl)

A Little Bit About Myself:
I am extremely excited to meet you and get this project underway. I am in the process of self-evaluation to see what I bring to the mix and what resources I can attain/create in order to be beneficial to this pilot project. I have lots of experiences in teaching leadership programs and team-building exercises. I am in my last year at Queen’s, I study Music (I play the piano and the drums), I have a minor in History and have taken a couple of Development Study courses. In the past, I’ve been a sailing coach, camp counsellor, and I’m a lifeguard/swim instructor – just some background info on myself. This sounds like an amazing project and I am glad to be a part of it.

Take care,
Kate

February 19, 2007 8:55 AM

Alice's replies:

Community Playground Tools

Mike has developed some proficiency on Google Sketch-Up, and he may have been thinking about that when he referred to using computers in the design process. I'm not sure, and he won't be back from a river trip until April 2, so I can't answer that one exactly. We are certainly open to suggestions there. As far as woodworking tools, we have a wide range of hand and power tools (and a generator), but we don't have a lot of duplicates of any one thing: we have a couple of hammers, a couple of drills, like that. Wood will have to be harvested locally as needed (a possible river/camping trip) and sheet metal, bolts etc are available 2 hours away but in a very limited range of sizes/quality/quantity.

As far as bringing ideas for the playground. The sticky part with that is that folks here tend to be too deferential/polite to the ideas of outsiders, so one wants to supply processes more than ideas if at all possible. Meaning, if you and/or Maia would like to do some research into participatory design playground projects, the methodology that has been used to engage people effectively would be more valuable than the ideas that were produced out of those processes. Mike has expressed the goal of discovering and incorporating traditional Macushi forms of play, such as a game similar to marbles that uses tree seeds; I would like to incorporate traditional structures, such as a kind of shooting platform they used to use for hunting that is similar to a basic treehouse. Some community members do already have ideas in mind: they are carbon copies of playgrounds they have already seen, either in books or in towns.

Girl's Literacy:

The typical jobs available to girls who complete high school are schoolteacher, community health worker, there are some dietitian positions opening up in the school lunch program, possibly an office position with a business or agency, and they do have access to the University of Guyana for a certificate or BA in any number of subjects (see www.uog.edu.gy).

As far as library materials on "what it means to be a girl" we certainly don't have much, even of the "Our Bodies, Our Selves" variety, and more could be helpful, but remember that this social/cultural context is completely different. The goal is to get participants to reflect on their lives and choices, not to absorb our attitudes, which are based on a different set of opportunities. That said, the very idea that they have choices is arguably an import. It's very hard for girls here to choose a path different from mothers or peers, just as it can be in any culture (eg try being a teenage HS-dropout mom when your own mother is a high-powered attorney).

These are great, challenging questions/comments, Kate. I hope everyone else will jump into the fray, and especially, disagree with me or at least take things further than I have here.

Very Good!

Alice, the Village-making program, and the whole Together We Fly concept, seems exactly suitable for a hands on, skills building, memory making experience! For the villagers and the volunteers! Sounds great!

Honestly, I am so happy that there will be physical work along with the mental work. Combining the girls with the boys can be very beneficial.

It can encourage a competitive spirit, but more importantly, it allows for each gender to observe successes. This will hopefully increase respect as well.

This is a good thing that can become a great thing!
(:
Suzanne

This is the latest picture of the Yupukari Public Library! It will just keep looking better and better.

Revised Program per Village Input

Hello all.

Want to bring you up to date on the status of the summer program from this end.

Got an opportunity to present grant proposals to the Canadian High Commission in Georgetown. Chose to ask them for monetary help with our planned program: more laptops, cameras, software (Rosetta Stone?), office supplies. Also asked Mike to design a counterpart leadership program for boys, which he did, using the design and construction of a long-desired nursery school playground as the core activity.

This led to discussing the programs at several village meetings, first with the Caiman House Committee (a body of 5 villagers who liaison the Field Station with the village) and then put it on the agenda at the teacher-training meeting we hold weekly at Caiman House will all nine teaching staff.

Interestingly, the two groups had identical comments. They liked the ideas about developing youth leadership that underpin the program designs, but wanted to see both programs be co-ed and multi-age. The premise of single-sex, age-based grouping was not persuasive to them -- a cultural difference? While I still plan to fence off "girl time" on the computers to ensure access, we can run the media literacy program as co-ed I think without losing anything (comments, arguments, alternative solutions, etc., welcome). I am inserting here what we submitted to the Canadians (it's short), which incorporated the village inputs. Whether or not we get the funding, we need to absorb the village requests while we continue to shape our thinking.

Here's the proposal:

Introduction

Meetings in Yupukari, whether public or private, large or small, have over the past several years come to routinely feature criticism of the state of education in the village. Not one Yupukari child has passed the Common Entrance Exam in the last four years. During this same period Yupukari has joined the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB), has repeatedly been offered grant opportunities, and has received attention and encouragement from any number of NGOs, to little consequence. Villagers have become increasingly aware of their lack of preparation for self-advocacy and its costs, even as the pressures on their lands, waters and culture are mounting. This proposal was prepared against that background by the Rupununi Learners Foundation, a US-based 501c3 headquartered in Yupukari (http://rupununilearners.org), and in consultation with the Toshao, Village Council members, and entire teaching staff of Yupukari.

The proposed program aims to develop substantive leadership, communication and teamwork skills in female and male Yupukarians. While two single-sex, youth-oriented program were originally contemplated, villagers have repeatedly suggested that a multigenerational, coeducational program is a better cultural fit.

Together We FLY (Future Leaders of Yupukari) – Village-making

Together We Fly is an experimental prototype of a program that will develop team building, leadership skills and facilitate effective collective action, communication and supportive consensus-building among participants while making use of new and available technologies in the village.

The experience of growing up in Yupukari involves growing pressure to seek work outside the village and results in a large migration of labor to mines and forestry projects in northern Guyana and to large-scale farms in Brazil. The sentiment among many in the village is the strong desire to leave, that home has nothing to offer, and that creation of an improved quality of life in Yupukari is impossible (out of their hands). Current views of leadership in the village include distrust, lack of participation, inaction, poor communication and jealousy. In the same breath villagers express a growing need for more committed leadership.

The goal of the “Village-making” program is to facilitate the conception, design and construction of a schoolyard playground that incorporates many types of play. Participants will be on their feet, practicing new skills and improving their abilities with the tools that are available in the village (from computers to hammers). While group members create a project that allows them to lead an entire process (from conception to completion), the conditions for supportive teamwork can be shaped. Originally conceived as an all-male program of mentors and boys, villagers have suggested that women and girls be equally involved.

The Together We Fly program, currently in development through partnerships with several local woodworkers and a variety of local leaders, will teach a variety of computer-based design skills, woodworking tool safety and technique, and facilitate the exploration of teamwork and leadership. The program will run from June to August, at which time we will evaluate it and derive recommendations for a second run: as an ongoing after-school program during the 2007-2008 academic year, that will identify and tackle other tangible ways that life can be improved in Yupukari.

Together We FLY – “Girl Power” Media Literacy

“Girl Power” Media Literacy is an experimental prototype of a program that will develop computer skills, English language skills and stimulate reflection and expressiveness on the topic of growing up female in Yupukari. A wide variety of expressive media are available, including but not limited to digital photography, digital video, audio recording, web and desktop publishing, bookmaking and illustration. While not closed to males (per village suggestion), this program will recruit female participants and prioritize resources for use by females. Also per village input, a multigenerational roster is anticipated.

Yupukari girls show interest in computers every day but have a hard time wresting them away from the boys (currently the public library owns nine solar-powered laptops). The girls need English in order to read for life, pass exams and access opportunities. Typically they do not go to high school, do not read well, and have few employment or life choices. They are under considerable cultural pressure to become sexually active at a young age, to become mothers early and often, and to relinquish to males the limited available power roles. As mothers they pass this matrix down to the next generation as an inevitable norm. Macushi women do not generally hold positions of power or influence in the community, the region, or the state.

The goal for this program is to support women through learning experiences to value themselves, to value each other as females with a common cause, and to seek better opportunities and choices. By putting the development of expressive skills at the center – English and media literacy – and by modeling a teamwork approach, the conditions for female leadership in Yupukari can be created.

The “Girl Power” Literacy curriculum, currently in development through a partnership with two Queens University (Ontario) seniors and an ESOL high school teacher/volunteer from the US (all women, volunteering with RLF this summer) will use English as the language of instruction, teach a variety of computer-based skills and facilitate the exploration and expression of group and individual reflection on female village lives. The program will run from June to August, at which time we will evaluate it and derive recommendations for a second run: as an ongoing after school program during the 2007-2008 academic year.

Suzanne's questions

Suzanne asked:

Alice, how much time for and access to the computer do the students in the village have? What percentage of this camp will be technology based? ..............do you envision grouping students so that some are on computers, some reading or writing, some doing hands-on work...and then switching to the next activity?.......Is this what they have already been doing?.....................I am not familiar with their time schedules (if you can call it that) down there. How much time is spent with chores as opposed to school?...........Thanks

During the school year, which ends around mid-June, school lets out at 1:30pm. Kids seem to go home for lunch and chores at that point, and then often show up at Caiman House around 3 or so and hang out for several hours. This is probably negotiable and flexible, and if we serve them lunch I'm sure we could have them right after school.

Once term ends, some families go to their farms outside the village, some stay behind, and the place really empties out in August. So there is definitely a recruiting job we will need to do in advance of your arrival. But I'm not worried because we are not looking for any big numbers. This is pilot development time. A goal could be to establish a way of working that could be replicated as an afterschool program in September.

We currently own a total of 9 laptops, though I am looking for ways to increase that number by the time you arrive. In fact I will probably ship some to each of you and ask you to carry them into the country (they are duty-free items).

I have no preconceptions about how you might organize the class, whether using whole group, sub-groups, alternating sessions (like a morning group and an afternoon group, or a MWF and TuThSat). Obviously we need to know more about numbers to decide that. I will be getting our librarians (both young women) involved in this when I return to Yupukari (in less than a week).
Hope this helps a little.

Be there for them (:

Some thoughts about teaching ESOL successfully - Begin with your Philosophy of Education! Here, I share some of my ideas:
*The purpose of teaching is to enlighten individuals and to prepare them for the next steps in their lives.
*The classroom should be conducive to relaxed learning through an atmosphere of acceptance.
*Basic facts should be presented clearly and reinforced with relevant examples.
*Being prepared, yet flexible, and being happy to teach is everything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The high school ESOL students that I have worked with benefited the most when they knew that they could “try again”. Non-English speakers are often very quiet at first, hesitant to speak or write for fear of making mistakes. Constant encouragement creates positive results. They need to be praised for opening and using their duel-language dictionaries.
Understanding reading development helps instructors teach these major areas of reading skills: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension. Each skill builds upon the other. Students who arrive in our classroom with little, or no, English vocabulary must start with the basics. I have to sound out the letter-sound relationships in words, and pronounce blended sounds. When students have had sufficient back ground in education, they usually have a smoother transition than the youth who have been working in the fields or at home after very limited schooling. The class always has a variety of levels working at different paces.
A very important strategy has been keeping writing journals. Daily thoughts of the day, or questions, must be responded to. The change in grammar and sentence structure over time is sometimes amazing. Most students look forward to the correcting, and/or, praising comments.
One really interesting approach to combining reading, writing, and oral skills is to use the Scholastic Action Magazine stories and articles. The plays are particularly attention grabbing. Students enjoy having speaking parts. Even the shy students (who you have to help read word for word) like being included. After discussing the vocabulary, the play
is read, with pauses for clarification. Then, students answer questions and do some short written response work.
Using different mediums, like the computer software program, The Rosetta Stone, is very important. Students need differentiated instruction, since not everyone learns in the same way. The Rosetta Stone allows students to listen to correctly spoken English vocabulary, practice speaking it, transition from pictures to words, and practice typing.
Having plenty of visual language and print helps reinforce vocabulary. Making “word-jars” is a hands-on project that helps students have ownership in their learning experience. Students are given a large jar shaped poster paper that has a specific title, for example, “Sports”. Students will look up and write as many words related to the topic as is possible. Then, they may decorate their work. The jars will be part of a class word wall.
Well, as you know, there are many strategies and projects that help increase students’ language skills. Knowing you are there for them is certainly a main ingredient.
(:

Hi group.
Please create posts instead of comments when you have content to introduce. You need to log in (at topmost right) with your Gmail name and password, and then you can post, not just comment. Suzanne would you log in, copy your comment into the Post window, and "Publish" ? Lots in there people need to read and comment on.
Thanks.
Alice

In which Alice gives an overview of something she has never seen, but that hasn't stopped her yet

Hi all.
This is an attempt to create a roundtable for our far flung group of participants, advisors and interested parties: Queens University students and volunteers Maia Lawson and Kate Dickson, QPID Coordinator Katie Pasic, past Guyana/Queens Univ. volunteer Derek Brine, high school ESOL teacher Suzanne Krom, Rupununi Learners Foundation volunteer-in-residence Mike Martin, myself (Foundation director-by-default Alice Layton Taylor), and a number of others, including Yupukari residents, whom I hope to draw into the discussion over the coming months.

The goal: To design an experimental prototype of a program that will develop computer skills, English language skills and stimulate reflection and expressiveness on the topic of growing up female in Yupukari, via various media, which may include but are not limited to digital photography, digital video, audio recording, web or desktop publishing, bookmaking, other arts, et al. (We have access to all of these tools.) Since our 3 implementers -- Maia, Kate, and I hope Suzanne -- all happen to be female, I have dubbed this a "Girl Power" program to take advantage of that fact and to address a very real need in the village.

Yupukari girls (I'm saying 12 to 16, but that's flexible) have shown interest in computers but have a hard time wresting them away from the boys. They need English in order to read for life, pass exams and access opportunities. And they are under considerable cultural pressure to become sexually active at a young age, to become mothers early and often, and to relinquish to males the limited available power roles. As mothers they pass this matrix down to the next generation as an inevitable norm. Village girls typically do not go to high school, do not read well, and have few employment or life choices. Macushi women do not generally hold positions of power or influence in the community, the region, or the state.

Bias Disclosure #1: I venture to assert, despite considerable peer pressure to pay p.c. lip service to indigenous cultural traditions, that this situation is not OK. The assumptions that drive the work of the foundation I started, the Rupununi Learners Foundation (http://rupununilearners.org/) , is that education, creativity and choice are adaptive processes of inherent value. If we lack access to any of them we are disadvantaged, even crippled, from reaching our potential to benefit ourselves and others.

Bias Disclosure #2: At one time I intended to train as a psycholanalyst, but I was waylaid by social work and the opportunity to be useful to others in real ways in real time. I approach this work from a therapeutic framework. I understand "learning" to be essentially the same thing we mean by "change": when we learn we replace one way of seeing and understanding with another. (Hence the name I chose for the Foundation.) The very process of learning, especially if we are granted opportunities to reflect upon and give expression to our experience, has a therapeutic impact. We continually rediscover what we think, what we feel and what we want; we appreciate our talents, strengths and potential, and usually, we come to appreciate others' more as well. My wish for this program is to facilitate this process for these young women: to support them through learning experiences to value themselves and to seek better opportunities and choices.

Carl Rogers said, "We heal, not with our techniques, but with our attitudes." My attitude is that people carry the solutions to their challenges within themselves. We are not there to tell them how to live or what to think. But they do need skilled and supportive facilitation to discover the answers for themselves. New social settings, new thoughts to think, and expressive tools -- what I call "learning" for short -- release people into new ideas of self that disclose doors in what looked like brick walls before. That's what I would like to see us build together in this program, for these girls.
Welcome to my first-ever blog post. (See, I like to learn, too.)

Please post: ideas, reactions, links, what-have-you. This is the get-to-know-you and brainstorming part. Tell us what you think you can contribute, your strengths and interests, what part inspires you and what part worries you... For starters, how much time and when, Maia, Kate and Suzanne, are you thinking of spending in Yupukari?