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Dedicated to Facilitating Change   
March 27, 2012 –– Whether it is working with youth affected by HIV/AIDS in Jordan, improving the lives of poor rural women in Guatemala, or establishing new guidelines for women vendors in village markets in Cameroon, CEDPA’s alumni are changing lives all over the world. They leave those who meet them with a sense of awe about their ability to accomplish so much with so few resources. Last week CEDPA brought together nine superstar alumni for a training of the trainers (TOT) workshop in Washington, D.C. that will add to their development tool kits. The workshop built the capacity of these alumni to conduct effective workshops for women in their communities, countries and regions, increasing capacity for country-led development. The participants, from Asia, Africa and Latin America, spent a week going through CEDPA’s core training methodology, learning to create a supportive environment and practicing their skills as facilitators. “I have [been to] so many TOTs, and I’ve been trained with different organizations, but the appreciative way, the laughter, the humane aspect that always influences the training environment [in CEDPA workshops] is very nice,” explains Rawan Ababneh (pictured below), Executive Director of the Friends of Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Middle East and North Africa.
Eager to learn about CEDPA’s training style because of their experience in CEDPA workshops, participants shared their experiences so they could learn from them. “I have never been at a training where you worked so intensely, even at night,” said Mary Nyuyinwi (pictured above right), Cameroonian alumna, recalling her experience at a Global Women in Management Workshop in 2009. “It improved my leadership skills, that was really wonderful.” Mary, like the rest of the alumni, has fond memories of not only their workshop sessions, but the bonds formed and networks built during them. Former alumni frequently come to workshops to encourage current participants, broaden their in-country networks and attend receptions held in honor of these women leaders. The workshops are immersive experiences that serve not only to unleash the leadership potential within each participant, but to transform their way of looking at their place in the world and how they relate to others. These lessons are carried back to their communities, where the alumni transform the lives of others. Many alumni return for additional workshops on advocacy, reproductive health or gender and governance, but these participants wanted to take it a step further. At the end of the workshop, each participant was asked to facilitate a session on financial management, leadership, project management or advocacy. This practice-based learning helped solidify techniques the participants learned during the week and gave them the opportunity to hear feedback from their peers. Armed with their new skills and more international connections to broaden their networks, the participants reaffirm their dedication to usher in a new era of women leaders. This workshop was made possible by the generous funding of the ExxonMobil Foundation’s Women’s Economic Opportunity Initiative. |
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