We wrapped up the training in Lwaboba yesterday and at the end of the day, Carolyn and I were gifted with a very large bucket of g-nuts (peanuts)! Whatever the economic level of Ugandans, they are always giving and generous. I am often embarrassed to receive gifts of food, clothing, baskets, jewelry. They welcome us into their homes, insist on sharing meals with us and truly treat us as honored guests. Knowing how much we have and how little they have, we hate to accept what might cause a hardship for them and yet cannot risk hurting feelings by declining. The generosity of those with such severely limited means is truly touching.
Carolyn and Karon receiving a gift from Fenny and the ladies of Lwaboba.
Today we were off to Tororo to observe the first day of borrower training there. Stella, the TGC trained trainer had already demonstrated her skills in practice sessions with our leadership group, but today she was amazing! She took the techniques and content she’d been given and built on them in a very creative way. She was animated, continually engaged the audience and created a learning tools and an environment that would be the envy of any of my trainer friends in the US. She demonstrated a relentless dedication to making sure every woman understood the lessons being taught. What an inspiration and what a gift she is to the TGC program. I am often stunned at the talent and sophistication of the women in these remote, impoverished areas and I want them all to have the opportunity to fulfill all the wonderful potential they display and be all they can be.
Stella commanding the attention of 40 women.
Here are some images I hope will convey more of the story of training women in business skills.
A canopy is erected to create a comfortable environment.
A canopy for the outdoor classroom.
The ladies are each given a bag containing a notebook, pen, calculator (every business person needs one), a passbook in which to record her loan payments and savings and donated toothbrushes and toothpaste.
They use the notebooks and pens right away, taking lots of notes and really being engaged in the training.
Borrowers with new tools
The training audience is quite diverse. Today there is a set of five month old twins and four other infants and toddlers as well as numerous feathered friends who frequently added their comments to the discussions!
Future microloan client!
You can see that training here has a little different flavor to it and yet the goals of educating remain the same and are accomplished brilliantly!
Tomorrow will be a joyous day as we distribute the loans!
