For our last week here in Ethiopia, our job was to mentor and support some of the trainees from 2 weeks ago as they now presented the SRS curriculum to a selection of lab technicians and technologists from their own regions. Adrian and I stayed in Awassa and helped Bihil, Muluken and Girma from the SNNP (Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples) Region, while Joan and Debbie went back to Adama to work with Habtamu and Mestawet.
That meant that our little 'family' had to be split up after almost 3 weeks together. Belinda and Isaac, the videographer flown in from one of our company locations, came down to Awassa and Deman, Joan and Debbie left to go back to Adama with Amir, our driver extraordinaire! So the fact that we all got sick Sunday night/Monday, I think, is attributable to the break up.... Belinda thought it was because we were all tired of being on the road for so long. In any case, I'm still congested like never before and can barely speak.
At least I got my teaching part done before my voice took off. Adrian and I had agreed to give the Process Mapping module the first afternoon, since it is a bit complicated and confusing - even on the trainer end. The rest of the modules were to be taught by the new local trainers - in Amharic! Adrian was so sick he wasn't able to attend on Monday so I managed to get through it, even though I hadn't been responsible for it the first week of training. Adrian was back at it the following day. We mainly gave some suggestions in terms of timing (these people can TALK!) and helped set up all of the activities - role plays, group activity stations, handout, etc.
What I noticed most about this class of 38 was how participatory and engaged they were. Based on stories from other training sessions with small lab health center workers, we were told it took up to 2-3 days before they started engaging in discussions. I'm assuming at least part of that was due to the language difference, and maybe that's what turned the tide in our case. When I was giving my module and asked questions or probed for feedback, I got total silence. With the local trainers, the class lit up, had fun and really got into it. So much so that even when role playing in front of the class was not required, they requested to do so! Adrian and I talked about Oscar nominees, and our last evening at dinner came up with the idea of making Best Actor and Best Actress awards out of the Coca Light bottles left over from our drink order. I stayed up late making these silly awards, but it was actually fun. We consulted with Bihil, Muluken and Girma and they suggested polling the class for the top 3 actors and actresses and then go to a live vote for the winners. I think they were pleasantly surprised and appreciative.
The class raised their test score average by 41 between pre- and post-test evaluations (43% up to 84%), so we know they didn't just have fun - they learned something during the 4 days of training. All the feedback was primarily very positive - some even wished it was longer! It was wonderful to have such an involved, active group that were passionate about their jobs and so willing to learn. Once again, training was very rewarding - and I didn't even do that much this time.
As I sat 'listening' to the final discussion (in Amharic) with a big-wig from the Regional Health Bureau just before the certificates were handed out, I was thinking that for all the orphanages and women's organizations and the like, what I would really like to do after going home is find a way to continue to support the Health Center laboratorians. I talked to Getachew last night about it here in Addis and he said that even donating time to help translate manuals, edit documentation, and assist with writing SOPs would be a huge benefit so I am encouraged to think that maybe this is the piece of Ethiopia that I might help to continue to make a difference with.
No comments:
Post a Comment