English translation of the preceding article:
Building a Co-Counseling Community in Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, a charming country of twenty-two million people, experienced war following a post-election crisis in 2011. I came to Togo as a refugee that April. Two weeks after I arrived, I met Missigbe1 and RC Togo.
I understood immediately that this Community could help me as well as my country. I decided to join the RC Community in Togo. Missigbe and the other members “adopted” me. During the same year, I participated in a workshop led by Marion and Ellie.2 What an opportunity!
In May 2013 I had another opportunity to participate in a workshop to reinforce our skills, with the same U.S. leaders. How our lives are connected!
After two years of apprenticeship, Missigbe, in agreement with the International RC leadership, granted me a certificate to teach a fundamentals class.
A few days later I returned to Ivory Coast. I discovered a country in the process of reconstruction, without a trace of war but with much heartbreak. I told myself, “I need to act quickly; people need me and need Co-Counseling.”
Several days later I held my first fundamentals class, with eight students. Everyone was in awe of the theory of RC. Therefore, a whole series of fundamentals classes followed. The Fundamentals Teaching Guide, in French translation, was useful. This well-thought-out document made my task easier.
People began to appreciate the discharge sessions, and a passionate core of Co-Counselors started to emerge. They got used to the vocabulary—distress patterns, contradictions,3 and so on—and adopted the rules of the Community.
I phoned people in the class regularly and visited each one of them for a session as soon as I had time. A leader must be an example!
In October, school started up again. Because we held our RC classes in a primary school, we had a few problems with the location and schedule for our regular large-group meetings. So we met as pairs, and sometimes I visited each member for sessions.
Following a report to RCCR,4 Ellie interceded with the Foundation5 so that we could get a furnished room for our meetings. Everyone’s faith in RC has further deepened. People no longer feel alone. They now know the Community of Co-Counseling is a large, well-connected human family.
In Ivory Coast it is hard to have credibility if your organization doesn’t have a location. That is why we are grateful for the spontaneous intervention on our behalf.
We are continuing our activities by reviewing the fundamentals theory and discharging a lot on various topics. With the problem of a location resolved, we are in the process of forming a support group.
I’m already thinking about starting another group in another town, and I’m bringing people together for that purpose. My goal is to establish a Co-Counseling Community.
I thank my friends who trusted me, and all the leaders who continue to support me. We are forming a human family.
I remain hopeful.
Cyrille Zounon
Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Translated by Ellie Putnam and Régis Courtin
1 Missigbe Hokameto, an RC leader in Lome, Togo
2 Marion Ouphouet and Ellie Putnam, RC leaders in Seattle, Washington, USA
3 Contradictions to distress
4 Re-evaluation Counseling Community Resources, in Seattle, Washington, USA
5 The Re-evaluation Foundation, which provides resources to help disseminate RC ideas, skills, and leadership training to people whose low income, geographic location, or other restrictive circumstances limit access to RC