“A Wonderful Weekend”
In August of 2014 I led a workshop in Kira Town, Kampala, Uganda. The purpose was to bring together RCers from several Communities (Nabbingo, Migyera, Mulago, Mpererwe, Gulu, Kampala) so that they could have Co-Counseling sessions with experienced RC teachers. We were twenty-eight people. Most participants had been in RC for about a year.
We began Friday evening with introductions. Then people paired up to discharge on their feelings about getting to Kampala (some had had to travel over three hundred kilometers).
On Saturday we had an early-morning support group for leaders in which we cleared our minds for the day. After breakfast the whole workshop reviewed RC theory and talked about confidentiality, attendance, the no-socializing policy, no mixing of theories, and avoiding addictive substances. The no-socializing policy was the most difficult to explain because it seemed contradictory to African culture. However, people understood it after they’d had a chance to discharge about it. Self-appreciation brought a lot of discharge on embarrassment. Many of us had been put down as we grew up and had lost belief in our capabilities. That’s why it was important to do self-appreciation.
Following that we had support groups and then a play time. After dinner there was a panel discussion with presentations by both women and men. The topics were “What oppresses women/men?” and “Why are you proud to be a woman/man?” Before bed we enjoyed a cultural sharing, with dancing, singing, poems, and a sharing of cultural norms.
On Sunday morning people discharged about their workshop experience and then said farewells.
We had a wonderful weekend.
Apollo Ssemwogerere Vvubya
Area Reference Person
for Kampala, Uganda
Kampala, Uganda