This week was the first week of running programmes with the children, and it's felt like a roller coaster to say the least. As the children are currently on winter break, I've been running two sessions of programming a day, rather than just the one teen mental health group. This has pushed me to be flexible and tested my creativity skills, as I had to design engaging activities with little planning time and then adapt these activities in real time (on reflection, paints and glitter with 3-7 year olds was a brave choice). There has been much trial and error and problem solving when things don't go to plan, but amongst the chaos, there have been many joyful moments and it has been really special getting to know the children and seeing how engaged and excited they've been to join in with the extra arts and dance classes. It has also prompted reflections on my behalf around the things I took for granted growing up, like having access to colouring pens or being able to go to dance classes, all of which appear to be out of the question here.
In addition to the extra arts and dance sessions for the younger children, this was my first week running my teen mental health and empowerment programme. This has felt up and down; trying to connect with teenagers has proven challenging, but I appreciate that particularly given their backgrounds and the difficult relationships they have with many of the adults in their lives, building trust and rapport is something that is going to take time. I am trying to focus on taking things one day at a time, and not get ahead of myself in thinking this first week is indicative of how all future sessions will be. It has required emotional intelligence skills to read the group's dynamics, and patience to build trust. My plan is to focus on rapport first, in the hope that influence and impact will follow once relationships are stronger. I hope that as we spend more time together, the teens will feel safer and more willing to engage and speak openly in sessions. I've also brainstormed ways of adapting the structure of my sessions based off observations I've made from this week, with the aim of prompting more discussion and conversation. Next week will be a chance to assess how receptive the teens are to these changes and whether this will enable the content of my program to have a greater impact.
Another reflection from being with the teens this week was around the role of technology and social media in our lives. At SOS, only a few of the teens have phones or social media, but the contrast between those who do and those who don't is striking. Once the phones are out, capturing their attention or encouraging them to engage in other activities becomes a bit of a battle. Witnessing this direct contrast was eye-opening as it's not something I ever see in the UK where most teens have a phone and a TikTok account. From a psychology perspective, it was a sobering insight into the large-scale impact that phones and social media must be having on young people globally during such an important developmental period. It also left me with a stronger sense of empathy for what teachers must be navigating everyday in schools!
Based off both the arts and dance sessions and the teen empowerment programming, my biggest takeaway from this week has been that no day at SOS is the same - one day would go really well, then the next I would be faced with an unexpected curveball to work around, and there really is no predicting how each day will go. The up-and-down nature of the sessions did have me feeling a little defeated by the end of the week, but I have already learnt so much from this week that I can implement to improve my sessions next week, so I am grateful for the learning opportunities and need to keep reminding myself that it was unrealistic to expect the programmes to run smoothly first try! This week has been a valuable lesson in adaptability and having a flexible mindset, and most importantly it has been a reminder to myself that I am more resilient to things not going as expected or dealing with uncertainty than I sometimes realise. The unpredictability also highlighted the value of collaboration, as sharing insight, experience and individual perspectives with fellow volunteers helped us all to navigate challenges more effectively.
Life outside of SOS has also provided some very profound reflections. This weekend, we went to visit Robben Island, the island upon which Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 of his 27 years incarcerated. Our tour guide was an ex-prisoner himself, having being arrested aged 17 during a peaceful march advocating for the right to education and the abolition of inferior education systems for black children in response to apartheid policies. Hearing the stories of the tour guide and the other political prisoners he shared a communal cell with was very hard-hitting. Being in a place so tied to struggle and resilience made me think about how histories of injustice are not just local issues but are part of a shared human history; the responsibility to challenge inequality and protect human rights falls to all of us. The trip was a harsh reminder of the ongoing work required in today's world, and the importance of not just knowing the stories of the past, but carrying forward the lessons of resilience and justice that should have been learnt from those.