Strong characters are built the way strong muscles are build

[Florence Mwikali]

Village- Kithituni, Kenya
Date 27th April 2023

I met a group of 15 women who have formed a group called Baraka for a SALT conversation. This means blessings in my language. Women of different age groups formed a group by this name as they want to receive blessings. The group meets every Saturday. The group started as the women were not in good condition and wanted to help each other. They had a small amount of money. They share their food with those who are not able to buy food.

One of their initiatives inspired me a great deal. There was an old woman in the village who broke her hand and was not to plant in her land. The women felt that they could assist her as no one else was. They went to her piece of land and dug the land for three hours to help her.
Another thing they have recently started is buying goats and sheep. When these animals give birth to the young ones, they give these young ones to anyone who needs help in the village. When I met them they were making ropes by hand as they cannot afford to buy ropes. They use these ropes to tie the goats and sheep. By helping others the women are also showing their knowledge and capability to make ropes.

My hope for these women is that they will open the eyes of others, they are helping others to grow in their minds.

I have also observed a gender issue in the group. There is a man also a part of this group but he is not comfortable amongst 15 women and feels left out. He does not join the meetings but contributes to the group. I have given this title because these women are very strong and active in what ever they are doing..if it was not for their effort...they couldn't be far..yeah


AER

What worked well and why?
1. I started with activities like singing and jumping, it relaxed them, it made them jovial as they had never done these activities before. They were fearful initially but after the activities, they opened up their hearts."
2. I joined them in making ropes though I am not good at it.
3. I listened to them. They have never met someone who would listen. Listening to them is part of SALT.
4. I made them feel that we are part and parcel of the community.
5. I started by asking who are they. This encouraged them to share their stories

What can I do better next time?
I wanted to go and visit the old woman who had broken her hand but it was getting dark. 

[Florence Mwikali]

Sure Rituu i think it will be better if I make it a continuation in this story or how do you see it

[Rituu B. Nanda]

Would love to know more about the conversation!

[Florence Mwikali]

Hello Rituu yes i had a conversation with the Old lady

[Rituu B. Nanda]

Hi dear Florence, I loved your blog. Were you able to have a SALT conversation with the older woman? Thanks for all that i have learned from you. Hugs.

[Florence Mwikali]

Thanks very much