Together We Learn and Grow

[Nityam Ghosh]

Today, facilitators Vikrant Ji and Preeti Ji from the “Pyaro Bandhan Group” offered us a wonderful opportunity to learn from one another. The experience was truly inspiring and exciting.

At the beginning of the session, both Vikrant and Preeti Ji warmly welcomed all the participants and began the day’s learning process.

Vikrant Ji started the session with a question:

What did you do in the past month that made you feel proud?

Everyone shared their responses as follows:

* I served some community members during the Diwali holidays.

* I played football after a long time.

* Arranged for a lamp post in the village. The government announced a park there where children can play together, which made me happy.

* During the Puja vacation, I visited my uncle, who told me about handling a case of child marriage—it made me feel good.

* Helped a physically challenged child update their Aadhaar fingerprint, which felt rewarding.

* Our football ground is small, so I called a meeting to plan its expansion.

* Gave financial help to friends.

* Spent quality time with my family during the vacation.

* Attended dance therapy training and taught it to adolescent children, which made me happy.

* Spent time with elderly women, talked with them, and brought them joy.

* Helped the community by translating a document written in a different language, which was helpful to them.

* Spent time with family and met old friends during the holidays.

* Conducted a SALT conversation with a community member whose dream was to become a football player. Later, he played in Kolkata, and seeing his dream come true made me very happy.

* Taught children through various activities, which felt meaningful.

* Saw some progress in the work I had envisioned for two villages, which made me happy.

* Community members are now coming forward on their own to make corrections in their Aadhaar cards—this was encouraging.

* During Diwali, I helped one woman financially to celebrate, which felt good.

* Yesterday was my holiday, but there was still some work to do. After finishing work, I cleaned my house for 6–7 hours, and it felt great.

After this, we started a discussion on our dreams—how to visualize them bigger and better.

In this discussion, we were guided by Miss Ritu from the GFC team, who shared her valuable experiences. Her insights helped us understand dreams and activities more clearly.

She also shared some important points with us:

* Dream facilitation is not easy.

* It is important to take meeting notes, record permissions for video and audio, and pay attention to such details so that we can link them in the next meeting.

* How to explain the CLCP concept to the community easily using a digital board.

* How to present CLCP in the local community language.

* How to connect CLCP with SALT relationships and make it easier to understand by using creative approaches. Her shared experiences helped us understand all this better.

* How to put our dreams into practice step by step.

* Right guidance is necessary in practice so that our dreams can come true.

* We must ask the community what they can do to make their dream come true.

* We should divide dreams in thematic ways and visualize them over a span of 10–15 years.

We feel proud and grateful to Vikrant, Preeti, and Ritu Ji for providing us with such a wonderful learning opportunity.

As a SALT facilitator, I got to learn deeply about the community’s dreams, challenges, and solutions. This not only enhances a facilitator’s capacity and thinking but also strengthens leadership skills.

The process of open self-assessment and dream discussion also gives the facilitator a chance for personal growth, helping them make better decisions in the future.

Valuing every member’s experience builds positive energy and motivation within the community.

What went well today and why?

* Gained better understanding of self-assessment.

* Thought about ways to connect with children, which was good.

* Had deep conversations about dreams.

* Learned more about practices through driving, video, and audio linkages, and discussed connecting with children.

* The check-in was good. Understood how to look at dreams more deeply.

* Realized that asking “why” during practice helps motivate the community further.

* Understood the difference between dream and activity lists.

* Learned that saying “we” during facilitation is better.

* Got clear understanding of how to do self-assessment within the community.

* Learned that we can also learn from children when we connect with them.

* Having attended the first meeting as well, today I got a clearer idea about dreams and activities.

* Understood how to encourage the community to dream—if the SALT discussion is good, dreaming becomes easier.

What can we do better next time?

* Everyone should join the meeting on time, as this meeting is for us.

* When sharing examples of community action and change, explaining with details will help others become more active participants.

* It would be nice if everyone could present dreams from their respective organizations.

* Everyone was present today, which was great.