2 Months 2 Go

I've been titling a lot of documents as "2 Months To Go" lately, and as of today, May 27, I have exactly 2 months left until my last Indicorps workshop and leaving my project at Cuddalore.

I just spent a week in Bombay with the other Indicorps Fellows discussing Measures of Success (a.k.a. "How Not to Be Upset By Not Having Done Anything") and Sustainability (difficult to sustain something when there is nothing).

So towards making these last months as useful as possible, I have decided to focus on two areas of my varied existence here: working with a small core group of adolescent girls through a LEADership Camp, and unstructured/informal staff capacity building.

The Staff Capacity Building has been going on without anyone's knowledge but my own since my second month here. I both work and live with these staff. I always wonder why the other Fellows seem to have so much more time to read and reflect, and I realize that there are two reasons. 1) They manage their time better and probably sleep less, and 2) They do not live with their communities in the same way I do. Every waking minute I have, I try to seize as an opportunity to engage with the young girls who are residential staff members. I have grown closest to them, and regard them as my primary community. So in the short time that these young girls are working here before they are "married off," I try to engage them in conversations about their health, their ambitions, their personal talents, etc.

The LEADership Camp starts tomorrow. The objectives are:
- To create a core group of strong, active and voacl participants in the VIP Project's participant base
- To encourage participants to take leadership roles in VIP programmes (I spell like the Brits now) and within their communities by enhancing skills such as Critical Thinking, Decision Making, Goal Setting, Public Speaking, Self-Esteem
- To form a strong team network
- To engage participants in cultural activitise and expression

I want to create a core group of girls who are active and strong participants, who can help to propel whatever project is implemented when I am gone, in some ownership capacity. And it is also my final attempt to reconnect with the girls as I had become a bit removed by administrative duties in the last month or so.

So any ideas/suggestions with regards to Topics to Address or Activities to Use, especially from the adolescent girls who may be reading this blog (i.e. those of you in Harrisburg or Fort Collins), are more than welcome, and can be directed to my email. Extra gifts from India may be in store for those who help me out... :)

To Post Pictures Soon...