Ghana

Mrs. Sena Gabianu
President
Ghana Association for Living Values Education 

 

English

On 11-14 November 2007, a LVE Educador Workshop was held for street children and carers in Ghana.  This workshop was part of a larger project sponsored by the Rotary Club of Jersey to help alleviate the predicament of street children in Ghana, which includes the employment of several new street workers at well-established centres for street children in Accra.

The workshop had been carefully discussed and planned by the following partners:

¨       Rotary Club of Jersey, UK

¨       Labone Rotary Club, Accra, Ghana

¨       Ghana Association for Living Values Education (GALVE)

¨       Catholic Action for Street Children (CAS)

¨       Street Girls Aid (S.AID)

¨       Street Child Africa

¨       Beaulieu Convent, Jersey, UK

¨       Swiss Association for Living Values (SALV)

Funds were raised through a number of initiatives in Jersey coordinated by the Rotary Club, including a series of creative activities by students at Beaulieu Convent, who had been deeply touched on hearing about the plight of street children and wished to make their contribution.

Implementation

The three-day workshop was implemented by Swiss Association for Living Values and coordinated by its project coordinator for West and Central Africa, Helen Sayers, who had carried out groundwork during previous visits to Ghana, in close collaboration with the Ghana Association for Living Values Education, led by Mrs. Sena Gabianu.

For a full report, please click here... 

Current Stutus August 2006

Workshop on Values-based Education for Early Childhood Educators, Tema,

Ghana, 21-24 August 2006

Summary report

Introduction

A four day residential training workshop for early childhood educators was organized by the Swiss Association for Living Values (SALV) in collaboration with the local Living Values organizing committee, with the support of the Ghana National Commission for UNESCO. It was sponsored by the ACCENTUS charitable foundation, Switzerland, and held at the Good Shepherd Catholic Parish Hall in Tema.

The aims of the workshop were:

• To learn about the Living Values Education Programme (LVEP) worldwide and its activities to help children explore and develop universal values such as peace, respect, love, responsibility and honesty;

• To explore our personal and cultural values as well as how to create a values-based learning environment in the classroom / whole school;

• To exchange ideas with other early childhood educators committed to values-based education, and to benefit from the experience of colleagues from Senegal and Togo as well as the UK;

• To create an action plan for implementing Living Values in our work.

Participants and facilitators

The workshop was facilitated by an international team of experienced Living Values trainers: Ms Ann Stirzaker, member of the LV Association of the British Isles and former special needs teacher; Mme Awa Ndiaye Gueye, committee member, Association for Living Values, Senegal, and Director of the National Resource Centre for Early Childhood Education, Senegal; and Ms Helen Sayers, project coordinator for West and Central Africa, Swiss Association for Living Values. The team was assisted by M. René Alemawo, originally from Togo and resource person for the LV street children programme, and was joined later by the vice president of the Swiss Association, Ms Beryl Carby Mutambirwa.

Participants included 38 early childhood educators and 2 early childhood student specialists from the University of Education, Winneba (UEW).

The workshop started on Monday 21 August with morning devotion after which local co-ordinator Ms Joana Agbele Yafetto welcomed the participants and introduced the facilitators. Guest speaker Mrs Bridget Tsigbe, Director of Education, in her opening address on Values in Education in Ghana, stressed the need for educators to help children to be in touch with the values that Ghanaian society is loosing. She appealed to the participants to promote the value of cleanliness at workplaces, schools, homes, market places, and on the streets. Mrs Tsigbe then joined the group in an interactive activity by which everyone introduced themselves to each other while noting a special positive quality in the other… a light-hearted and uplifting game for all ages and an enjoyable and informal way to open the workshop!

Mrs Bridget Tsigbe enjoys an activity – “getting to know you through your values”

Helen Sayers introduced the background and objectives of LVEP, emphasizing the need for educators to be role models in helping children to “explore, experience and express” the values which are already present within. Education, she remarked is not only about the Three Rs, but about integrating character development through the attainment of values, throughout the curriculum. Teaching is, however, in danger of losing its place in society as the “noble profession”. Helping teachers to “live their values” and be an example for their students, as well as to maintain motivation, creativity, self-respect, and passion for their work are among the main objectives of the workshop.

To demonstrate that values cannot be simply found or learned from books, Ann Stirzaker started the programme of activities with a series of reflective mental exercises through which participants discovered their personal values, and came up with individual definitions of “what is a Value?”

Sharing ideas on personal values

Ms Vida Mantey, co-ordinator of the Living Values pilot schools project held in Tema in June, then guided the group in an exploration of the cultural values of Ghana. Questions such as “What makes you proud to be Ghanian?”, “What are the values cherished by our ancestors?” were asked in order to stimulate reflection on the subject, followed by group discussion. Values such as respect, hospitality, loyalty, peace, honesty were highlighted. In responding to the question “How can we sustain these values?” the following suggestions were offered:

• Harness the positive aspects of our Ghanaian culture.

• Educators and parents to be role models for children

• Involve parents in creating a values-based atmosphere in schools. Encourage their participation at PTA meetings, speech and prize giving days etc.

• Educators promote good parenting skills.

Each day began and ended with a children’s song on values and a prayer. The workshop was regularly punctuated with energizers, games, dances, songs, stories – all based on values, and equally valuable for adults and children.

In many sessions participants were requested to “put your feet in the shoes of a small child” in order to reflect on and determine the essential needs of children: to be LOVED, RESPECTED, UNDERSTOOD, VALUED and to feel SAFE. If a child are listened to, accepted, given the right sort of attention, and are disciplined - when necessary - in a way that they retain dignity and self-respect, they will thrive and will be more likely to fulfil their true potential. Many of the behavioural problems that we see in today’s children are because their essential needs have not been fulfilled, and they may instead be experiencing humiliation, cruelty, and rejection. Therefore we need to look at the root causes of arrogance, anger, shyness etc. with compassion and understanding and the desire to help the child rather than to punish. It was agreed that the needs of the educator are very similar to those of the child! A session was included where participants reflected on and discussed their personal ways of looking after themselves and of generating peace and happiness at the working environment in order to enhance effective teaching & learning.

Facilitators Ann and Awa enjoy mime and theatre with their young students

The agenda for the next 3 days followed a similar course to that of the educator workshop for pilot schools that was held in June, covering areas such as conflict resolution, values-based discipline, and active listening. Active listening exercise 006b The approach is participatory, involving reflection, visualization, discussion and creative expression through mime, role play, drawing, singing etc. Rather than repeating details on common sessions here, you are therefore recommended to refer to the report of the June workshop, available on the Living Values website, from SALV or from the local coordinator.Some highlights of the current wokshop are mentioned below:

Awa presents the work of Living Values in Early childhood education in Senegal

Awa Gueye started her session with relaxing to some gentle music. When asked how they felt while listening to the music the response from all was that they experienced a peaceful feeling within…a feeling of well-being. Awa commented on the benefits of using music – and silence – with young children; to help them to feel good about themselves and to develop concentration and receptiveness. She gave a dynamic and inspiring presentation on the progress and challenges of implementing Living Values Education in Senegal over the past three years. She encouraged colleagues not to wait for the support of the president or a minister etc. but to start from the grass roots by using one’s imagination and creativity to initiate small projects and activities in the schools as educators and in the homes as parents. In this way, the project can grow quickly with the minimum of resources, and in the spirit of cooperation.

Active Listening Excercise

Active Listening

Participants, in pairs , discussed a number of subjects, some serious, some not so.They were requested to role play different attitudes, positive and negative. After the excercise each person reflected on the feelings that these attitudes created in one another and discussed in small groups.

Conclusions Do's and Don'ts of listening:

Do

Listen attentively, with respect. Encourage the other through gestures, facial expression, validating responses etc

Don't

Ignore, Interrupt, change the subject, blame, criticise, belittle or compete with the other's ideas, raise the voice, don't give too much advise.

Joana Yafetto facilitated a session on Working with Parents. She gave a series of questions to reflect upon:

1. What are some of the things parents can do together with the children to help them explore and develop universal values?

2. What are the needs of the child?

3. What are some of the qualities a parent should have before being able to see and meet these needs.

The following solutions were put forward:

1. The parent can take a walk, play, do homework, picnic and converse together with their children.

2. A child needs shelter, good food, good health, affection, quality education etc.

3. A parent needs to imbibe the qualities of responsibility, love, understanding, confidence, honesty and being a role model.

Rene Alemawo shared from his experience as an artist working with street children in Dakar, and from his own childhood in Togo where he was left to survive on the streets for a number of years, that one of the most important tasks we have as educators is to be happy and give happiness to others! He facilitated a series of simple exercises designed to bring out the natural creativity in small children. It was all fun and happiness, being a child again, cutting out happy faces on paper etc!

Artistic expression of happiness and love

In a session on conflict resolution participants were required to reflect back on some of their own experiences and note some of the best practices they used towards resolving a conflict – e.g. between parents and children, teachers and children, or between two children; identifying the combination of values they may have used. One of the conclusions was that there must be impartiality, which takes honesty and self-esteem. There must be trust between adults and children.

The following key values were determined:

Use of love and affection, understanding and unity, forgiveness and reconciliation, responsibility, concern, peace. We should value children but not over protect them, and give them well-defined acceptable guidelines of behaviour.

Puppets – a game to develop trust and confidence

It was agreed that in terms of conflict, prevention is always better than cure and if educators are good models and do all they can to ensure that the child’s needs are fulfilled, and if children are regularly encouraged to use values in every aspect of their lives, possibilities of conflict will automatically be reduced.

Beryl Carby Mutambirwa gave a closing speech, congratulating all present for their commitment and enthusiasm, and expressing her best wishes and optimism for the future of LV in Ghana. She talked briefly about the spirit of volunteerism and of the principles and working practices involved in Living Values Education.

Certificates of attendance were issued followed by LV songs, photographs and emotional good byes.

RECOMMENDATION from participants

More workshops recommended for educators especially early childhood student specialists in the University of Education, since they are the first batch of students undergoing a four year degree programme on early childhood in the country. They can have the requisite knowledge to sensitize other educators.

Note: After the workshop one of the participants contacted Mrs Margaret Okai, National Coordinator, Early Childhood Development Unit, Ghana Education Service, and invited her to meet the LV international team during a later workshop for street children and their educators. Mrs Okai listened with interest to Awa Gueye’s experiences of using LV in Senegal, and expressed her wish to support the implementation of LV in Early Childhood education in Ghana.

 

For additional information about the activities in West and Central Africa, please go to: www.lvafricacentwest.net