My first independent facilitation attempt

So, I have not been writing in this space for a while now! So what? There was nothing inspiring enough to write for a while. But then, its not only this space but many others that I use for expressing and being creative.

I painted with crayons after so long and had a blast doing that.

I wrote for "Urja" - house magazine of GMPL

I wrote the book reviews for PDP.

I wrote letters to friends after ages.

The wonderful world of words and the gift of writing... :) I enjoy writing and sharing.

But coming to the point and talking about the subject, there is another superb experience that I want to write about. Its about the role play that I facilitated for a group in Worli. This was my first independent experience at facilitation. The group consisted of the residents of Mnagar and SNS team. 12 of us. Some more joined in later. When I started the session, it looked like there was nothing right about it. The keys to Akanksha office were not available. The october sky was overcast and raindrops hit us within 5 minutes of the group coming together. I had almost decided to wind up but did not, simply because of the group's enthusiasm. So I narrated the roleplay to the group in Hindi and gained confidence along the way. As if in support, the keys to the office were delivered to us and the sky cleared!

I was looking forward to what would unfold and expected the group to enact for about 15 minutes. The group was divided in 2 groups amidst much of nominations and happy banter. Once i narrated to them what they were expected to do, I saw the seriousness of the group. I was struck by the intensity with which the group was impacted. They identified so completely with the role play! Slowly the act took shape. The group stumbled upon the impromptu dialogues and the googly of situations. Neither group new what the other had planned and what emerged was a real-life situation with real emotions and dialogues. I was speechless as the group got involved and the role play continued for 40 minutes. After 30 minutes or so, I decided to pull down the curtains and asked the group to close the negotiation. We wound up the situation with a fairly satisfactory situation.

We sat for a de-brief in a large circle. Almost everyone started talking at once. Gradually the chatter stopped and some members, who seemed to be leading the group took over. However the feedback was personal in nature. At this point I intervened and guided the group through a constructive feedback process. I asked them questions that were related to the process, planning, impact, action and reaction during the role-play. One of the "aha!" moments came when the group discovered that they had not planned who they will talk to in the opposite party. This, they realized was a reality for them, leading to issues in resolving current issues about SRA. There were other such moments in the de-brief making the session very "powerful"! And that's the feeling that I am left with. I feel powerful, for having made a successful intervention. I feel powerful for having made a difference. I feel powerful for making the contribution to an activist group. I feel powerful! and humbled by the success...