The volunteer orientation in PT Foundation started a week ago. The sessions held during weekdays deal with the facts about HIV/AIDS, other STIs, statistics, cures, treatments and safe-sex. Lot of essential information.
But during weekend sessions the participants are invited to take a look at themselves: why in this time in their life they wish to be counselors. Expectations of the organization and the volunteer need to confront each other. Last Saturday, with lady Navam and the group, we had good discussion about counseling-versus-advising-what-to-do, self-rated-morals and about life paths that can take surprising turns. Universal knowledge of how to treat life. Simple facts that we do know but often forget while living the everyday.
Lady Navam is seen as a spiritual leader by many. She has been counseling new counselors for different communal organizations for decades. In PT only she has been participating probably longer than I've lived. I admire her not only because of the wisdom she has but her way of spreading her knowledge. She doesn't see herself as a "leader" or teacher who knows how the world works. She has the gift of making people really listen, hear her and question themselves. Rarely have I encountered comparable silence like the silence when we are all waiting for her to speak. Such a charismatic and inspirational lady.
We were given some handouts at the Saturday session and I made some `scrap-art´ out of them:
