The teens in Katondo have ambitious goals: they want to be doctors, lawyers, and pilots. Yet their challenges are numerous: Early marriages, no money for school fees, poverty, lack of access to healthcare, lack of role models or supportive parents, etc.
Yet when we asked the teens at Katondo for a list of possible solutions, they were completely silent. The laughter and the chatting died, and the students sat stone-faced in their small discussion groups. It became clear that no one had thought critically about solving the problems, or at least, they didn't feel as though they had the power to change their situation.
So the next day, we tried something different. We started with a game where the kids had to close their eyes, and then line up in order of youngest to oldest without speaking to each other or looking at one another. They tried once, and all ended up on opposite sides of the room.
We asked them if they could do it better and they unanimously said "No. We can't succeed if our eyes are closed."
Then one of the younger boys spoke up. He said something in Chichewa, and drew his age on his friend's shoulder. They tried again, this time communicating through touch, and did well. From there we played "All Aboard" on the stone wall outside the center, where the students were charged to fit as many people as they could onto the wall. At first, they said they could only fit 10. But after some experimentation, they fit all all 17 people onto a small space.
Little by little, the teens started solving various challenges. We did "human knots," "group juggles," and other problem solving activities. I swear, those games are magical. And while I know that it takes more than just a game to make someone feel empowered, it was amazing to see the difference. In the hour we did those activities, we went from a group that couldn't speak for itself and was leaderless to a group where even the girls- who rarely speak or make their opinions known- were pitching in to make the group succeed. And the guys were actually listening to them!
By the end of the day, the group was able to teach younger children about what they had learned the previous day. The teens gave the younger kids short speeches on the importance of education and staying in school. What's more, by the end of the day, two of the teens stood up and gave a 10 minute speech to the parents, asking them to encourage their children to go to school.
It was encouraging to see the teens take ownership like that, and to begin to be leaders in their community. While we can certainly try and teach about the importance of education, health, or empowerment, its much more effective coming from teens who live in the village.
