Group activity 18. Dream Triangle. Groups. Time: 1 hour

Transcription

1 Dream Triangle Time: 1 hour Groups Outcomes ᐤ All participants have a shared vision for children in the. ᐤ They share their dreams about how to establish a support system for children in the. ᐤ The different role player groups begin to see what resources and planning are needed and how much time it will take to achieve their dreams for children. What you need Slips of coloured paper and three big sheets of paper or newsprint each with a big triangle drawn on it. The triangle is wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. Make sure everyone can see the Dream Triangle (on the floor or on the wall or on a big table). 74

2 Example of a Dream Triangle Chapter Five: Imagining and Dreaming about your Caring School Community top: needs lot of resources and help from outside the All children eat three nutritious meals a day Children are always safe We have a centre middle: needs some outside help and resources We have an after programme at the We start a vegetable garden Children get food at on weekends and holidays We arrange safe, fun activities for children on the weekend We have internet access in our village bottom: needs little or no outside help and resources The nutrition programme works efficiently and children get nutritious food on days Teachers take turns to watch children during break All children who qualify get child support grants We have a writing club at All children have birth certificates There is a scholar patrol so that children can cross the road safely after Children are never hit at We grow vegetables at We arrange for the mobile clinic to come to our once a term We cut the grass so that children can play on the field at 75

3 Champions For Children Handbook What to do Dream Read aloud: Close your eyes and imagine your a few years from now with a support system in place for all the children in the. Don t think of any barriers or obstacles. The sky is the limit. Imagine the children in the. They all have three nutritious meals a day and there is a big green field where they play. What else do you see? Hand out coloured slips of paper and give this induction: Please write one dream on each slip of paper. Make your dream as detailed and specific as you can. Write your dreams in the present as if they are really happening right now. For example: The children are dancing together and teaching each other songs in their own languages. Express your dreams in detail and in a positive way Check that you have expressed your dreams in a positive way and in detail. Do not use any negative words like no or don t or can t. For example, change No more hunger to All children get three nutritious meals a day ; and change End violence against children to Children are safe and well cared for at home, at and in the. If necessary, rewrite your dreams in a positive way, with specific details. Each dream should have an action word and say who is doing the action. Express dreams in a brief, clear and simple way. Stick your dreams in the right places on the Triangle Decide where your dreams belong and put them in the right place: ᐤ Place those dreams that don t need outside help and resources such as skills or money at the bottom of the Triangle. ᐤ Place those dreams that need some outside help and resources in the middle of the Triangle. ᐤ Place those dreams that need a lot of help and resources from outside the at the top of the Triangle. When all the dreams are on the Triangle, discuss in pairs and then in the big group: ᐤ Which dreams are the same or almost the same? (e.g. Parents are more involved with their children and Parents spend time with their children.) ᐤ Which dreams are connected? (e.g. Children have aftercare at or Children are safe after and Children have sports activities in the afternoons.) 76

4 Chapter Five: Imagining and Dreaming about your Caring School Community Discuss with a partner or in a small group for a few minutes: Which are the two or three most urgent dreams? Variation We used a Dream Tree rather than a Dream Triangle. This worked particularly well. Children especially could understand the idea of dreams that fell like ripe fruit onto the ground. Those dreams can be picked up and don t need any resources or help from outside the to make them real. Here is a picture of a Dream Tree we made. Prepare for planning and action Explain that the next phase is planning and taking action to make dreams come true: ᐤ Talk about the longer term planning that is needed to get the dreams at the top of the Triangle. You could ask small groups to discuss: What kind of information do you need and who can help you achieve the big dreams? What small steps can you take to move towards these? Write these smaller steps and add them to the dreams near the bottom of the Triangle. ᐤ Talk about shorter term planning to achieve the dreams at the bottom of the Triangle. Ask groups to discuss the dreams at the bottom of the Triangle: Make a step-bystep plan to make the dreams come true. Describe every step and decide who will do what, when. ᐤ Now it s time for you to write what you plan to do right away to start making the dream real. Remember the Journey of Hope (page 28)? Did you plan to do something at the end of the Journey of Hope? Maybe you have already started doing something to achieve your dream for children? It can be something you want to do on your own or you can work with a partner or a small group. 77

5 Champions For Children Handbook ᐤ Make sure that everyone writes what he or she plans to do or what they plan to do as a group. Ask them to keep what they write in their files. Invite volunteers to share their plans with the big group. ᐤ Display the Dream Triangle in a public place where everyone can add their dreams. ᐤ The co-ordinating team and possibly other teams can do more detailed planning afterwards and give feedback to the key role players. Keep a record of the dreaming process ᐤ Keep each group s Triangle with the dreams on it. Note which dreams are from which role player group. Use these questions to guide your reflection and records. ᐤ What reasons did they give for putting specific dreams on the Dream Triangle? ᐤ How did they feel specific dreams could affirm or change values? ᐤ How can you link the dreams on the Triangle with existing projects in the? (For example, a dream to stop drug abuse could be linked to a service provider doing good work in a neighbouring.) ᐤ How can you link the dreams with existing policy and programmes? ᐤ How can you link the dreams with potential service providers for the planning phase? ᐤ How many people took part? How much did it cost to run the process? Reflect on the process ᐤ What were the most powerful dreams for you? ᐤ What dreams did everyone share? ᐤ Where there any dreams that came from one person only or a few people only? ᐤ What made it easier for the group to dream and what made it harder? ᐤ What new insights do you have? ᐤ What would you do differently if you were doing the dreaming process again? 78