Behavior Change and Gender Analysis Workshop

At the beginning of June, I had the opportunity to participate in a World Renew workshop on how to work for behavior change and also how to consider gender in development programs.  It was in Kenya, on Lake Elementaita.

The location was beautiful (and cooler than Soroti - I actually used blankets at night, which was great!) and filled with all sorts of amazing birds.

But, when I was not birdwatching (the birdwatching only occupied the short breaks between sessions), I was taking part in very engaging activities.

I really appreciated how much this workshop was interactive, rather than mostly lecture.  We frequently divided into groups to put the things we were learning into practice.  For example, as we learned the steps for planning a project that effectively changes peoples' behavior, we would stop at each step and make a plan for either a made-up or an actual project.

 The groups were made up of people working in similar areas.  This is my group: we all do at least some work with agriculture.

We made a plan for encouraging farmers to use green manure/cover crops (gm/ccs) on their fields to help improve their soils.  Part of the process was writing a message that you could use to advertise.  We made some serious ones and below, some funny ones.

The gender analysis aspect of the training was also very interesting.  It was led by a Kenyan who does those kinds of trainings quite often.  Since we had a very diverse group - about 5 North Americans and 20 from East Africa - I learned a lot more about gender issues in this region.

All in all, it was very worthwhile and I am glad I got to go.  I also loved that I got to meet other World Renew staff from East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi) and people who work for World Renew partner organizations.  They are really great people and I am thankful that I get to work with them!