Facilitator training

Training will be held in Kakamega March 11,12 and 13. Sessions will begin the afternoon of 11 and finish at midday March 14.

Please note that merely attending the session does not ensure accreditation as a Virtues facilitator. Certificates and accreditation will be accorded to those whose knowledge, teaching skills and experience meet the requirements of the Master Facilitators.

We welcome a large number of new members after recent training, so we repeat some current information.
- Please note there will be an on-site teacher training specific to ONE school on Nov 25,26 . Registration for this session is closed.
- there will be a teacher training session in Kakamega on Nov 29,20 (training centre near Frends Hotel) This is a two day session starting at 9 am each day. Space is limtied, so interested teachers must contact Richard at 0721883605 or Patricia at 0720689549 to check if seats are still available.
- the facilitator training planned for Dec 1,2,3 is CANCELLED. Although we have a large number of people who have expressed interest in becoming a facilitator, they have not yet fulfilled all the requirements stipulated. We hope they will be able to attend a training in March 2011.

new Master Facilitator

Richard Andabwa has received his accreditation as a Master Faciltator. On Wednesday of this week he received the congratulations of 54 attendees at a Virtues deepening in Kakamega. We will now be able to train new facilitators through Richard, even when Patricia is out of the country.

Richard is shown here with his wife, Bibiana, also a trained facilitator.

Planned sessions

We have held some very successful training sessions—both basic training and follow-up.

Planned sessions:

Nov 8 community training (one day) 9 am to 4 pm in Kakamega (training centre is on left of Friend’s Hotel on Mumias Rd. Bear left and look for the sign opposite St Joseph’s Academy.)

Nov 29, 30 teacher training (probably in Kakamega)

Dec 1,2,3 Facilitator training (Kakamega)
In order to train as a facilitator, you must have taken a basic community AND teacher training, have taken one or more follow-up sessions, have participated (taught) some parts of the basic training. You must have been practicing the Virtues for at least one year. Facilitators are volunteers who wish to give back and enhance their community.

Please contact Patricia at patriciacrossley5@gmail.com or at 0720689549 if you interested in mor information

Up-coming training sessions

Virtues training for a community group in Kakamega, October, 2010

Please note the following:

Note correction of the following date:

Oct 30 Kakamega - introduction to new 5 card strategy: 10 a.m.
refreshments provided but not transport (training centre behind Friend's Hotel,
Mumias Rd., opp. St Joseph's academy. Look for the Tembo-Kenya banner) email to
patriciacrossley5@gmail.com,
or text to 0720689549 for attendance

Nov. 8 Kakamega: same location as above. Basic training 9.00 am- 4 pm email to patriciacrossley5@gmail.com,
or text to 0720689549 for attendance
Nov 9-10 Kakamega (Christ Church ACK)-
beginning 1.00 pm Nov 9- Deepening for trained Virtues members.

ACK clergy are pre-registered for this session.

Others should email to patriciacrossley5@gmail.com,
or text to 0720689549

Please note that in order to receive a certificate for any of these sessions, you must attend 95% of the training.

Any trained members who are interested in taking the 2-3 day facilitator training email to patriciacrossley5@gmail.com,
or text to 0720689549

Virtues in Canadian primary schools

This article was recently published:
These elementary school children are virtuousPublished Friday September 17th, 2010 (Fredericton, Canada)
Children at Douglas Elementary School and McAdam Avenue Elementaryare shining examples of what can happen when children are taught virtuesand assets and apply them to their lives.
Virtues are the best qualities within us all.
The strategies of the Virtues Project help children to remember whothey really are and to know that the purpose of life is to have alife purpose.
Virtues are the content of our character and the elements ofthe human spirit. They exist within each of us in potential.
The role of teachers is to bring these virtues to life that alreadyexist within a child.Students at these two schools and others in the area are learningvirtues and it's making a difference.
Each month the schoolsconcentrate on one specific virtue. The kids talk about it in class. Students who exhibit a virtue receive a slip that says they deserve praise for their efforts and their names are announced each Monday morning to the entire school.Every Friday one student that has been recognized for their effortsreceives a prize.
This month the children are studying co-operation, working togetherfor the good of everyone.The students know that they are practising co-operation when theywork well with others and follow the rules.They understand that to co-operate means to offer help and ideasfreely and that it happens when they do their part to keep a safe andhealthy environment.
Fredericton area parent Brenda MacAloon is a Virtues Project facilitator who worked with two of the founders of the InternationalVirtues Project when it was presented to area schools several yearsago.Her experience with virtues started when she was expecting her firstchild and decided this is the way she wanted to raise her family. For a child, she says, the Virtues Project is empowering.
"These virtues are like a little gem that they have inside of them but it takes someone to see it in them before they really believe that they have it. I fell in love with this. It has changed my life, how Ithink, how I treat myself."
Louise LaBerge is Grade 2 teacher at Douglas Elementary. She attended the virtues training workshop and knew it was something she wanted in her life and in the lives of her students."It's caused me to change the way I think, the way I communicate withmy students. It's a very powerful way of speaking, living andcommunicating with people that is very empowering."
Just after a fire drill, she told the children she was proud of the responsibility, the courtesy and purposefulness the children displayed during the fire drill."When I see a child drop something on the floor and I see three others going over to help pick it up I say, 'thank you for your kindness andyour helpfulness.'"
It's all about celebrating good behaviour and virtuous living rather than shaming a child for inappropriate behaviour, she explains.The children are as excited about the virtues project as their teachers.
At McAdam Avenue School, Grade 5 student Timothy Chonkhite says when he studied determination and put it into practice, it helped him to stay focused in school.
For Mitchell Vance, who is also in Grade 5 at this school, studying the virtues made him think about other people.
Jack Oulton and Destiny Leighton are in Grade 4 at Douglas School. They agree that virtues are important and that everyone should try to use them in their lives as often as possible.

Laverne Stewart is a staff writer at The Daily Gleaner.

Virtues Mentorship in Victoria, Canada

At the end of May, 2010, nearly 40 Virtues Facilitators and Master Facilitators gathered in Victoria, British Columbia for four days of sharing, deepening and growing in the Virtues. Participants came from across Canada, the US, Honduras and Africa. Many wonderful things happened and I hope to share some of them with you over the next few weeks.



I made a short video of Richard and Bibiana Andabwa and have posted it on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4Roxd_BM4g (Title: Virtues Project Kenya)