Building Stronger Communities in Ghana
The August 2015 workshop in Ghana was led by Sharon Wolf.1 As usual, she brought all her experience and skills as an RCer to bear.
Our goal before, during, and after the workshop was to build stronger RC Communities in Ghana. Before the workshop, we organized a series of classes for the new participants. This was to pave their way to the workshop and make things easier for Sharon.
We began the workshop with introductions: Who are you? Why are you here? Sharon stressed the need for confidentiality. She explained the roles of listener and speaker as well as the “dos and don’ts” of a session.
She spoke about humans’ vast intelligence, natural zestful enjoyment of life, and natural caring relationships with other human beings. The participants were eager to know more and asked a lot of questions. She later talked about hurts, distress recordings, and the healing process (discharge). She also talked about three policies:
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1) No socializing. Participants appeared to have misunderstood the policy or at least were loathe to accept it. This was not surprising to me—I was under the same misapprehension fifteen years ago when RC was introduced to me. I think aversion to the policy is primarily because of how in African communities people form friendships and partnerships at social gatherings. Such associations may even lead to intimate relationships, such as marriage. In short, the African way is communal living. However, Sharon did an excellent job of explaining the rationale behind the policy.
2) Avoiding mind-altering substances. We should not take mind-altering drugs before class, including caffeine or alcohol. When we ingest chemicals, our minds can’t work well and it’s difficult to discharge and heal fully.
3) Confidentiality. People will be secure if what is discussed in a session stays there. Here again, people asked a lot of questions.
Before the workshop, a number of the participants had called with reasons why they would have to leave in the middle of the program. It had appeared likely that just half of the participants would be staying to the end. However, almost all of them stayed to the end. They found the discussions so interesting that they called off2 their other engagements.
Below are comments from two of the participants.
After learning the guidelines for an RC session, we paired up and had five minutes each. Then we went for a tea break. Thirty minutes later we resumed, and Sharon shared information. We old members could refresh ourselves and deepen our knowledge of RC: as a result of mistreatment and oppression, our natural attributes get overshadowed; to recover from the painful experiences we need to discharge.
We were reminded that a session doesn’t always have to be “painful.” We can also use it to express joy or happiness. We can even spend session time sleeping.
We met in support groups during which some members burst into tears.
Special thanks to Sharon Wolf, Urbain Bamana, and other supporting leaders for pulling this off.3
I learned a lot. Now I know that I need to talk to someone about whatever is bothering me. I tried that during the sessions we had on Saturday. After sharing with a friend, I felt lighter, relieved, and free. I enjoyed it. I loved the two games we played as well. I’m not sure about crying in front of others.
I am glad I was a part of it. I think it’s a great thing to help others free themselves of all the hidden pain and hurt in their minds.
Accra, Ghana
(Present Time 182, January 2016)
1 Sharon Wolf is an RC leader in Washington, D.C. USA.
2 “Called off” means cancelled.
3 “Pulling this off” means successfully accomplishing this.