Our Saturday Group Discussion focused on Edmund Garwe, who he was, what he believed in and what lessons we can learn from him. I felt it important that my presentation be as interactive as possible, I wanted my words on Mr Garwe to impact positively on the lives of these girls. My talk was based on photographs from my album and stories that my sisters and I heard told over and over as growing girls. These are the topics we discussed:
1. Edmund Garwe's Origins:
I related my father's background and told the story of the disadvantaged boy from Chivhu who realised early on that his only way out of poverty was by virtue of his brain. I told the girls about how the little boy walked barefoot to and from school and studied while herding cattle but grew up to stand beside presidents. My aim was to compare Edmund's early life story (one of poverty and discrimination) to their own and show them that at the end of the day, it is their own personal conviction that will make a difference in altering their situation.
2. Why the Girl Child?:
Mr & Mrs Garwe had four children and all of them are female. In Zimbabwe, this is more often than not considered as good as not having children at all. That a man of his prominence, did not have a male heir (and did not take a second wife as a result) is an indication of the calibre of man we are talking about. I told the girls that Edmund Garwe believed in the girl child and went out of his way to raise self-sufficient, confident, independant-minded women. I told them that we were raised to think, act, speak and defend ourselves as good or better than any boy. We were never made to feel inferior, or believe that we were incapable of any task. The result is four assertive women, confident of their ability to excel in their chosen fields. I emphasised their rights as girls to an education, equal treatment and opportunity. To make them laugh, I told them that if anybody uses sex as an excuse to stand between them and their dreams they should call me, I'll get my sisters and we'll show that person exactly what an empowered woman is capable of (they laughed!)
Edmund Garwe's Principles/ Beliefs:
In this segment I wanted to impart the lessons my father passed down to us, I used his favorite sayings:
"Diplomacy, Dignity and Decorum" As the children of an Ambassador and diplomat we learnt early on how to behave and carry ourselves in an acceptable manner. I defined the words to the girls and elaborated on their meaning. I impressed upon them the need to be presentable at all times, regardless of their situation. I told them that poverty was no excuse for uncleaniness, bad behaviour or an absence of manners. I detailed behavioural traits that would be expected of them for the duration of the programme- punctuality, politeness, presentability. We discussed the disciplinary measures they could expect should these be ignored.
Quid pro quo" Edund Garwe believed in compromise and I explained to them how compromise works and how we would utilise compromise and democracy in our programme (eg voting.)
I told them of my father's religious beliefs for Mr Garwe was a religious man, I made it clear that although we maybe from differing religions, our code of conduct would be based on the Ten Commandments. Stealing, jealousy, lying... would all be considered unaceptable.
I closed my talk by detailing our vision and mission statement to the girls, and assuring them of our committment to making this programme work. We then had a question and answer session and broke to play ball!
*our next discussion is on: Trust/ Trust Building Execrcises
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