Ellen Nayara Kotai Costa, Brazil, Poverty Activist team August 2024
CICD has “Sister Schools” and institutions in Europe, that share the same values and the aim to practice “Another Kind of School´s pedagogy”. Because of that twice per year CICD´s students have the opportunity to participate in events in Denmark.
As a DI, Development Instructor, I participated in the "Olympic Games" in Tvind - a school centre in Denmark, and I still feel impacted by this experience - it can be described as deep, busy and at the same time transformative in my life. Not because of something in particular, but because at the end, every little thing becomes relevant and worthwhile: the knowledge, the care, the effect on me and clearly on the participants.
We went to The Games of Tvind, with the aim of preparing several disciplines and sports to be practiced and enjoyed by 450 people - students in vulnerable situations from 5 to 18 years old, teachers and carers. How brilliant is the possibility of interacting with such different cultures, languages and ways of living? In one way it's a competition, but in another way there is the beauty of overcoming and celebrating.
The winner matters (?) Maybe! But not more than the experience of being able to practice archery for the first time, or throwing a javelin so badly that it does not stick on the ground and after two more tries seeing that you are able to do that, yes!, and then you go celebrate with screams and jumps with friends.
Friendship across age and nationalities
I personally nearly cried when I was requested a hug by a 13yo boy that won a gold medal in “Nature Sculpture". He took more than 1 1/2 hours trying to glue tree sticks, stones, leaves to make a dog sitting. He didn't know he was a winner and me, as the leader of the discipline, when I let him know he should go for the medal, he, a shy teenager, asked me for a hug for being there with him.
Another moment that is stuck in my mind and made me learn by experience is that a 2 year old girl was about to throw a 2,5kg ball in the shot put competition, and afraid of her hurting herself, I advised the mom: “be careful because this ball is super heavy!” Then the mom replied, “ it´s fine because this girl is super strong!”. And then the little girl with her 2 yo strength could participate and be happy for being included. What a lesson! Simple, with love, but a true lesson of inclusion, empowerment and how we have to deal with kids so they grow knowing that they can do what they want. This is development!
For these moments everything, every little discussion or encounter during the preparation of the Games was worthwhile.
Learning by Doing - that's how we did it!
How have we prepared for such a nice event? Using the concept of Learn by Doing!! From the first organisation moment and meeting I thought many things were going to succeed. A mix of learnings, experiences and ways to do it together with volunteers, students and teachers from many parts of the world: Brazil, Spain, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Morocco, Wales, Colombia, Uruguay, Mexico, Suriname, Sweden, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Slovakia, and many many others.
Where is the ink for the signs and how do we make the signs? Where are the pins? Where should we set the shot put arena? Who is responsible for putting the donkeys away? How many badges do we have to make? What time is dinner today? All worked in the chaos of brainstorming, discussing, but mainly, trying, taking knowledge from previous experiences and doing! Because more important than having brilliant ideas is making them real. And why not do more?
Finding solutions together
Every volunteer and DI from CICD had a responsibility and during four days we organised everything to make the 2 days of the Tvind Games happen. What a mess! What a way to face problems and find solutions! What a way to think out of the box! What a way to get desperate but after five minutes be at peace in enjoying everything! And I can have many learning points from this experience, but mostly what I feel myself to say is, if a nice experience pops up in your life, embrace it and make it happen.