Baby steps towards learning and action. In previous group sessions, various issues arose that the mothers indicated they wanted to see change. For example not being able to do physical exercises with their children at home, daily care struggles such as feeding, and mobility issues. As the pilot-project in Zimbabwe and the previous group at Kuti’s Day care centre had shown, the dynamics of an action research project in Khayelitsha need flexibility and adaptation. Whereas in literature one can read about active participants who come to a sense of understanding of their own struggles and how to change them, in Khayelitsha the mere fact of getting people together and having them sharing their life is a struggle. I am proud that this group of mothers is showing up every single week, and are actively conversing about their daily life struggles. However, a vision of possibilities for change, ideas and suggestions on what to do, and a firm belief in their own power is not yet present. Therefore I decided that the process of so-called conscientization needs to be prolonged and slightly adapted. I want to expose them to as much information and examples as possible to bring about a shared understanding of what is ‘out there’ and what might be possible. I believe this will go a long way for them to formulate their goals, express their ideas for change, and set up small-scale projects next year. 

So today in our group session, we are taking baby steps towards learning and action. Three incredibly kind ladies from the organisation Senecio have agreed to give a training on physical care struggles. They are a physiotherapist, an occupational therapist and a speech therapist, specialized in children with disabilities. The full session is dedicated to learning on stretching exercises, how to place your child is his wheelchair properly and comfortably, on easing feeding issues and much much more. The team of Senecio is patient, kind and very knowledgeable. The mothers are clearly learning new techniques that they were not aware off before. And more importantly, they were able and eager to learn more about the possibilities for improvement for their children. One mother mentioned: ‘ I never knew that with the proper training, Bongi can actually learn to walk. Her foot has always been like this, so she can only crawl. If I had only known before’. I am hoping that these forms of training combined with our group discussions will inspire new ideas, creativity and project suggestions.