The first week of this project, completely blew all my expectations out of the water. My first meeting with the children in Hai Tien Village and Phuong Dien Village prior to the project starting were so quiet and the children all seemed so shy. The first week was focussed on introducing the concept of drama to the children, so they could decide if they wanted to participate in the program. Well it took about 15 minutes, before they all were working as a team, performing in front of each other, dancing around the room and freezing in the shape of trees, shoes and buffalo. I was so impressed to see the children easily access their imagination and take creative risks. No wonder these kids are such good targets for the traffickers - they are so intelligent, confident and willing to try new things.
In both villages we drew a crowd. In Hai Tien we had approx 20 kids participating directly in the activities and 40 - 50 spectators spread over the duration of the workshop. The kids don't seem phased at all, they do live in a village afterall, where there is no such thing as privacy. It is also great for the other kids who come to watch and who are too shy to participate as they are still being exposed to a new way of expressing themselves , and it is also forming the foundation of acceptance and support for us here in the village to continue our work. In Phuong Dien our group is a little smaller, 17 and we had about 20 - 30 spectators, all trying to crowd into the house we work in. We have found a solution in keeping the work space sacred for the group just by simply inviting the spectators to sit in a certain area. Having so many people spectate is helping me to understand how relationships and interactions in the village work, as there is such a variety from toddlers to adults enjoying the performances and the activities. Even though I have a language barrier, there is a definite feeling of joy and curiosity all mixed together with acceptance amongst the children and the villagers.
I have to contribute our succes in the village in this first week to my incredible co-facilitators/ translator, Linh and Nam. It is so wonderful and promising to see such passionate and active local vietnamese doing such incredible work with the disadvantaged youth in their backyards. I am so impressed with the way they interact and encourage the kids through participation, leadership and friendship. Also their willingness to embrace this creative approach to social change.
