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Dispatch 10 – February 2016
MAISHA
Income Generating Activity Training with Community Health Volunteers
Community Health Volunteer trainings are always During the first three weeks of February the MAISHA team hosted a two-‐day training module in energetic and the IGA training was no exception! The first income generation for each of the fifteen Community morning emphasized the importance of group dynamics Health Volunteer (CHV) groups. The Income and an individual’s role within a group. Communication, cooperation, and engagement were exemplified through Generating Activity (IGA) curriculum was developed group activities such as completing tasks without speaking, by the MAISHA team in partnership with Alberta untangling themselves from a human knot and organizing Youth Entrepreneurship Camp (AYEC), a project of themselves according to a number of requests. In addition Community Savings in Western Canada. The training the CHVs reflected on some of the behaviours they may covered a number of relevant business basics have that are harmful to a group, such as being stubborn, including: components of a business plan, financing, not actively participating or even falling asleep during record keeping and wealth creation. In addition meetings! Subsequently the groups discussed ways to group development, positive behaviours, and improve their roles to strengthen their group and achieve more as a unified team. entrepreneurial skills were discussed. This discussion led to a session on entrepreneurial MAISHA invested in an IGA training skills, including teamwork, research, planning and creative essentially to promote the retention of CHVs. Given thinking. To practice creative thinking pairs of CHVs were that CHVs are volunteers MAISHA wants to ensure asked to think of the most creative ways to use a shoelace the groups are active and enabled to work for another product or use. Ideas ranged from using the independently once the project formally ends after shoelace (or many of them) to weave a basket, as a Year 5 (in 2017). The objective of the IGA training tourniquet kit to stop bleeding or for castrating farm was to promote wealth creation and security for animals! This exercise was then applied to the various IGA CHVs so they are able to continue using their free ideas the groups could develop themselves, such as: bee-‐ time to serve their communities. keeping, h orticulture, a tree nursery or poultry raising.