Molo Songololo
I w a s so c a ug ht up in Atla ntis a nd felt a fra id o f g o ing o ut o f the a re a , b ut w hen w e sta rted to go out this year I have found that every outing has been fun, no accidents or problems. When I first sa w the a lterna tive hea ler I w a s w orried I thoug ht she w a s a sa tinist w ith her d ec o ra tions in her p la c e a nd the w a y her eyes a re. I a d m ire her she c ould b e m y friend she likes to ta lk p ositively to you a nd g ives one lots of m otiva tion. It s a s if she c a n rea d your m ind she sa id lea ve the neg a tive thoug hts b ehind a nd she told m e w ha t ha p p ened to m e a nd I w ond ered how she knew w ha t I thoug ht a nd m y life. She a sked m e w here I w a nt to b e in the future a nd urg ed m e in tha t d irec tion. She is kind hea rted a nd g enerous. When I w ent to her I a rrived w ith a lot of stress in m y nec k a nd should ers, a s she m a ssa g ed m e , she sp o ke to m e a nd b y the end of the m a ssa g e I felt a s if the stress w a s running out of m e. I felt love flow ing through my body from her as she massaged. The w orkshop s w ith Ma nd isa w ere oka y b ut m y skin is a b it sensitive. I felt like a la d y b eing cared for and without any cost involved. She is fantastic, a very nice girl and friendly. The most important lessons I learnt and gains I made through the case study are: Regaining my self respect Learning how to communicate with others and how to engage with people in discussion To have patience I have more self confidence I am learning to love myself I learnt to be honest and truthful Note: The participant was asked to reflect on her experience in the Case Study, she needed no prompting. The story was told in English and Afrikaans the listener made verbatim translations to English. She has read and approved this account.
Comment from her counsellor When I first met this participant in March she was a very shy, withdrawn, depressed, out of control and aggressive person as well as suicidal. She also wished to kill her father who sexually abused her. Working with her was sometimes very difficult, she trusted no one. I could not expect her to talk to me. I had to win her trust first. I think that joining the excursions with the group helped her to trust us. She told us tha t she stop p ed using m a nd ra x a nd a lc ohol a nd she ha d oc c a siona lly used tik, b ut sinc e stop p ed this too. She visited the offic e reg ula rly, a ttend ed a ll exc ursions, w orkshop s, w eekend w orksho p s a nd c a m p s a nd c a m e to the offic e for c ounselling sessions. She sta rted to exp lore her inner self, w rite b ea utiful p oetry inc lud ing 2 p oem s entitled Change a nd Choices. She a ttend ed the Institute for Hea ling o f Mem ories w eekend tw ic e a nd a follow - up m eeting w ith them . She a lso a ttend ed the Self Develop m ent a nd Tea m Build ing c a m p a nd w ent to the Alterna tive Hea ler. She is a ttend ing a c o m p uter litera c y c ourse. She entered the Voic e o f the Girl Child Writing Com p etitio n a nd w a s one of the p a rtic ip a nts selec ted to p a rtic ip a te in the Wo m en o f the World Festiva l p roc eed ing s on 9 Aug ust 2005 a t the Ba xter Theatre. She embraced all activities with a positive attitude and in debriefing / feedback sessions, she was able to reflect onwhat she learnt and found valuable. She has found it very challenging
Atlantis Pilot Project Report August 2005
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