The Simson Eco-Mentor training took place at Ngwakwana High School in Simson village from 18 to 19 October where 22 participants drawn from the school and the community attended.
Bongani Baloyi conducted the training, with the assistance of Portia Phokela (our local Programme Liaison in Simson Village, Limpopo Province).
The following was covered in the training:
- CITW Programme overview
- YES Programme overview, with a special focus on Ngwakwana High School YES-Club
- Simson Programme Overview
- Lesson on water
- Lesson on climate change
- Deforestation
- Self-esteem
- How to deal with failure
- Respecting elders
- Making decisions
- Community projects
The discussions and the lessons were fun and interactive, and the trainees participated actively in all discussions, asking many questions and making valuable comments. Energiser games and practical lesson assignments were some of the training highlights, in addition to the theory lessons.
It was interesting to note that the participants’ knowledge on the water cycle and climate change matters was minimal, but thanks to the practical lesson activities and easy techniques, all participants were engaged, and learning and fun was had in the process.
At the end of the training, all trainees were asked to read their workbooks in order to digest what was taught. This was done after the debriefing session was conducted.