Prep Day 1

I am Dalaya Ashenafi. I am Ethiopian. I work in Addis Ababa University in the Institute for Peace and Security Studies. I am currently working on a Youth project with my institute that focuses on capturing African youth voices in Global Security.

I am in Swaziland now facilitating the short course on “Together for development”. When I got off the plane in Joburg, there were three lovely ladies who were waiting for me with my own personalized sign. I was happy when I saw that. I was surprised about the Joburg weather because it was raining and we had to walk to find the bus station to take a bus to Swaziland. Then we had to wait for the bus to fill for about three hours, which gave me the opportunity to get to know my teammates. Wait till you meet the coordinators, they are so welcoming it was like we had met before. When we arrived at Waterford we received a great welcome full of enthusiasm and excitement from the team. It was like coming back home… you would have to think hard to actually realize that it was the first time the team of facilitators and coordinators got together. It not just team members coming together for a course but a group people who are passionate for change through young people.

Today was very productive and informative. We started off with energetic games (I am still singing the songs in my heart. Then we went through our program. All of us are excited about welcoming participants. You can easily see that it is not only about the course but it is also about team spirit for a worthy cause.

After having vegetable soup for dinner, some of the team members decided to make spaghetti. The team decided to get their hands dirty and help with the cooking. It was very enjoyable.

Well, thank you all for a wonderful day and we know the best is yet to come!