[didi] Iceberg panel presentation next week!
I can't believe it's really next week! I think we've been planning this for about the same duration as a typical pregnancy.
I'm apprehensive but excited at the same time. I feel the push and pull of knowing that our group's inworld skills might not be the fastest or most savvy but I know they want to make a difference in their community and can work very well together when they put their minds to it. I hope that shines through anything else during their presentation. I know this because I see it in their eyes, their tone when they talk about what interests them in regards to the venture, and that over and over they have said they don't want others to make some of the same choices they have made in their own lives.
Some people might wonder how in the world could a venture planning take so long and what could the Icebergs be presenting about.
I think sometimes that the obstacles we faced during our planning meetings and their options to work together outside of the meetings were a kind of microcosm for the circumstances in their lives before (and during) they entered the facility they are in today.
For example:
-At times the quality of resources affected their ability to participate fully. It took several months of troubleshooting and knowledgeable technical advocates to realize that the wireless router needed to be replaced. This affected access to the island on more than one occasion. It made me think of how lack of quality resources (health care, after school activities, nurturing environment and supportive advocates) could have an effect on day to day choices made by individual members of the group.
-No matter sometimes how much the rules were followed in terms of communicating with authorities outside of those working directly with the youth for this project that the youth needed time to work together on their 'homework', it didn't always happen. This made me think how much it really does take a village to raise a child. Fortunately there was enough support and flexibility and enough advocates involved that we were able to move this far forward with the project. If there aren't that's when people fall through the cracks easier.
-Turnover rates were higher than predicted. This group faced some challenges that are not typical for most people their age to face. Oftentimes, living situations could be crowded, tense, and unpleasant or even about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This can have a direct effect on the choices someone makes in their lives on so many levels. Sometimes those choices caused members to not be able to be part of the group anymore. Other times it wasn't a choice but a circumstance beyond their control after a choice they made way before they were an Iceberg might have determined an outcome for them. Each member though, whatever their contribution was to the group and the idea made a difference. I think they helped us to understand and sharpen our own flexibility skills as well.
-Deep down I think most of us want the same goal for youth that might have made bad decisions at some point in their lives. We want them to make better ones. We want to reach in and help them see and believe in the power they have to change and make the world a better place no matter what their situation. Yet at the same time I felt circumstances working against them especially because it wasn't easy to work as a group outside of the DIDI workshop time. They are not in a place where true empowerment is typically given to them and sometimes for good reason. I don't think they are really instilled with the mindset that they can make change now-but really they don't need to wait until they are living back at home, etc. How true that is for any of us trying to make a change in our lives no matter how small or how difficult. That was/is a huge mindset to overcome.
-Sometimes I think being able to interact in a virtual world was nothing short of visiting a foreign country no matter how many times we had been there before. But guess what? They sky didn't fall. And the skills they learned through the ability to communicate and interact with people they might never have been exposed to in a million years was made so accessible. And why not? Why?
An ending and a beginning. In some ways, we've only just gotten started. As for what their venture is about? You’ll just have to stay tuned.
