Module on Women Empowerment in Rural Communities

Preliminaries:
Prior to the start of any learning sessions/modules with women from
the rural communities, it is imperative to co-create a safe learning
environment with them where they freely speak, listen, learn, and
become.

MODULE 1: LEARNING MORE ABOUT WHO I AM AS A WOMAN

Objectives of the section:
 get to know each other
 understand what we are going to learn, and how we are going to learn it;
 set up group rules that we all agree to follow;
 learn about the meaning and importance of self-reflection;
 share experiences and feelings in a confidential group environment;
 think about our own life experiences as women, and about ways in which
women contributes to the development of rural communities

Exercise 1: Getting to know each other

(10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the group)
Method: Interview in pairs/sharing in plenary
Steps:
1. After the facilitator welcomes the participants (and after an official opening
ceremony, if such is foreseen), ask each participant to pair up with another
person. Explain that each woman should ask her partner some interesting
questions. The two facilitators should also interview and introduce each other.

2. Offer the following questions (prepared on newsprint beforehand) as

suggestions, but stress the fact that the participants are also free to ask any
other questions that they think might be interesting, and that their colleague is
ready to answer:
• What is your name and your favourite dish that you cook for your family?
• What do you like doing most in your spare time?
• What do you like about or proud of being a woman?
• If you will become superwoman, what powers would you like to have and
how will you use such power?

3. The interviews should last for 1-2 minutes, after which they will switch
partner in this manner: 1st round – complete stranger; 2nd round – someone you
know but would like to know more about; and 3rd round - best friend forever
(you knew even prior to the training)

4. After the 3 rounds, ask for volunteers who would like to introduce to the
plenary any of their partners from the activity.

Exercise 2: Setting of Expectations

Time: 20 minutes
Materials Needed: ½ size Manila paper, marker

You need to share your expectations by completing the following statements and
write in a Half Sheet of Manila Paper:

1. I wish that … (the positive things the participants want to see in

the learning sessions)
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2. I wish that there will be no… (the negative things the participants do
not want to see in the learning sessions)

Exercise 3: Group Learning Contract

Time: 20 minutes
Materials: ½ size Manila paper, marker

Process:

 You will be asked to identify five values that will be valued by your group
throughout the camp.

A GLC is an agreement among group members that defines how the

group will work together towards its goals. A GLC provides guidelines to
the group as to how members will “fully value” the following:
 Self
 Each Other
 Their own group and the entire groups of participants
 The Learning Experience

The GLC should be limited to 5 items. Example:

1. Be present
2. Pay attention
3. Speak your truth
4. Be open to learning outcomes
5. Create a safe physical and psychological environment

After your group identified your GLC, you must recite the GLC’s one by one. As
each is recited, it will be sealed by handshakes of all members as a sign of your
awareness and highest regard to the value you identified

SELF-LEADERSHIP

Any leadership begins with self-leadership. To lead others, one must be able to
lead him/herself. The first part of the learning session guides participants
through the process of self-reflection to help them become aware of their
personal gifts, weaknesses, and life history and experiences. In so doing, student
leaders gain a better understanding of their abilities and leadership potentials
and identify areas for improvement that would help improve themselves and
consequently, their leadership.

There are many aspects of one’ self that participants can assess.

 Personal Strengths and Gifts

 Weaknesses/Areas for Improvement
 Past Experiences or Life Journey/History with emphasis on being a woman
as a contributor in developing rural communities

The activities in line with self-leadership have been selected to help participants
gain a greater understanding of the aspects enumerated above. The activities
also aim to develop in the participants the values, skills, and attitudes that will
enable him/her to become more self-aware. By the end of the Self Leadership
Module, the participants would have been able to:
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 Deepen his/her understanding of him/her self

 Practice self-reflection
 Identify and appreciate one’s gifts and strengths
 Assess areas for improvement
 Listen emphatically to others’ stories.
 Establish initial bond and connection with group mates

ACTIVITY 1: TREE OF LIFE2 (2-3 HOURS)

Method: Individual exercise / sharing in small groups / discussion in
plenary

Steps:
1. Explain that trees have a universal meaning in many cultures and
represent “life”. This exercise will use the image of a tree, and is meant to
help the participants to reflect on their own lives so they can better
understand how they became the women they are today. You might go
outside the training room while explaining this exercise and look for a tree
where you can show the roots, trunk, fruits and buds.

2. When you are back in the training hall, explain to the participants that
they are going to draw a tree on paper that will represent their own
personal “tree of life”. Assure them that this is a personal exercise and not
a “drawing competition”, so they shouldn’t worry if they are not used to
drawing or if they do not think they are very good at it. All their drawings
will be good and perfect in their own way. Ask the participants not to
comment on or laugh at other people’s trees, but to work on their own
tree in silence during the whole exercise.

3. Draw a tree yourself on a flipchart to illustrate the exercise. Make sure

that your tree does not look perfect so that the participants won’t be
intimidated by your drawing skills. Then present a flipchart with the
following instructions (see below) on how to “name” the different parts of
their personal tree of life.
a. The ROOTS represent the family and community you come from
and other people or things that influenced you when you were
young (both good influences and bad influences).
b. The TRUNK represents everything about your life today: what you
do, who you live with: your work, your family, your community.
c. The FRUITS represent all your achievements: the things you were
able to achieve through your efforts (whether small, every-day
achievements or big achievements). Give each one a separate fruit.
d. The BUDS represent your hopes for the future (small or big
hopes).

Take enough time to make sure that all the participants understand
the instructions.

4. Ask the participants to draw their tree, including all four sections (roots,
trunk, fruits, buds), without writing anything on it yet. Allow some 10-15
minutes to do this and ask the participants to put down their crayon /
pencil when they have finished their drawing.

5. Read the instructions for the roots again (they should still be on display on
a flipchart). Go to your own tree, and put some examples of your own
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personal roots on it. These can be real or invented, depending on how

comfortable you are with sharing, but they must illustrate the point of
what ‘personal roots’ are.

Ask the group to do the same, and to put their crayon/pencil down when
they have finished. They can either write words or draw little things
according to the instructions given (e.g. for the roots, they might want to
draw the house where they grew up as children, the face of a particular
school teacher who they liked, etc.). For the section on “achievements”
(“fruits”), stress that they do not have to look for big things, but for
anything that they feel they have done well in their life, e.g. bringing up
their children.

Wait until everyone has finished, and then move on to the next section of
the tree (from roots to trunk to fruits to buds). Stop after each section until
everyone has shown they have finished by putting down their pencil or
crayon, and then give the instructions for the next section, demonstrate
what they should do on your own tree, and ask them to do the same until
everyone has completed the trunk, the fruits, and the buds. Make sure
they have enough time for each section.

6. When they have finished, ask the participants to split up into groups of 3
or 4 and to share their drawings with each other. Remind them of the rules
they committed themselves to in that morning’s exercise, i.e. that they
would listen to and respect each other’s views, create an environment
where people felt safe and empowered to share, etc.

Emphasize that they are free to share those parts of their tree that they
want to, but they are under NO obligation to share everything. Ask them
not to comment on what their group members say, but just to listen and be
present. Give approximately 30-45 minutes for this exercise. Observe the
groups, and if they are still busy talking after 30 minutes, allow them
another 15 minutes. However, if most have already done the sharing after
30 minutes, announce that they have another 5 minutes to round up the
exercise.

7. Bring the participants back to the plenary, and ask the following questions
(prepared on newsprint beforehand). Allow some time to discuss each set
of questions before you move on to the next.
a. How was the experience of drawing? What was easy? What was
hard?
b. How did you feel when you shared your experience? What was
easy? What was hard?
c. How did you feel when you were listening to someone else’s tree of
life? What was easy? What was hard? Invite every participant to
say something about how she felt to get an idea about the level of
openness that has been created so far in the group, or how much it
still needs to be nurtured. Emphasize that you only want them to
talk about how they FELT while they were sharing their trees;
above all, they should NOT repeat any parts of the stories that their
colleagues told them.

8. Ask the participants if, while they were discussing their trees, they noticed
that they had had similar experiences in their lives. Summarize the sharing
and explain that the learning sessions will help them build a community of
women helping each other in becoming the best version of themselves
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and ultimately to be catalysts of development in the rural community they

are part of.

MODULE 2: UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN COMMUNITY

DEVELOPMENT

Suggested Activity: Brief lecture/inspirational talk from a known local women

leader to share on three things – (i) role of women as enshrine in the
constitution/the Magna Carta of Women and applicable laws/rules; (ii) why
women matters especially in rural communities; and (3) what can we do as
ordinary women to contribute to community development

Time: 40mins – 1hour

1. The resource person can be as creative as possible in delivering the
lecture/session with the topics described above.
2. A maximum of 15 minutes open forum will be allotted for the women
participants to ask questions/clarify issues/concerns from the topic
discussed by the resource person
3. The facilitator can end by summarizing highlights of the resource
speaker’s lecture and the sharing during open forum

EXERCISE 4: WOMEN AS COMMUNITY BUILDER

Objective: At the end of the activity, women participants will be able to identify
the role of women in the different areas or aspects of community development,
the gaps on women participation in each area, and how to address such gaps.

Time: 2 hours
Materials needed: Manila papers (with illustration of symbols for education,
health, livelihood, environment and disaster management) color coded meta
cards, writing pens

1. Participants will be group according to their geographical cluster.

2. Taking off from the sharing of the resource speaker, participants will now
think and identify these three things to be written in color coded meta
cards and to be posted on the thematic Manila Papers:
a. Blue – Role of Women
b. Yellow – Gaps in Women Participation
c. Pink – Action to Address such gap in participation

3. Facilitators will guide the participants in filling up the Manila papers with
the participants’ answers. The participants can be further challenged to
identify at least the top 3 action items that their group can pursue as a
community of women leaders and make it a covenant.

4. End with a quote:

“There is no tool for development more effective than the
empowerment of women.” - Kofi Annan

References:
1. Women and Sustainable Development – Module 12, UNESCO
2. Training Manual for Women‘s Empowerment (Advanced Level), medica mondiale /
medica mondiale Liberia
3. Community Health Advocates Mobilization Program Trainers Manual, PH-LEAD, Inc.