English translation of the preceding article:
The First RC Workshop in Ivory Coast
The Ivory Coast RC Community was overjoyed from 29 January to 5 February, 2016, because we received a visit from Marion and Ellie,1 accompanied by the Togo leader Missigbe.2 The Seattle leaders’ visit was part of a tour of the West African RC Communities of Togo, Benin, Ivory Coast, and Ghana.
Our three-day workshop was held in the original capital of Ivory Coast, Bassam. There were nineteen of us, including our three leaders.
Right after dinner, Marion and Ellie met with a group of women and then young people while Missigbe was surrounded by men. It was a very interesting opening session.
The next morning, in the 8:00 a.m. class, Marion and Ellie appreciated me as a leader in a counseling demonstration. Being dressed in traditional clothes and seeing Co-Counselors stand up to thank me was a powerful moment that I could never have conceived of. I discharged the discomfort and accepted the recognition.
Then Marion and Ellie talked about what it was like being longtime Co-Counselors. After that we had a session. People were delighted. We ended the morning with demonstrations and then telling our life stories in sessions.
In the afternoon, each person talked about his or her impressions of the morning sessions. Then we continued with a class about the basics of RC and finished with long sessions.
On Sunday morning, the class was about what Co-Counseling is and what it isn’t. Marion and Ellie pointed out the difference between Co-Counseling Communities and other non-governmental organizations. The benefit we can expect from Co-Counseling is the recovery of our humanness and our intelligence. This impressed everyone. After several questions we continued with sessions.
In the afternoon we welcomed twenty-four new people—our friends and other contacts—to an introduction to RC. It was a memorable experience. One after another they arrived and combined with the workshop participants. We were about fifty people. The room became very small.
Marion led the introduction, and Ellie interpreted into French. You could see the effort they both made to be understood. This introduction, along with sessions, allowed the new people to grasp the essentials of our organization. The atmosphere was friendly. Human warmth was everywhere. Afterward we served refreshments, and the sound of the waves from the ocean was like music caressing our ears.
That was the end of the three-day workshop, led by our leaders who came from far away. The participants left, but Marion, Ellie, Missigbe, and I stayed at the hotel for several days, having sessions.
In summary, I can say that I have never felt such lightness in my life. I feel profoundly at ease with myself, and perspectives on our Community are becoming more clear. Everyone agreed that their first workshop was a victory.
Here are some comments from other workshop participants:
Assanata: Cyrille told us just two years ago that someday we would meet these leaders. That happened. I learned a lot from being around them. The sessions enabled me to relax. The workshop setting was truly beautiful. It was super!
Alex: It was a very good workshop. If we could have this every day, it would be really good. I felt truly liberated from many things. Thanks to our leaders.
Souleymane: It was a liberating workshop. I saw how our leaders have mastered the tools of RC. It’s amazing.
Guéhi Daniel: We received wonderful leaders. We did interesting sessions in an interesting setting. I hope our leaders will come back to see us as soon as possible.
Adouenis: I appreciated everything. I am committed to going further in Co-Counseling. I understand what that could do for me.
Hélène: I want to thank Cyrille for this organization. I thank our leaders who came from so far to teach us and encourage us to discharge. I hope they will come again. Those days were fantastic.
Cocody, Ivory Coast
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