Reflection – Storytelling

Challenge & Selection

I work with minors at risk who come from Africa to Spain in search of work, they have no  resources and are mistreated by society as there is the bad concept that they come to hurt and  not in search of opportunities, or out of need to survive already because in their countries of  origin they cannot subsist. I spend most of my time advising minors so that they can find a job  and a proper future. I teach them Spanish ,Catalan, Math and English, I think that the more are  the best qualified and skilled labor will find opportunities and be better prepared to enter into  the labor market. Many times we exchange knowledge and most children know many trades  such as carpentry or crafts that most young Spaniards do not know, together we share stories  that make me realize the great inequality that these young people have, and the luck we have  those who we live in a developed country, where we have many options and facilities that for  them mean a lot of effort to achieve.

I often use their stories to show that their knowledge is very valuable and that if they have  been able to learn a trade, they have the ability to train today and fight for a future, as they  are winners and have a lot of merit.

Application

Seeing the abilities of foreign minors I decided to push for an initiative, I created a course  where both foreign minors and local minors shared experiences and knowledge. At first there  were two blocks (foreign-local) that did not interact with each other, often because of the  language difference that acted as a barrier. But little by little, they gained confidence and  communicated through a funny mix of languages. My idea was for them to share knowledge  and each day of the week a student presented an experience or something that he really liked  and that he considered a personal skill.

This new method made it possible to share experiences and skills with classmates, but at the  same time it also made the protagonists themselves realize that they were all special in  something and valued their abilities, my idea was that they could gained personal confidence.

At the same time, this initiative facilitated the creation of a great synergy between the  participants who came to form a compact group (both foreigners and locals), and outside  school hours they met to do activities together and share friendships.

Insight & Approach

In this way, I realized that what was holding back those foreign minors was often the fear of  failure, conditioned by the barriers that had been imposed on them. With this initiative I  managed to get them to gain self-confidence and self-esteem. And that they were aware that  they were survivors and that the fact that they had left their homeland and were struggling to  integrate and subsist so many miles from their home, was of great value. But if the necessary  means were provided, they would be able to overcome their fears and succeed.

I showed to them, that storytelling is a great tool that can be used to overcome language,  cultural, and class barriers and that helps to integrate people. My project was born with the  idea that everyone should have, at least, the opportunity to express themselves and share  their concerns, aspirations, knowledge and experiences. Since we all have a special story to tell  and it can be rewarding and can become a real learning experience for those who listen to it.

We simply need to leave space and the media so that everyone can express themselves  without fears or barriers, to sharing knowledge and building bridges between people or  cultures and not borders.

