The following is from Slovakian Getting Ahead facilitators Viktória Živčáková and Silvia Bartošová. They both work with Cesta von. The words below have been lightly edited.
Below is a theory-of-change activity created by facilitators in Slovakia to use in their Getting Ahead classes. Please consider using with your own Getting Ahead classes.
Activity
We are building on the “Current Situation” activity, which provided the investigators with outputs—they named specific problems that bother them the most and which we later used in this activity for better understanding.
Time: Approximately one hour
Materials: Balloons, markers, a pin or something to pop a balloon
Process
- Prepare to blow up balloons in advance, according to the number of investigators.
- Each investigator writes on the balloon the problem that bothers him or her the most.
- Stand in a circle, throw up in the air the first balloon, and gradually invite all to throw their balloons (problems) until all balloons are in the air.
- The goal is to keep the balloons above their heads by hitting them with their hands, which must be raised. The balloons must not fall to the ground. (This illustrates the tyranny of the moment and the concrete world.) Facilitators repeat phrases: “current situation,” “It’s challenging and difficult,” “It takes a lot of my energy,” “My whole body hurts,” “I can’t give up,” “It’s torture,” “It’s stressful,” “I can’t manage,” “I have to continue,” etc. Their goal is to keep the balloons moving for about five to ten minutes, to make it physically demanding, uncomfortable, a so-called induction of “tyranny”
- Then, facilitators say “Stop.” Participants stop, and each participant grabs one balloon in their hands.
Reflection Questions
What was it like for you to keep the balloons in the air?
What is it like for you now that you are standing and holding the balloon in your own hands? How does it feel?
How are your hands feeling?
What does it feel like to slow down? To see the problem, to think about the possibilities? Is it different? What do you think about this? How do you perceive it?
Information for Facilitators Regarding Reflection
The goal is to point out the value of slowing down, stopping, and being aware of the situation. This is what planning is.
Depending on the nature of the problem, it might be resolved (a balloon bursts if a debt is paid off), it might be alleviated, or it might never be resolved. The aim is to stress the importance of the journey and to emphasize that problems don’t just disappear with a snap of the fingers. An active approach to problem-solving is crucial. (The facilitator can make a circle around the group, thus representing the journey; problem-solving takes time.)
Demonstration of tunnel vision: Prepare paper rolls with a small opening through which you can see very little. Demonstrate broadening horizons with a larger paper roll that can be cut open.
Further Information
With this activity, we aimed to emotionally stir up/escalate the experience so investigators could feel the pressure and burden that comes with their problems.
Through physical exertion and subsequent relief, we wanted the investigators to feel more deeply the difference between constant pressure and a moment of release—chaos versus stopping.
Symbolism
The balloons symbolized the problems that investigators carry.
The fact that they had to physically hold the balloons above their heads represented the constant pressure and effort (a lot of energy) that is required to cope with these problems.
The words we spoke to them while hitting the balloons above their heads—”You must,” “You have to endure,” “You must sacrifice for your children,” “Hold on, you can do it”—are things they hear their whole lives.
Catching the balloon is a symbol of stopping at the problem and then sharing with others.
The bursting of the balloon is a possible resolution of a problem, perhaps accepting a different perspective on the matter, or perhaps finding a way out of the cycle and out of the problem.
Reflection and Discussion
Through the discussion, we wanted to give the investigators space to pause, take a breath, process their emotions, and reflect on their experiences.
With this activity, we wanted to help the investigators understand that change requires effort and perseverance but also moments of release and reflection.
We also wanted to bring about an awareness that it is not necessary to constantly carry the burden but that it is possible to put it down and think about it, and that this is key to the process of change.
Cesta von, a Slovakian NGO, is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to help people get out of the vicious circle of generational poverty. One solution they are using is Getting Ahead with women who live in Roma communities. The authors, Viktória Živčáková and Silvia Bartošová, are mentors and Getting Ahead facilitators with Cesta von.
The aha! Process Getting Ahead program engages investigators (participants) in exploring the realities of poverty in their communities and how those realities impact them. They also explore the causes of poverty, the “hidden rules” of economic class, and ways to develop resources and build stable lives. Getting Ahead graduates build relationships across class lines and often join the decision-making tables in their communities.
