Interestingly enough, that will be the first lesson we teach tomorrow: cooperation. Tomorrow we will be doing activities and a running workout that requires teamwork, where everyone joins in to do their part. I am excited for this lesson, because I have seen the value in communicating and willingness to cooperate through my partnership with Girls on the Run. If it weren't for our daily emails, my teammates and I may not have been able to overcome the obstacles that we have faced these past few weeks.
Which obstacles again? As I mentioned in my earlier post, we were delayed because we had to complete the required 3 hour Virtus training. I was not sure what this training would encompass, but when I went to my training last Saturday, September 26, I discovered that it was an effort to prevent child molestation in Catholic settings. Although Virtus is not affiliated with Girls on the Run specifically, we had to attend this training because our GOTR site is a Catholic school.
The Virtus training was an eye-opening experience. The program consisted of two videos with interviews of real-life victims of sexual assault, with a discussion of those videos following. It was highly disturbing to hear these stories, but it was even more heartbreaking to realize that these horrible, dehumanizing things do happen. After hearing from the victims, we discussed warning signs of child molestation, including an adult's desire to be alone with a child, giving gifts to the child to get them to trust or like the adult, and excessive touching or tickling.
Although it was alarming, I am glad that I completed the Virtus training because I am now able to incorporate what I learned to protect the precious children I will be working with at Girls on the Run. Everyone has the right to a happy and healthy childhood - one where they do not have to worry about their safety. Sadly, sexual abuse of children is a true issue. It is one that we need to stand up to fight back, rather than turn a shoulder and look the other way. I will do everything in my power to protect the little girls from anything that should be of harm to them. A girl's confidence is often shaky as it is, so I will be sure to always make sure to encourage them and let them know that we are here to listen if they ever need to talk.
Hopefully, all goes well tomorrow. I am both excited and anxious to finally be able to meet the girls. Everything is set and ready to go - let the adventure begin!
"Girls on the Run" sounds so neat but also hard! How far do you run with the girls at a single time? What kind of cooperation running drill did you do the first time? And at each visit do you just run with the girls then leave, or do you stay after and do other things with them?
ReplyDeleteThank you, it is! The distance really depends on the day. Some days the girls are given longer to run so we'll run anywhere between a mile and 2 miles (depending on the pace of who we run with), and other days the running activity is more of a game. The girls did a cooperation game in the form of a scavenger hunt, where they ran with their partner to find hidden items. Each visit, we teach a lesson where we discuss values and certain situations. We do activities with them, stretch, run, and then talk about what we learned. At the end, we also give out "energy awards" for good effort!
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