By Peter van Gorder
Over the last few years we have been doing mime and storytelling workshops with the refugees who came from Iran, Ukraine, Syria, and other countries. In spite of the difficult circumstances that they came from, the participants were very enthusiastic and showed a lot of leadership potential. The organizer shared how much fun they had and that this experience contributed a lot to their social development. We have found that acting out the parables, meaningful stories, and their own stories has been a powerful tool to connect with them. It is very inspiring and rewarding to work with these precious folks from many nationalities. It was good to see a Russian and a Ukrainian laughing as they performed together! Telling our stories is a good first step to help us understand one another and bridge cultural gaps. We asked each participant to bring an object to class that was meaningful in some way to them. In the workshop they shared why the item was important and they used it to act out a story. For example, one Ukrainian girl brought a small stuffed doll to class that she had found on the bus one day in her new land. It was so special to her because she had to leave a doll just like it back home. She shared with the class how she felt that it was a little miracle and encouragement from God that she could begin a new life in Germany. We did a performance called “Things I Left Behind.” One participant from Syria commented: There are many things I left behind when I left my home and country. One of the things I miss the most is that I can no longer eat with my family every day, as was my custom in the past. I brought a cutlery set from my parents’ house. It’s not the same, but it’s something that symbolically means a lot to me and makes me think of them when I eat in my new home. We had a lot of fun together as we learned basic acting movements in drama games and shared each other’s stories. It was a good way to get to know each other.
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AuthorThe goal of the blog is to provide interesting, motivational, soul feeding material. All to help remind us that God loves us all and wants a personal relationship with each of us and will take care of us in times of trouble. I aspire to be a force for good by providing you with positive input. I encourage you to share the blog with others. Archives
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