Model of a Growing Leader – Water and Sanitation Field Manager, Rosa

So we just got back from our Christmas break and our team hit the ground running. With new farming groups joining in December, the WatSan team was scheduled to train them the first three weeks of 2011. I’ll have to admit, I was a little nervous coming back from break because there was little time to get our legs under us before we dove into our 4 week training sessions. In fact, our team had taken off a week before the Kenyan staff went on break and they prepared a lot of the materials by themselves. I wondered if my team remembered to print off forms to check attendance at each farmer meeting. I wondered if they remembered to prepare the pre-quiz for each of the farmers to take. Of course, none of my fears were realized and things were already running smoothly by the time I came back. One of our Field Managers in particular, Rosa, has grown a lot as a trainer. Being younger than most, she is sometimes a bit shy and afraid to lead trainings. However, she realized this and has actively worked on improving herself. I saw the difference firsthand the other day when I sat in on one of her trainings. When the training first started, people were pretty quiet and unresponsive. I was getting a little nervous, but Rosa wasn’t flustered at all. Although her initial questions were met by silence, she calmly and patiently waited for their response. By the end of the training, the group was engaged in discussions and asking questions. They wondered how deep a well should be dug to be safe from contamination and how far latrines should be from water sources. Furthermore, Rosa wasn’t afraid to (respectfully) redirect farmers who were having their own side-conversations. It’s because of leaders like Rosa who constantly strive to improve that will transform communities.