Module two was on Affirming and restoring human dignity through dialogue and inquiry
Realizing how much our dignity has been taken away. The we took some time to affirm ourselves and restore our human dignity. We also took time to explore the ‘Treasures’ that we have in our communities that can help us restore our human wholeness and dignity.
The participants shared the following points among others;
- We need to decolonize our mind. Not everything Western is good and not every African is bad. We have a lot of indigenous knowledge and systems that are simply genius and we must love and embrace them!
- Love ourselves and embrace who we are. Black people have good brains too. We shouldn’t feel like second hand citizens.
- We reminded ourselves that we are all equal as human beings.
Despite the many challenges that surround us, we found a lot of treasures in our community and country;
- Our National Anthem- which we used as our opening and closing prayers for the two days.
- The cultural music and dance – they unite us in a very special way. We can always dance our problems out of almost any pain!
- The cultural proverbs and riddles that carries a lot of lessons.
- Story telling- the art of story telling was used by our forefathers to pass important cultures and values in the community.
- Rites of passage like the circumcision of men as a way to transition to adulthood. For girls, look for alternative rites of passage- like older women guiding the younger ones.
- Nature- we have the most beautiful sceneries, mountains, wildlife, rocks, amazing weather
- Cultural Heritage- Our ethnic languages, traditional crafts, our cuisines, our unique cultures and beliefs
- Our recognition and love for God. Even before the colonizers came, Kenyans new and believed God. The modern concept of God has been skewed in a way, but we are still a God loving nation.
- Culture of Ubuntu- We unite and support each other in times of happiness and sadness. The concept is being overtaken by individualism, but we haven’t lost everything, we can reclaim our love and support for each other