We could write an entire EE based on our experiences on Laski, that’s why the group has decided that instead of writing a description of it, we will tell you phrases and quotes that got us thinking even when we had left Poland:
Paulina:
” Close your eyes, open your mind and your heart.”
” I want to show them the world: I took them to London, may be I will take them to Norway.”- sister Agata about her Girls.
Anu:
“Besides the one palpable difference, we are no more different. It’s the fundamental sameness. The only thing is that they have infinite hope and incessant good vibes.”
Karolina:
“Visit in Laski made me aware of my limitations when I found myself loosing all my language skills in attempt to describe a scenery to one of the students.”
“Blind people are not worse, not better. They just see differently.” -Sister Agata
Gray:
“One little blind girl asked me what I wanted to do in life. I said that I wanted to become a doctor in the future. When I asked her the same question, she told me she wanted to learn how to ride a bike. That really put a lot in perspective for me – both about how fortunate I was, and how optimistic she seemed for the future.”
Dominique:
“The sight we have is just a gift. Different doesn’t mean worst or better, just different.”
Maria:
“Life is a present and everyone is useful”.
“Sight is a gift, no matter how it’s work, we are all the same.”
Ference:
“As a teacher who was in Laski for the first time I enjoyed very much to see how the staff there care about the students and also to see how our students got involved in communicating with them.”
Rafik:
“This is not my life, this is my job” by Sister Agatha
“They see things in a different way” by the social relativism teacher
“I was under the impression that blind people don’t see until I went to Laski”
Lois:
BLINDNESS IS JUST A STATE OF THE MIND.
Rosa:
“To be blind doesn´t mean that one can´t see, it means that ones sees in a different way.”
“Being blind might be the best way to teach others to see more clearly.”
Ricardo:
“They need to be taken care of (…) A girl started crying when I kissed her (…) She was scared.” Sister Agatha.
“Our greatest difficulty here are parents (…) They go home and their parents do everything for them believing it’s faster (…) Real life is not like that.” Sister Agatha
“My dream is to start a family.” Mateusz
Samuel:
“Sometimes we think that blind people wishes to see the color of the sky or trees, but what they really want is to see the same thing that we want … a better world.”
“This trip made me appreciate those little details that I didn’t use to valorize before.”
In the Nonviolent Conflict Mediation PBL, we discovered how to solve and mediate conflicts by understanding people’s needs and feelings and thus be able to resolve the conflict. This comprised inducing the participants in the conflict to actively apprehend others’ needs, and then propose solutions to each other that could satisfy the needs of all. This process was also being moderated by the mediator.
Although the learning was primarily auditory, it was punctuated by a few practical exercises, including but not limited to empathic listening, proper conflict mediation, and self-empathy.
