Hum Saath Saath Hai (Goa SHG Report)

Left to Right: Siddharth, Prajyot, Rajesh, Harish, Dnyanesh, Manoj & Vikas

Yes, we were together again, and we were seven of us J.

Everyone was excited, because we were meeting after a gap. Manoj, who was in touch with our group on Whatsapp, was coming for the meeting, and we were getting to meet him for the first time.

We had a planned and structured agenda as always. Rajesh and I had decided to spend some time to discuss on a format and structure for our upcoming meetings. We also decided to have a timed meeting this time, so that we have enough time for all the planned activities.

We started with positive sharing. Everybody in the group shared one recent incident in their lives that was positive. Each sharing was followed by claps and celebrating the achievements.

After that, it was the education session. Rajesh shared his approach on how he deals with stammer- challenging himself to join clubs / organizations which would result into more speaking opportunity- like Toastmasters and BNI (Business Networking International). He shared how (and what) he practices every hour a day, early in the morning. The message that Rajesh gave to all of us is- Discipline is a key factor in our path to recovery.

Manoj, who was attending the meeting for first time shared a few of his experiences, some funny and some motivating. Manoj works in Coast Guard (Navy) and is currently posted in Goa.

Vikas talked about his experience of talking part in Toastmaster contest, and how he went on to win it and how he felt before and after each feat.

I (Harish) then shared my experiences of the first two National Conferences- the experience of travelling alone for first time (Goa – Orissa), meeting many other PWS, the adventure in Coorg and listening to other’s stories. I also shared a couple of stories from fellow participants I had heard during the National Conferences.

Then, it was time for a round-robin discussion. The topic for today was- “How to come out of those moments when one feels down?” Everyone shared their opinions. Again, this was timed.

Finally, to end with, each one of us took a resolution. Some of the resolutions were-

1.      Disciplined daily practice of comprehensive breather and speech techniques.

2.      Eagerly taking up speaking situations like telling a joke to a group, introductions, etc.

3.      Join organizations/clubs where you get regular speaking opportunities.

4.      Sharing on whatsapp about daily speaking successes or challenges.