roles of the Volunteer, Counterpart, and two to three community

members in the planning and implementation of a project. Ask

the players to focus on ideal roles with some role reversals and

obvious pitfalls thrown in for realism and humor.

Procedure

Step I. Sharing Stories Building a Wall of

Success

(45 minutes)

A. For this first activity, have participants work in Volunteer 

Counterpart teams. Give each pair a half size sheet of newsprint

and a marker and ask them to use the materials to describe a

successful project or activity they have implemented with

community members, including information about their role in

the process and any significant lessons learned. Allow the pairs

approximately 10 minutes to do the assignment and suggest that

they use words, symbols or drawings to capture the essence of

their experience.

B. Ask each pair to introduce themselves (names, site, how long they

have been working in the target community) and tell their success

story. Allow approximately 2 to 3 minutes per pair for the sharing.

After they finish, have them tape their newsprint sheet on the

designated wall.

C. At the end of the sharing, ask participants for their immediate

impressions about the work being accomplished by communities.

Take a few observations and then ask participants to applaud

themselves for their contributions to these activities.

Trainer Note: Depending on the shared examples, participants may note

the diversity of activities, the role of community members versus outsiders,

and so forth. The purpose of this first processing is to allow people to reflect

and celebrate, not to analyze and interpret.

While participants are sharing their success stories, note down all charac 

teristics or qualities of successful projects they mention during the

course of their sharing. Write each characteristic on a strip of paper or a

large sized sticky note (only one item per note or strip). Keep the notes to

yourself until all pairs have finished telling their stories.

Step II. Identifying and Listing Characteristics of

Successful Projects

(15 minutes)

A. Move to the front of the room and post the header Characteristics

of Successful Projects on the wall. Explain to the group why you

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