CISV Rocks!

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I just finished SpBoToFo, otherwise known as Spring Board Training Forum, which is the training weekend for CISV junior branches (under 24) from all across Canada. It was a totally awesome experience, I learned a lot about leadership and organization, about how to make a CISV board and CISV JB (junior board) work. But the one thing I wanted to talk about here was the sense of community that was developed in about three days. We were all totally open, and we came to know and love each other so much, there were some very moving moments, and goodbyes were very big. It was a very emotional experience, which is something that is often lacking in our discussions of important issues. We often discuss things like global warming, poverty, and environmental depredation all in our heads, but CISV brings a new perspective. It might have something to do with the fact that we are a child based organization, but CISV is a very emotional organization, and we work to create social change, which, in my mind, is a very awesome combination.

The other thing about SpBoToFo is the fact that such deep relationships were developed. As I mentioned before, CISV has a habit of doing that; sometime in between the energizers, the snack, and the simulation activities, you realize that you have connected with people deeper than you ever have before. That deep connection is so lacking in our culture, though we get it from family (if we are lucky like me), it is not part of out lives, and I feel the need for it. The same thing goes for physical contact. In the ‘real world’, I sometimes want physical contact, just a hug, but it doesn’t seem right, and that never happens in CISV. I feel like I fit in in CISV activities, and it is sometimes a let down to leave, and I wonder what isn’t in my other life, and I think maybe it is the deepness of feelings and the connectedness, it is something we want but it that is seen as abnormal in the real world.

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