Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “No-one can make you feel inferior without your permission.” Mariah Carey sang, “There’s a hero if you look inside yourself.” The song “The Greatest Love Of All” states, “Learning to love yourself, that is the greatest love of all.” The biblical psalmist said, “We are fearfully and wonderfully made.”
And yet too often we are crushed under the weight of negative self-perception, evaporated self-esteem and faith in everything that can bring us down but in little about our capacity to raise ourselves up. Whereas in childhood we are encouraged to speak boldly and brightly about ourselves, as adults our expressions of personal strength and self-worth are often met with scorn and derision.
That’s where Janet Bauer (above) steps in. Janet is an international trainer and speaker with more than 20 years experience in professional communications. Her clients include more than 60 organizations, including non-profit agencies, major universities, and major corporations.
While in Kenya in June this year, Janet did confidence and self-esteem workshops from her curriculum entitled, “What’s Great About You” for HOPE
worldwide Kenya (HWWK) staff, Nairobi Christian Church teenagers, a support group of people living with HIV, students from several elementary and high schools including a class of hearing impaired, and children in informal settlement communities. Janet worked with groups both in the city and in smaller towns.
(Janet is pictured above with staff of HWWK in Makindu, below with staff of HWWK in Nairobi, and at the bottom in alight moment with the Makindu team.) Her curriculum is designed to identify natural strengths and enhance self-esteem especially for children and teens – but adults who attended some of the sessions certainly also got a lot from it too. In each case the response was electric and enthusiastic.
One HWWK staff member said, “The training has equipped me with skills to improve other people’s self esteem especially the teenagers. It was the best training ever for me because it has made me courageous just hearing my colleagues talk good things about me. It was the best thing I could ever wish to hear.”
Sharing how she has had to deal with a challenging past and ride storms of adversity, Janet is at ease in opening up to her audience, thus giving them the freedom and safety to do the same. Via a variety of interactive sessions Janet gets participants to talk positively and expressively about themselves and about each other, thus leaving each individual more aware and appreciative of his strengths.
A high school teenager responded, “I really enjoyed the class, especially the participatory part. Trust me, I did not know that I was this good. Thank you for making me realize this!” Another participant shared, “It’s always amazing to hear other people say good things about you, even when you aren’t saying good things about yourself.”
A child from a low income community said, “I feel well because I see her, teacher white, and I love children and I have nice eyes and a smile.” You don’t have to have perfect grammar to value yourself and appreciate others!
A HWWK staffer said that seeing the radiance of her colleagues in the sessions was like “watching flowers coming to bloom in spring.” An HIV-positive participant enthused, “The class is real. There is no faking. All of us are jovial. There is unity. Everyone is not bothered about stigma. There is the love first for God and between ourselves. It is amazing how everyone is having hope and faith.” One of the children from the informal settlement responded, “I feel like a king. I feel that I am powerful.”
Do you believe you can fly? The response to the workshop from one teenager was, “I got to learn that I am alright the way I am and that I have the abilities and strength to achieve greater heights in life.”
Yes, we are all “fearfully and wonderfully made,” and the literary work Desiderata states, “You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars.” With the principles gained from Janet’s soul-moving workshops, many now embrace the license to shine and confidence to stand proud and tall, just as they were made to and meant to.
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