Our Roots and Branches: Three Generations of Women in Our Families



Objective(s) & Context

  1. Reflect on how the role of women has changed in our families: How has it changed over generations? Has migration had an effect?

  2. Set the groundwork for moving from personal stories to a larger discussion about how sexism and gender discrimination shapes our lives, especially when considering our places of origin.

 

The work of women and their roles and responsibilities are influenced by culture and economic needs, both of which can change over generations and through experiences of migration. These changes can be a source of growth, as well as a source of tension.

 

This workshop provides an opportunity to re-appropriate history from a personal, women-centred perspective.

 

Duration

35 minutes

 

Group Size

4 +

 

Age Group

All

 

Skills

Capacity to identify roles women play and have played in their lives, interpersonal communication skills

 

Format(s) & Technique(s)

Large group activity, visual expression

 

Materials

Your own handout of a drawing of a tree with branches, roots, and trunk

Copies of small group discussion questions

Markers, pens, or other art supplies

Flip chart paper

Masking tape

 

Facilitation Tips

  • This activity can be extended for more than 35 minutes, with more in-depth discussion and sharing of women’s history.

  • Encourage participants to think of migration in the larger sense, not just from one country to another, but from rural to urban areas, from north to south, etc.

  • It is worth considering that the women participants choose to list as “mothers” or “grandmothers” may not necessarily be “birth” mothers.

  • Participants may not necessarily know answers to all questions, a gap in knowledge that may be the result of migration, cultural loss, and other factors.

 

Popular Education Prompts

  • This exercise provides a way to begin with participant’s experiences so it can be used to lead into a process of deepening analysis about the impact of migration in their lives and in the lives of women they know.

 

Leading the Activity: Steps to Take

Preparation:

  1. Prepare tree handouts.

  2. Prepare questions (see Point 4 in Leading the Activity: Steps to Take) on flip chart paper in advance and hang paper in a place that is visible to the group.

 

Workshop:

  1. Explain to participants that this exercise will examine the changes in women’s lives over three generations of family: self, mother, and grandmother.

  2. Distribute a copy of the tree handout to each participant

  3. Review the handout with the participants, and ask them to draw or write the answers to the following questions on their “family tree” (10-15 minutes):

  4. Once everyone has finished her picture, ask each participant to pair up with someone they don’t know.

Roots

  • Ask each participant to write her grandmother’s name. What work did she do? Where did she live?

Trunk

  • Ask each participant to write her mother’s name. What work did she do? Where did she live?

Branches

  • Ask each participant to write her name. What work does she do? Where does she live?

  1. Invite each pair to spend 15 minutes sharing their pictures and stories with each other and reflecting on the following questions:

  • How is the work of women in each generation different? How is it similar?

  • How has migration changed the role of women in your family?

  • Consider how the leaves – the children of the next generation – will have different lives from the women who came before them.

  1. Reconvene the large group.

  2. Ask for few volunteers from the partners to briefly share something they learned or noticed through their conversation (10–15 minutes).

 

Debrief

  • In order to move towards deepening analysis, ask participants to reflect on any patterns that emerged from what they heard each other say in the sharing. For example, if time allows and participants’ experiences support it, with participants, explore the role of women in maintaining cultural traditions and group identity during migration – especially those in “mothering” roles.

 

Success Indicators

  • Participants identify roles women play and have played in their lives.

 

 

Source: Andrea Canales, Go Girls,