Monday, 25 Jan 10 - 12:00Self-Confidence - The Remarkable Truth...
Chapter 1 of Support Crew by Chris Grieves
"Don't look at the size of the mountain. Simply focus on the next part of your journey."
I first met Paul McGee at an Act4Africa team building session back in 2003. We were training the new team for a trip to Tanzania and equiping them with knowledge and physical skills to help them in the project. This included drama, music, African culture, knowledge of HIV / AIDs and, at that time, we had a 'circus skills' session.
It was my task to show everyone (in the shortest time possible) how to safely stilt-walk as we would often use it in dramas and sketches that would draw crowds around us in African towns and villages. Now, balancing at some ridiculously un-natural height from the ground on two pieces of home-made wooden stick is not easy.
The fear I felt the first time I tried it was over-whelming.
The thing I remember most about Paul was, despite being perhaps one of the older members of a fairly young team (as I was when I went to Africa in 2001) he was ethusiastic and prepared to face his fears and have a go. He gained my respect that day. I also know, that what Paul achieved with his team on that particular trip was pioneering and lives on in Act4Africa memory as one of the foundational trips in the Act4Africa journey.
Paul and his wife Helen are still connected, still supportive and full of the spirit that takes Act4Africa forward on a day-to-day basis. I wholeheartedly recommend his book to you, but here's a sneak preview, courtesy of Paul himself. Enjoy.
Chris Grieves
Trustee, Act4Africa
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Martin and Kathy's Story.
In 2003 I went to Tanzania with an organisation called Act4Africa. They are a charity who through education and drama help people in Africa understand and fight against the spread of HIV AIDS.
The founders of the charity are Martin and Kathy Smedley. Martin's a part-time actor and engineer and Kathy's a teacher. They have teenage kids and a mortgage and seem just like any normal couple.
In fact they are. Except for one thing.
They have an overwhelming desire to help prevent the spread of HIV AIDS in Africa.
That's a tall order. For an ordinary couple.
But they had a belief in themselves that together they could make a difference.
Martin says, "The need is so great we felt we just had to do something – no matter how small. Kathy and I make a good team – our skills compliment each other."
Did they possess unshakeable confidence and belief in themselves that they could do something?
"Absolutely not" replied Martin. "We often feel so out of our depth. But if we'd waited until we felt totally confident in our abilities, we'd still be waiting. The crucial thing is just deciding to do something – to take action. Don't let the scale of the problem or your own self-doubt distract you."
Martin and Kathy moved out of their comfortable and safe world in a suburb of Manchester into a world of bureaucracy, red tape and unchartered territory in Africa. They started with no money and no staff, but a belief that together they could do something.
It's been quite a journey.
They once found themselves in the Prime Minister's office in Tanzania and have discovered skills they never thought they had. Marketing, PR, fund raising and now being seen by others as health experts in the area of HIV AIDS. They battle constantly with a need for finances to fund their work, and sometimes wonder if they're really making a difference to such a huge problem.
The facts would suggest they are.
So far one million people in Africa have been educated through the Act4Africa programme working in schools, churches and with local community leaders. Their creative approach to tackling the problem is beginning to make a difference.
They have twenty staff – the majority being Africans, working long-term with their communities. Over 200 people have so far worked with the charity on a short-term basis lasting anywhere from two weeks to a year.
This is not rhetoric. It's reality.
Their goal was never about how they personally could gain from the experience. It wasn't a strategy to raise their self-esteem and boost their self-confidence.
They simply saw a need and decided to do something about it.
But there have been some additional pay-offs to what Martin and Kathy have started.
"It's made me realise just how much people are capable of. I'd never have dreamt I could do all the things we've done. Both of us have moved way way out of our comfort zone – and yet we're still standing. I guess our confidence and belief have grown through this whole experience."
So too have the people working with them on a short-term basis.
Martin elaborates,
"I think it's fair to say we've had some interesting characters join up – and I'm not just thinking of you Paul! We've had a couple of people with deep psychological problems who'd heard of our work. We took a risk with them. But it's not like we were giving them a full-time job. They've had to raise their own funds to come out and join us on a short-term basis. And they have."
"What's more the work has provided these people with an outward focus. Rather than always looking inward at their own issues they've been confronted with other people's problems. We've put some trust in people; given them responsibility, and it's paid off."
One girl who'd been on the team recently qualified as a nurse. She had all sorts of issues when she went out to Tanzania with Martin, and was unemployed at the time.
"Yeah, I guess Act4Africa played some part in her recovery" adds Martin.
What triggered this amazing work?
Desire was definitely at the top of the list. Martin and Kathy felt almost a calling to do something.
But did confidence play a part?
Absolutely.
Without some degree of self-belief nothing would have ever happened.
They knew they had some abilities. They knew they were a good team together. And they knew that the biggest obstacle to overcome was simply to start the work.
Martin and Kathy are remarkable people who continue to face many challenging situations. They've opted out of the kingdom of comfort and decided to make a difference.
And that's exactly what they've done.
Not just to a million people in Africa.
Not just to 200 people in the UK.
But also to themselves.
The truth is....
"When we make a difference to others, we also make a difference to ourselves"
Over to you
So you've heard Beth's, Martin's and Kathy's story, and how they're seeking to make a difference.
The question is,
what's your story going to be?
I'm not suggesting that you start a charity or move to Africa, but I am suggesting you take some action.
Do something where you're not the focus – but someone or something else is.
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Extract from Paul McGee's new book exclusively for Act4Africa care of Paul and Helen McGee. January 2010.
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You can find Paul McGee's new book on Amazon and you can even preview it and watch videos.
Click the link >>HERE<<
To find out more about Paul himself go to his website via our Support Crew
page here on the Act4Africa site.