How is it possible that people who superficially know each other spend quality time together, build themselves and strengthen our foundation too? There is a method which has brought by our trainer Darinka Farkas as an EQ trainer and we are so grateful for.
Since the establishment of our foundation Darinka has been engaged in attitude shaping from kindergarden to university, in workplaces and in nursing homes. We are happy for every small result, for the improvement of the situation but we are not ready at all since the social gap is still there between disabled and intact people.
„There are few attitude shaping initiatives that are specifically aimed at the connection between people with disabilities and those without. We aim to bridge this gap so that people can connect with each other, for example, by encouraging more individuals to approach a visually impaired person on the street and know how to communicate with them. The result will be that both parties continue their day with a satisfied smile.” – said Darinka Farkas, our foundation’s guide dog trainer.
In addition to training guide dogs, Darinka is eager to participate in our foundation’s attitude shaping efforts. Years ago, she decided to complete a course to become an emotional intelligence development trainer. Thanks to her and our enthusiastic colleagues, the training, which has just held its first session, has come to fruition.
We primarily want to strengthen the connection between our foundation’s visually impaired clients and the volunteer puppy raisers. Our trainers have an important role in this, as both they and the dogs must remain part of the focus.
At the first session, thirteen of us sat down together. There were visually impaired clients, volunteer puppy raisers, and trainers, as well as our colleague who coordinates the work of the volunteers.
In the first half of the five-hour program, we played an association game. One participant shared their name, and the others began to make assumptions about them based solely on that name, while the participant listened with a poker face. At the end, they provided feedback on which assumptions were correct and what was not
characteristic of them. Amidst the excitement and many jokes, we learned about each person’s personality and hobbies. It can be considered quite a confident tuning into each other, as we guessed about 90-95% of the details about almost everyone.
“The goal was to observe each other intuitively instead of engaging in social theatrics. We connected mentally, deeply, with smiling faces and without taboos” – said Darinka.
In the following two and a half hours, the volunteers primarily asked questions of our visually impaired friends. There was no stopping, ranging from the deepest questions—such as how they experience the loss of vision—to lighter ones and back again. One question stood out. The volunteers were curious about how visually impaired individuals choose clothes in stores. Our clients explained that they try to select colors that match each other, and a sighted person can assist in this situation. When it comes to choosing clothes, the choice of pants are particularly important. There is a young man among us who only wears black and blue jeans, which makes it easier to choose a top.
The volunteers and clients also asked the trainers questions. How do they feel when they have to leave the dog they trained with the client? How do they structure the training? What criteria do they use to determine which dog is suitable for which owner?
According to their accounts, the volunteers, clients, and trainers all gained a lot from the training.
We will return to all of this in our future articles.
