May 21
Pre-Congress Workshops were so wonderful! I learned so much at both which will be helpful in furthering my ministry and work in Haiti. The first was on Administration and Interpretation of the structured observations of Sensory Integration (SOSI) and the the second was on creating meaningful partnerships with families. I saw some old friends and met some new ones 
🙂. Then we went for an authentic African dinner with our new friends from the Ukraine and U.K.
🙂. Then we went for an authentic African dinner with our new friends from the Ukraine and U.K.
May 22
Wow what a powerful opening ceremony to the WFOT congress this morning in South Africa. Sadly my phone had limited space but I captured a little taste of the experience. So excited for the next 4 days. The theme of the congress is Connected in Diversity Positioned for Impact. Excited to discover new and more ways to impact the world with OT!
I presented my poster on the outreach program.
MAY 23
Powerful Group Sessions. The 2nd Keynote Speaker- Pannel Discussion-user Perspectives Panel- Impact of OT- Voices In The Field. This was a powerful discussion showing how OT has impacted individuals in different contexts and situations. It was a reminder of how holistic and broad our profession can and should be. It was very encouraging and a reminder of how unique our profressions is. I was reminded to think outside the box, step out of my comfort zone, be creative, and making sure my treatment approach is contextually relevant to the people I am serving.
WFOT also presented a great presentation about who they are, what they are doing, etc.
I did a site visit this morning to a hippo therapy (therapy on horses) center here in South Africa. It was so amazing! And reminds me of my desire and dream to involve more animals into my therapy work in Haiti 1 day. It is not secret I love horses and have since a child and always love when I get to spend time with them. This morning was refreshing watching my 2 loves collide in South Africa horses and therapy with kids.
MAY 24
Here are the Grandmothers (Gogo) Against Poverty and AIDS. I've gotta say they are my Gogos. The resiliency and expression of life we Black women have no matter our circumstance is in our DNA.
They've formed a network where they support one another to raise their grandbabies, educate the neighbors about medication management for HIV, cook, dance, make crafts to sell, and more. When asked why no men in their group, they said they used to have 5, 3 of them died; men are not as strong as us women, they said.
Rose-Stella Ahmed OT wrote the description decided I couldn't sum up this amazing presentation and performance better myself.
Wow! It was so powerful and such an amazing project!
The WFOT Congress Banquet. It was held at a traditional African resturant. We were served 14 different traditional foods From different areas of Africa! It was a very fun environment with a traditional African group performing, video on the wall from a safari, and traditional food. We even had the chance to get our face painted with traditional face paint. It was also a great time of fellowship with OTs from around the world.
Videos in separate post... worth going to watch and listen to them. What a great cultural experience.
MAY 25
Morning
Started with a session of 8 speakers entitled Pediatric Chronic Health Conditions. Which was full of so much information. Then we heard from our 3rd keynote speaker Dr. Karen Whaley Hamell who talked about Building Globally relevant OT from the strength of our Diversity. It was an excellent speech
Started with a session of 8 speakers entitled Pediatric Chronic Health Conditions. Which was full of so much information. Then we heard from our 3rd keynote speaker Dr. Karen Whaley Hamell who talked about Building Globally relevant OT from the strength of our Diversity. It was an excellent speech
Then we had WFOT Panel Discussion in which each region of the world shared the diversity of OT across global regions. Each region shared their perspectives on the themes emerging from the congress. It was so interesting to see what each region shared and took away from the congress
Afternoon.
I attended and looked at some of the posters.
They attended World Cafe where as a large group broken down into smaller groups we answered 3 questions
1. Describe your eureka moment or aha moment you experienced at WFOT congress
2. As an OT what can I commit to so that my teaching, research or practice has greater impact.
3. As a profession what are the actions we can take to position ourselves for IMPACT
1. Describe your eureka moment or aha moment you experienced at WFOT congress
2. As an OT what can I commit to so that my teaching, research or practice has greater impact.
3. As a profession what are the actions we can take to position ourselves for IMPACT
At the end we shared and started a word tree and it was fun to watch it grow as everyone shared!
At the closing ceremony we shared some of the themes that emerged, learned that we would see each other again in Paris France in 2022. Saw the statistics of who all attended. Over 2,000 participants from over 80 countries around the world!
What an incredible conference that has challenged me greatly!
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