16 directors of children´s homes across the country made their way to Prague to take part in the seminar on the topic of “Motivation”, held on March 28 at the prestigious Hilton Hotel. Some participants had to get up as early as 4 am to make it there on time, so it´s fair to say that there was a keen interest in the topic.
Author: Manfred Franke
Professor Monika Kavanova, fervent supporter, lecturer and mentor of C4C, prepared and conducted the workshop, using her trademark lively and interactional format. It´s certainly not a boring matter when Monika takes center stage! The bulk of the material for the workshop was collected from feedback on a wide range of issues the C4C team received from about 160 educators in 25 children´s home, all participants of C4C´s online HelpMate for educators initiative. We wrote about HelpMate previously here.
The main thrust of the workshop evolved around the assumption that in order to motivate others (in this case the staff of children´s homes), it is important to know one´s own motivators.
The motivation of the staff and educators in children´s homes is crucial, as they play an important role, in parent’s stead, in the lives of the children in orphanages. The success of C4C´s Springboard to Life program, providing extracurricular education, coaching and mentoring to resident children, depends to a large degree on properly trained and motivated staff and on close communication with them.
Here´s what Mgr. Heleny Tiche, director of the children´s home in Trnova had to say about the workshop:
“Professor Monika Kavanova´s seminar was simply amazing, she is a remarkable woman. The whole day was packed and very informative for us. Once again, THANK YOU VERY MUCH for everything: the incredibly nice workshop, the pleasant environment, the wonderful people and the hospitality. It was also nice to have been able to meet the director of the Hilton Hotel himself!”
Michael Specking, the iconic General Manager of the Hilton Prague, came to visit the workshop and confided that he himself as a young man had worked in a children´s home and knew firsthand the importance of not only helping the children there, but to also properly motivate the staff and management of children homes.
So, a big THANK YOU goes to the Hilton and Michael Specking and his team, who took such good care of us, providing the conference room, the tasty snacks and lunch on a complimentary basis to C4C.
The enthusiastic reactions of the participants of the seminar signal us that this may have been the first, but certainly not the last event of its kind.
