Training of Trainers Workshop: Positive Deviance and Hearth

Foreword:
The PD/Hearth Training of Trainers workshop in Ahmedabad, India is part of a larger
dissemination process, after being tried and tested in many settings both rural and urban, in many
countries in all regions of the world.
This workshop was conducted for 27 participants from 8 countries in Asia working within 13
different non-governmental organizations, a government program, UNICEF, and a university.
The years of experience in the training room totaled several centuries with a high level of
professional expertise. There were nutritionists, physicians, and managers of nutrition and
development programs, government program officers and community workers. The seeds of a
network between the participants were planted and will hopefully bloom into fruitful exchanges,
including not only information sharing, but actually thinking and working together. The
PD/Hearth TOT workshop was an excellent opportunity for networking.
Counterpart International provided an excellent example of an urban Hearth, which served as a
“living university” site. The urban slum communities of Ahmedabad that are implementing
Hearths are to be thanked for their openness and receptivity to the visitors, who came to learn
from them. The CPI staff members proved to be the most hospitable hosts, providing a week of
seamless logistics, and lively participants at the same time.
CORE, The Child Survival Collaborations and Resources Group, had the vision to sponsor this
workshop, selecting the setting and inviting the participants. The CORE Group, a membership
association of U.S. NGOs strengthens local capacity on a global scale to measurable improve the
health and well-being of children and women in developing countries through collaborative NGO
action and learning. Many thanks to USAID, the sponsor of this workshop through its funding of
the CORE group.
In my Heart of Hearths,
Donna Sillan, Lead Trainer
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