Go and Proclaim Ministries South Africa
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River of Life Tool
 

The River of Life is a personal reflection tool to help group members in a group to know each other better. It is a great way to help people to connect and to deepen understanding. This tool uses sketch drawing, story-telling, and sharing to create a better understanding and insight into an individual’s journey through life.
 

Steps
• Provide group members with a large piece of paper or flipchart and crayons, markers or pens, and a flat service to sketch on. The size of the paper is not that important but the bigger the better.

• Ask them to think about their own life as a river. Let them visualize a river that originates at a point and gradually grows bigger as it is fed by other streams and rivers. What were the different streams and other rivers that helped one to get where he or she is today? Let them think about the fast-moving times in their life and the challenges one encounters. 

• Draw these as a river. Include tributaries that resemble positive experiences and influences. Rapids, waterfalls rocks, and stormy sections represent obstacles or difficult challenges. Various points on the river represent significant stages in one’s life. The river can run straight or can have bends depicting a change of course in life. The artistic quality of the sketch is not important. It could be helpful to group members to show them an example of such a sketch or to give them a short demonstration. Give group members at least 7 to 10 minutes to draw their own sketch.

• After group members finished drawing, give them some time to share, either in small groups or in the big group. It is important that every group member has an equal opportunity to share his or her story. Follow the principles of the ask, listen, tell story sharing method.

Conclusion
Depending on the purpose of the group in summarizing the group facilitator can focus on the individual contributions of group members or the collective effort of the group as a whole.


Compiled by GAP Ministries
For more story-sharing tools please visit the "What's your story?" page.