Images – in pictures or words, propel us forward and backward, inward and outward. The molten gold pouring over the landscape, like honey from a golden orb, draws me into a view that I see everyday from my balcony. And as I look I see more than I saw the first time, maybe less than I saw yesterday – it is old and yet new. As I take it in I am moved – all of me – I smile at the beauty, and my mind asks a question, starts to tell a story – of now, and the past, and tomorrow, my breathing slows down, my body relaxes and I know again, with all of me.
Using story, art and movement in working with change and development does just that. It draws us inward and outward, and enables us to see something that we engage with daily in a new light, from a new perspective – and we can the find a new possibility.
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About Philippa Namutebi Kabali-Kagwa
I am a facilitator, coach and storyteller/storyfacilitator, and use story, song, art and dialogue to facilitate change and development in individuals and organisations.
Over the years I have become aware of how I have used stories to make sense of my life - and of the ways in which we all use story, consciously and unconsciously. Stories - myths, folktales and personal stories - are used to teach, to bind, to questions, to hold ambiguities, to explore, to hold up a different picture, to bring together and also to hold back, to suppress, divide and destroy. With this understanding I have built story into my work.
I use it to make conscious the stories people and organisations tell themselves that either support or hinder their growth. I use them as an opening, an invitation to begin to speak about the difficult things - to name 'the elephant' in the room. I use them as an invitation to people to dream of possibilities - and I also teach people to tell and to listen to stories because without a listener there is no story.
I was born in Uganda and lived there until I was in my early teens. Since then have lived in various parts of East and Southern Africa - and have been involved in development work in Namibia, South Africa, Uganda and the UK. I have also coached clients in South Africa, Namibia, the UK, Belgium, Israel and USA.
namutebikabalikagwa 