Short bio

My name is Caroline Limousin, I’m 40 years old. I am in charge of training at AMSADHG, a homecare association in Gironde, and I am also administrative manager and trainer at a training centre called Cybèle Formation. I therefore have a comprehensive vision of training, from creating a skills development plan to providing individual coaching and training sessions. 

My story of Empowerment

I became a home helper in 2004. I went on to provide in-house training sessions. I really enjoyed it, but I felt that I lacked certain skills as a trainer. In 2018, I took part in the European Erasmus+ project “At Home”. I have to admit, at the first meeting I was scared. Each person spoke a different language, the workload seemed phenomenal and I didn’t really understand what I was getting involved in. Then I spoke to Sophie, the project manager. And then I met the people doing the project, Manu, Sanjin, Stéphanie, Laurence, Séverine and many others. I heard their stories, their desires, their doubts and their hopes. I laughed a lot, I worked hard, sometimes I cried with emotion and above all I learned. I learned that you can be a home helper and still have the right to want to progress. 

During this project I realised that I needed more training. I began my training as an adult educator. The team has been a real driving force for me. Thanks to At Home I have been able to blossom. I met some extraordinary people who challenged my practices and made me question my certainties. I was able to move into a management position within my organisation. My financial situation has changed, but above all I have changed intrinsically. The way I present myself, the way I approach people, how I dare to set up projects. I spent 13 years caring for vulnerable people and I loved the job, the humanity required, the life lessons I learned, the moments of happiness and the moments of sadness. 

At first I was afraid I would miss it. But I haven’t; I find exactly the same values in adult education. I am discovering new human beings, meeting incredible people, often people who have significant scars from their time at school. Sometimes you have to win them over, make them understand that adult training is something different, that it is based on their experiences, that it has meaning and allows them to share.Adult training helps to empower individuals by opening up the field of possibilities. It enables people to realise their abilities, sometimes to get their first job and find their place in society. They can choose to follow a training course, to commit to it with conviction or to change their mind. I don’t know whether adult education can lead to an egalitarian society, but it can lead to an equitable one. A society where everyone finds their place and is happy with it. Adult education gives everyone the same chance, including people with disabilities. It establishes the principle of a personalised pathway, tailored to the specific needs of each learner. Training certainly responds to a need for learning, but it also responds to a desire to live together, to remove various obstacles for the learner and to have them play an active role. 

I sincerely believe that adult education enables each individual to develop their empowerment. I’m living proof! Thanks to my training, I’ve been able to become more independent, to trust myself, to believe in my professional choices but also in my life choices. I now know that I am capable of taking action for myself and my loved ones. I also know that it has enabled me to grow in my relationships with others and to invest in supporting people. I feel a responsibility, a duty to pass on the values of social justice and respect for others. Adult education, through its process, its openness to others and its awareness of each individual’s own power to act, is a formidable tool in the transformation towards a fairer society. For my part, I learn from my learners every day. I am constantly challenging myself and that’s what I find so stimulating. I try, I make mistakes and I grow. It’s my story and I’m living it.