"Say No Be Counted" Project reports
Two reports were filed on the conclusion of the in classroom portion of this project. It is our fervent hope that the spirit of "Say No" will continue in the Siloam school community and the wider Mukuru area. It is further hoped that the "Say No" message will be incorporated in the school curriculum
SNBC FINAL REPORT
by Scolar Mwikali our intermediary in Kenya, Nairobi
SNBC is a program adapted from VWC following a research by a university in Kenya. The research showed that majority of the students were harassed and bullied in different ways. From a far you would think that all is well until you engage into a session with this students and understand the reality in their lives.
For several weeks we engaged students in Siloam education centre on 6 workshops of SNBC. This totals to 180 students who went through this workshops . Though a small percentage,we trust that knowledge is power and what they have achieved will impact the entire school and its surrounding.
Bullying and harassment is on the rise in this era. On interacting with the student interacting with the students, we learned that bullying starts from home. Many students are subjected to different forms of bullying and harassment by the people who are supposed to protect them . These include parents and very close relatives who have a duty of care to this students but choose either knowingly or ignorantly to violate the fundamental rights of this students…too bad.As we continued to interact with this students,we noticed that these students do not know that some of this actions ,misquoted as disciplinary actions are punitive and morally wrong. Among many examples is the story of Joyce Kemuto who suffered in the hands of her biological mother, to a point of wishing death would solve her long suffering.Another scenario is of a girl who has suffered sexual assault, from her fathers friend, who went behind the fathers back to engage in premature sex with the girl,threatening the girl to remain silent of which she remained silent until this workshop came her way and made her open up. Sexual assault and harassment has taken place in different scenarios in the lives of this students both boys and girls. Sometimes this stories weighed us down thanks for your support in building our capacity to handle this.
It's true that once bullied, you will seek revenge over the same. This was demonstrated very well by the students who shared different stories of what happened to them and how they decided to bully others too to seek solace. On the contrary this is not the truth we made sure over the workshops we conducted ,we were determined to break the chain of bullying with facts. There were many examples to ride on and prove to this students that bullying and harassment was indeed punishable by law. Serious observations were made on different areas like:
Behaviour
Bullying has impacted many of the teenagers negatively. The theory of when bullied you bully back being the worst. This has caught up with the best of them and reduced them to bullies. This has no boundaries because they extend this behaviour to their brothers, sisters and even to the parents. This behaviour has costed some of them who are burning schools ,putting the other students in danger their freedom in schooling since they are forced to learn in approved schools by the government.
Self Esteem
We discovered that there is no freedom of speech in many families and so the students wont have a chance to share views freely. This has made them feel less important in the family set up. It is in the family set up where these students should be cared for and listened better than anywhere else, to build their confidence as they grow. When something happens to them, a careful caregiver/parent should be able to notice before anyone else to continue assuring them of the duty of care. This would raise their confidence as they face life. Al ot of encouragement is is needed from the parents and the teachers to bridge this gap.
Relationships
Relationships are very important in life as we,re social beings. A key observation we made is between the students and the caregivers. Many a times the caregivers harass the students instead of listening to them straining their relationships. Blending with teenagers might not be easy but caregivers has a duty to make sure they relate well with them so that they can share with them when they,re caught up by problems.Also the boy girl relationship doesn’t run well and there's a gap to bridge. We did a litmus test on puberty and it was clear they will embarrass and harass their partners instead of showing support. Having a mixed workshop,and speak matters sexuality broke the ice .
Solution to bullying
Such programs like SNBC should be adapted in schools as early as primary level ,so that these teenagers grow up with some essential tips on how to avoid bullying and harassment. Comprehensive anti-bullying programs involving students,teachers,parents and community members will help solve this problem of bullying and harassment.
SNBC was a learning opportunity to us as well as the students. There is so much we came across as we conducted the workshops. On evaluating these students we could see the seriousness the students took on the workshop and be convinced they, ll get help and help their siblings too.We,re convinced that this program was worth teaching the students.
Thank you for your support.
by Scolar Mwikali our intermediary in Kenya, Nairobi
SNBC is a program adapted from VWC following a research by a university in Kenya. The research showed that majority of the students were harassed and bullied in different ways. From a far you would think that all is well until you engage into a session with this students and understand the reality in their lives.
For several weeks we engaged students in Siloam education centre on 6 workshops of SNBC. This totals to 180 students who went through this workshops . Though a small percentage,we trust that knowledge is power and what they have achieved will impact the entire school and its surrounding.
Bullying and harassment is on the rise in this era. On interacting with the student interacting with the students, we learned that bullying starts from home. Many students are subjected to different forms of bullying and harassment by the people who are supposed to protect them . These include parents and very close relatives who have a duty of care to this students but choose either knowingly or ignorantly to violate the fundamental rights of this students…too bad.As we continued to interact with this students,we noticed that these students do not know that some of this actions ,misquoted as disciplinary actions are punitive and morally wrong. Among many examples is the story of Joyce Kemuto who suffered in the hands of her biological mother, to a point of wishing death would solve her long suffering.Another scenario is of a girl who has suffered sexual assault, from her fathers friend, who went behind the fathers back to engage in premature sex with the girl,threatening the girl to remain silent of which she remained silent until this workshop came her way and made her open up. Sexual assault and harassment has taken place in different scenarios in the lives of this students both boys and girls. Sometimes this stories weighed us down thanks for your support in building our capacity to handle this.
It's true that once bullied, you will seek revenge over the same. This was demonstrated very well by the students who shared different stories of what happened to them and how they decided to bully others too to seek solace. On the contrary this is not the truth we made sure over the workshops we conducted ,we were determined to break the chain of bullying with facts. There were many examples to ride on and prove to this students that bullying and harassment was indeed punishable by law. Serious observations were made on different areas like:
Behaviour
Bullying has impacted many of the teenagers negatively. The theory of when bullied you bully back being the worst. This has caught up with the best of them and reduced them to bullies. This has no boundaries because they extend this behaviour to their brothers, sisters and even to the parents. This behaviour has costed some of them who are burning schools ,putting the other students in danger their freedom in schooling since they are forced to learn in approved schools by the government.
Self Esteem
We discovered that there is no freedom of speech in many families and so the students wont have a chance to share views freely. This has made them feel less important in the family set up. It is in the family set up where these students should be cared for and listened better than anywhere else, to build their confidence as they grow. When something happens to them, a careful caregiver/parent should be able to notice before anyone else to continue assuring them of the duty of care. This would raise their confidence as they face life. Al ot of encouragement is is needed from the parents and the teachers to bridge this gap.
Relationships
Relationships are very important in life as we,re social beings. A key observation we made is between the students and the caregivers. Many a times the caregivers harass the students instead of listening to them straining their relationships. Blending with teenagers might not be easy but caregivers has a duty to make sure they relate well with them so that they can share with them when they,re caught up by problems.Also the boy girl relationship doesn’t run well and there's a gap to bridge. We did a litmus test on puberty and it was clear they will embarrass and harass their partners instead of showing support. Having a mixed workshop,and speak matters sexuality broke the ice .
Solution to bullying
Such programs like SNBC should be adapted in schools as early as primary level ,so that these teenagers grow up with some essential tips on how to avoid bullying and harassment. Comprehensive anti-bullying programs involving students,teachers,parents and community members will help solve this problem of bullying and harassment.
SNBC was a learning opportunity to us as well as the students. There is so much we came across as we conducted the workshops. On evaluating these students we could see the seriousness the students took on the workshop and be convinced they, ll get help and help their siblings too.We,re convinced that this program was worth teaching the students.
Thank you for your support.
SNBC Report
by Alan Fox, International Projects Chair, Rotary Club of Eganville
This report provides a summary of the research results from the Say No and Be Counted (SNBC) project. – a project that addresses the problem of bullying and sexual interference in schools.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE SNBC PROJECT
This training program was designed by social workers at the Visionary Women’s Centre (VWC) in Turbo, Kenya, with the collaboration of researchers at the University of Kenya.
In the curriculum, girls become MY GIRL POWER and boys discover THE HERO IN ME. Both girls and boys learn how to protect themselves against sexual assault and how to intervene to save others from attack. In this process they learn how to respect and support one another.
Before adopting the SNBC process, the Rotary Team Leader and one of the community health workers made the four hour bus trip to Turbo to meet the VWC members. They attended two workshops and reviewed the VWC curriculum. As the goals of the SNBC project mirrored those of Siloam School, they decided to use the SNBC curriculum at the school.
TRAINING: TEACHERS & STUDENTS
In October 2022 a one-day orientation workshop was held for the teachers and the health workers.. It was attended by 25 teachers, five community health workers and a specialist in self-defence.
Objectives The objective of the pilot study is to determine if bullying and unwanted sexual behaviour was occurring at Siloam School and if so, what measures could be taken to prevent it.
Training
Then, some180 students from Siloam School attended six one-hour training workshops. The following is a list of topics that were discussed:
Bullying and harassment in school
In the post workshop evaluation, 95% of the students felt that the choice of workshop topics was relevant to their needs for information on how to contend with bullying and sexual interference. The remaining 5% thought the workshops could have addressed topics such as female genitalia mutilation, drugs and substance abuse and how to address teenage pregnancy.
WORKSHOP CONCLUSIONS
The workshops were described as a wake-up call for teachers to learn that bullying and sexual harassment was occurring at their school. It was also apparent that much of the bullying and sexual interference was occurring in the children's homes. Two heart-breaking situations were described by two adolescent girls.
Participants at the workshops agreed that there is a need for a forum where children can talk or write about being bullied and that programs such as SNBC should be offered in schools as early as the primary level.
At the conclusion of the workshops, teachers agreed there is a problem that needs to be addressed. Both teachers and the students felt there was need for the program be continued and proposed that a meeting be held weekly to address the topic.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is recommended that Siloam Learning Centre:
Respectfully submitted
Alan Fox [email protected]
by Alan Fox, International Projects Chair, Rotary Club of Eganville
This report provides a summary of the research results from the Say No and Be Counted (SNBC) project. – a project that addresses the problem of bullying and sexual interference in schools.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE SNBC PROJECT
This training program was designed by social workers at the Visionary Women’s Centre (VWC) in Turbo, Kenya, with the collaboration of researchers at the University of Kenya.
In the curriculum, girls become MY GIRL POWER and boys discover THE HERO IN ME. Both girls and boys learn how to protect themselves against sexual assault and how to intervene to save others from attack. In this process they learn how to respect and support one another.
Before adopting the SNBC process, the Rotary Team Leader and one of the community health workers made the four hour bus trip to Turbo to meet the VWC members. They attended two workshops and reviewed the VWC curriculum. As the goals of the SNBC project mirrored those of Siloam School, they decided to use the SNBC curriculum at the school.
TRAINING: TEACHERS & STUDENTS
In October 2022 a one-day orientation workshop was held for the teachers and the health workers.. It was attended by 25 teachers, five community health workers and a specialist in self-defence.
Objectives The objective of the pilot study is to determine if bullying and unwanted sexual behaviour was occurring at Siloam School and if so, what measures could be taken to prevent it.
Training
Then, some180 students from Siloam School attended six one-hour training workshops. The following is a list of topics that were discussed:
Bullying and harassment in school
- Gender based violence
- Fundamental human rights
- Communication skills
- Personalities
- Sexual harassment
In the post workshop evaluation, 95% of the students felt that the choice of workshop topics was relevant to their needs for information on how to contend with bullying and sexual interference. The remaining 5% thought the workshops could have addressed topics such as female genitalia mutilation, drugs and substance abuse and how to address teenage pregnancy.
WORKSHOP CONCLUSIONS
The workshops were described as a wake-up call for teachers to learn that bullying and sexual harassment was occurring at their school. It was also apparent that much of the bullying and sexual interference was occurring in the children's homes. Two heart-breaking situations were described by two adolescent girls.
- One 15 year old girl wrote, “the children of my mother hate me because I don't have any father I can call dad. I look at myself and say I am nothing to them. I usually think about killing myself but something tells me no.”
- Another girl described being sexually assaulted by a friend of her fathers who threatened to harm her if she did not remain silent about the abuse.
Participants at the workshops agreed that there is a need for a forum where children can talk or write about being bullied and that programs such as SNBC should be offered in schools as early as the primary level.
At the conclusion of the workshops, teachers agreed there is a problem that needs to be addressed. Both teachers and the students felt there was need for the program be continued and proposed that a meeting be held weekly to address the topic.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is recommended that Siloam Learning Centre:
- introduce a 'no tolerance policy' for all forms of bullying
- publicize that policy in the Mukuru community
- hold a Saturday session where students can raise issues that may have come up during the week
- establish a committee composed of representatives from teachers, student and parents to guide implementing of the new initiative
Respectfully submitted
Alan Fox [email protected]