We have started a new and a very important programme!
We want to encourage both children in Nursery School and also the girls from the Wasiliana Project to say; No!
We are using a programme called My Body is My Body - Mwili Wangu Ni Mwili Wangu.
It is a well prepared programme that suits children from 3-10 years but also works very well in older ages.The programme brings up questions and educates in a simple way how to talk about abuse. It teaches children that nobody has the right to hurt or abuse you in any way.
This programme will empower the children so they know what to do if there is a problem. It is very important to keep it simple because, young children don't need to know all the details about abuse. But they need to know that they have the right to say No and know their boundaries. If they see or hear something, then they know who they can talk to. And they should not keep it a secret. This is something that is important for both girls and boys.
Visit the website for more information.
www.mybodyismybody.com
We started to introduce the song My body is My body for the children in Nursery School. We have also talked about that it is ok to say no, and to respect if somebody says no, stop.
The children got to practice in a group to say no, stop when somebody gets too close.
We called the exercise "My Space is My Space". We explained to them that you have a invisible space, a "bubble", that marks your personal space and no one should come too close if it doesn't feel right.
The songs are very good and easy to sing along to, it also makes it easy to remember what we have talked about. The children learn the lyrics fast when you can have movements to the song as well. We want to educate them in a very young age, it is a way to prevent child abuse and keep them safe. Because the sooner they know about it the sooner it will become something everyone knows about. Our goal is now to share this programme to the parents, teachers and the community. Everybody needs to know how and what to do if a child reports anything.
Our vision is to get this program to grow and be a part of our community here in Mwanza.
This is our Pilot project at the moment, but we want it to expand to more schools and reach even more children.
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| Practicing My Space is My Space |
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| Singing together the song "Mwili Wangu Ni Mwili Wangu" |
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| Discussion with Wasiliana girls, about My Body is My Body. |
