In the month of October, the project team was able to engage with the selected students -“One-mind Champions”, as they prefer to be called, of the ADOKIT Programme. The sessions were held at least twice every week and by this, the first two phases of the intervention which are structured to include the “Starting our circle phase’’ and “Knowing ourselves phase”, were achieved.
The objectives of these phases were to introduce activities that enabled the students to learn how to effectively communicate with each other and practice respect for the opinion of others without being aggressive or passive. The Champions were also given problems to solve, puzzles to crake, and communication materials to use for expressing themselves amidst their group members; all for the purpose of guiding the participants into identifying their unique selves.
In line with the objectives of the two phases and a few identified issues which needed to be addressed, the team facilitated respective sessions on Communication and Expression, Identity and Self Esteem, Empathy and Respect, Cooperation and Teamwork, and Critical thinking and Decision Making. The various sessions were fun, highly engaging, and insightful, following feedback gathered at the end of each meeting.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL CHILD
As part of creating a platform that allows adolescent girls to understand and utilize the power of their voice, some champions were groomed ahead of the 2022 International Day of the Girl Child for a presentation. ADOKIT Project Team, with permission from the Principal/Management of Government Secondary School, Adiabo, engaged a female representative of the Champions to deliver a speech on the theme: Our Time is Now: Our Rights, Our Future! This was presented to over 80 Students and Teachers during the closing assembly on October 11, in commemoration of the 2022 IDGC. According to the adolescents, no such club that allows them to express themselves skillfully is in existence in the school or community. Also, it was observed that none of the listening adolescents (male and female) had knowledge of such a celebration happening in the world on the said day. There was no better time to educate both the younger and older members of the community on the rights of girls and women, in general. It was a quick bold step taken to address some of the identified problems – illiteracy and harassment of females, among other community problems highlighted by the champions during their first meeting.
Likewise, lots of students participating in the Transformational Mentoring Programme of the Foundation commemorated the event at their various schools within Calabar South and Municipal LGAs and were able to intensify awareness through the use of IEC materials pasted and shared around the school.
In the same energy, the Programme Officer – Martha Wilfred, and a few other Mentors, re-emphasized the need for both boys, mothers, fathers, community leaders, government, and other sectors that constitute every community, to deliberately bring girls onboard and provide them with improved access to opportunities that empower them to lend a voice, explore and showcase their potentials.
There is no better time to join the girls in echoing: Our Time is Now: Our Rights, our Future!
