By Olimatou Coker
Child Fund, in partnership with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE) and other child protection agencies recently launched a School-based violence prevention pilot project (SBVP) at a colourful ceremony in Jambanjelly.
The project aims to enhance the skills of school caregivers and educators to prevent, mitigate, and respond to violence against children in homes, schools, and their communities.
The three-year project will also provide a conducive environment for school children especially girls to enable them to strive for excellence.
According to Child Fund, the project will target children, parents, teachers, partners and community members as crucial partners to discourage violence against children.
The manager of DingDing Yiruwa Federation Alieu Mendy said his federation has enrolled about 3,883 children who directly benefiting its sponsorship.
“This project will pilot in Jambanjelly and Kunkujang. We want to ensure that at least three sectors of the community understand it and work together to ensure its implementation and once that is done, we will engage the education department to include it in our curriculum,” he said.
This, he added, will create a friendly environment for children.
For his part, Lamin Fatojo, the West Coast regional education director, said children need to be protected and the importance of the pilot project cannot be overemphasised.
A representative from Child Fund, Nfarama Dabo who also doubles as Child Fund’s program and sponsorship director, said the pilot project is “a comprehensive program model that works to prevent and reduce violence against children between the ages of 6 to 12 years in schools, homes, and communities.
“It also seeks to help strengthen the communication, comprehension, and the reasoning skills of children,” he added.
Dabo added that violence against children in homes and communities create barriers in learning that are further aggravated when the children experience further violence in school.
“This is the reason why Child Fund partnered with MoBSE to implement this SBVP program for better and more informed curriculum that provides a comprehensive approach in reducing the prevalence of violence in schools.
The director children affairs at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare, Bintou Fatty said the project is laudable and will go a long way in complementing the effort of government in protecting children against gender-based violence in schools. y,” .
Fatou M Foon, the head mistress of Jambanjelly Lower Basic School welcomed the new initiative and expressed her school’s commitment to support its implementation.
