TSWAPONG NORTH COMMUNITIES EMBRACE BAIA’S ADOLESCENT BEHAVIOUR CHANGE INITIATIVE
The community leadership of seven villages in Tswapong North has embraced the Botswana Alcohol Industry Association initiative to pilot a behavior change empowerment programme targeting the youth in their respective villages.
At a meeting held in Palapye over the weekend attended by Dikgosi, village development committees and Teachers from Lecheng, Goo Tau, Goo Sekgweng, Manaledi, Mathakola, Malaka and Mokungwane, the leadership pledged their commitment to this initiative which will commence in February, 2013.
To this end BAIA will pilot an educational and empowerment programme, which sought to influence behavior change targeting adolescent (Standard Six to form Two), the whole idea being to empower them to resist the temptations of drinking alcohol at an early age and/or engaging in any bad behavior that will take them away from their vision and goals.
This will be achieved through a comprehensive, community-based prevention program that is intended to empower adolescents to resist peer pressure and empower them to realize their individual being and the power they have to make a difference at an early age.
The primary component of this is a school program offered to Standard Six up to Form Twos supported by four other components:
? a parent program
? a community organization program
? a program aimed at changing local policy and
? Mass-media events.
The program’s components are designed to address the multiple influences that adolescents face related to peer pressure and bad habits in the communities they live in.
On the demand side, the program tries to change behavior through teaching adolescents resistance skills in the school program. On the other side, the program tries to change the environment by involving the entire community in alcohol abuse prevention activities.
BAIA will first launch the pilot project of the programme in Seven Tswapong North villages. After this, the programme will be extended to the rest of the country
Through this programme we are confident that we will empower the adolescents to:
? Understand and value themselves correctly
? Understand their talents and gifts and what their right lives look like
? Clearly see all the options available to them when making choices
? Make choices based on their knowledge of their right life
? Take full responsibility for their future by having a vision for themselves and putting a practical plan in place for them to achieve their goals
? Avoid choices (like drinking at their age) that will take them away from their vision and goals
To achieve these goals through the BAIA One Year programme, we are going to cultivate an internal drive in the youth that will lead them to good choices, happiness and joy, through the pleasure of striving to fulfil their unique purpose. Through this programme, they will also get to know and understand themselves, have good self esteem and value the contribution they can make in their world.
We intend for youth to have an internal drive that is stronger than outside influences like the fear of being punished or judged by parents, teachers or their peers.
BAIA does not intend to drill right and wrong into the youth in order to alter their behaviour ÔÇô this has been proved to only lead to unhappiness and resentment in youth and frustration in parents and teachers.
With regards to parents, this programme aims to empower them to:
? Understand their children’s unique personality, strengths and weaknesses
? Understand their children’s unique potential and purpose
? Assist their children in growing through this programme by communicating with them in a constructive, empowering manner.
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? Spend time working through their child’s manual with them where required and show an active interest in their child’s development
With regards to teachers, this programme aims to:
? Train the teachers on the four modules of the one year programme
? Equip them with the necessary tools to be effective facilitators of the programme
? To empower the teachers to adequately use the Teacher’s Manual that they will be given
? And to give feedback with regards to the learners progress
The programme shall also focus on its overseers, enabling them to:
ÔÇó Empower the Community overseers with knowledge about the programme that is running in the schools so they may support the parents, teachers and learners while communicating to the Community leaders what the developments in the villages are.
ÔÇó To involve them with setting up the *Centre’s of Excellence that will be made available to the youth in year three of the program
ÔÇó The Centre’s of Excellence will be centres where the youth will be able to do workshops over weekends to strengthen their passion and support their growth in a specific field i.e. science, arts, technical, agriculture, human. These centres will help launch the youth into their right lives by cultivating their love for the areas of life that inspire them.
The One Year Training for the learners consists of 4 Modules:
ÔÇó Who am I?
ÔÇó How am I (my way of being)?
ÔÇó Why am I here
ÔÇó Creating my right life
In the First Module, students will be taught the following valuable life lessons:
ÔÇó Becoming aware of what they believe about themselves and how they perceive themselves. Understanding how to value themselves.
ÔÇó Learning to pay attention to themselves and accepting themselves whole heartedly.
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Understanding how to accept themselves.
ÔÇó Understanding and knowing themselves through aspects like listening and becoming conscious of self talk, recognizing emotions and patterns of thought.
ÔÇó Building self worth/self esteem
In the Second Module, students will be taught the following life skills:
? Becoming aware of the strategy they use when making choices.
? Understanding Cause & Effect ÔÇô taking ownership of their lives and their choices.
? Understanding the roles they play: adult/ child/ parent. (or victim, rescuer and persecutor)
? Learning about their hierarchy of values and how it influences their lives.
? Communication skills.
? Focusing on what they want.
? Dealing with limiting beliefs.
? Understanding change and how they deal with it.
In the Third Module, students will discover the following about themselves:
? Their talents and gifts.
? Discovering their passion.
? Unleashing their potential.
? Setting and achieving their goals.
In the Fourth Module, students will explore the following life concepts:
? Using the TGROW model they assess areas in their lives that they would like to grow in, they put together a practical plan and set goals to ensure their growth in the following domains:
? Physical environment.
? Personal growth.
? Money.
? Family.
? Relationships.
? Leisure.
? Career.
? Health & fitness.
To ensure the successful implementation of this project, the teachers will go through a train-the-trainer programme on all 4 modules of the learner’s programme to empower them to facilitate the programme.
The training will be intensive as it will include equipping the teachers with trainer skills such as:
– Presentation skills
– Communication skills
– Active listening skills
– Personal empowerment tools
The parents of the learners involved in the programme will be invited to do the 4 week training for parents. It will empower the parents with new insight and understanding of their children as mentioned before.
The Community overseer’s will be invited to an interactive discussion about the programme and what it entails, as well as the Centre’s of Excellence.
Parent’s training is not compulsory for the learners to have success in their training, but it will equip the parents with crucial skills to assist their child in making progress during the programme and thereafter.
The adolescent empowerment programme, will run parallel with the mystery shopping initiative which BAIA will be piloting in Serowe’s 54 bars soon
As an alcohol association of manufacturers and distributors, we are alive to the existence of the problems associated with the abuse of our products by the minority and it is our belief that regardless of how small the manifestation of abuse, such should not be allowed to take root in our society. Our pledge is, therefore, to be at the forefront of fighting alcohol abuse to minimize the chances that this might cause to an individual or society as a whole.
The Botswana Alcohol Industry Association (BAIA) is an alcohol industry grouping established by Kgalagadi Breweries (Pty), Botswana Breweries (Pty) Ltd, Diageo, Namibia Breweries, Distell Botswana, Global Holdings, Benju and Heineken International.
All enquiries to: Jacob Sesinyi
Released by: Corporate Interaction Communication Consultancy
Tel: 3165407 Fax: 3165408 Mobile: 71327472
