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Children in North Western Lesotho disseminate life-skills messages to their peers
By Makopano Letsatsi on 24 Jul 2007
Young people in north western Lesotho learned life-skills including self-awareness and assertiveness in order to make informed choices and avoid peer pressure.
Some 300 children of the Kota Area Development Program in Leribe district, 100km north of the capital Maseru, gathered recently to discuss issues, stage a drama and share information.
The Children’s Committee president from Kota ADP,said self-awareness is important especially for youth. “Every person should know his or her weaknesses and strength so that you can work hard to address your weaknesses.”
Assertiveness is equally important because youth have to make their own choices and avoid peer pressure.
Event organiser and Kota HIV and AIDS officer, Puleng Nthinya said there are various challenges facing teenagers and therefore all stakeholders have to work hard to ensure the safety of young people.
“Some orphaned children in child-headed households are living alone without any adults to guide them. Therefore these children need life-skills in order to survive at this difficult stage,” said Nthinya.
Parents, community members, chiefs, teachers, and Population Service International representatives who conducted Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) for HIV during the occasion, attended the event.
Mampho Moerane, speaking on behalf of other parents, said the life-skills drama should not be just a mere entertainment but it should considered in their daily life. “We don’t want to see youths’ life destroyed because of wrong decisions. We want to see future adults celebrating informed decisions they made when they were young.”
District Education Officer, Malebohang Ntseka said the Ministry of Education had realised that without a life skills curriculum in schools, academic skills alone were not enough to empower children to face challenges such as alcohol and drugs addiction, HIV and AIDS as well as teenage pregnancy.
Ntsekhe said the Ministry of Education had introduced life-skills from grade four students onwards to prepare them to be ready for all the challenges facing teenagers.
“The Ministry of Education will work hand in hand with World Vision to make life-skills education a success,” said Ntseka.
Kota ADP, in collaboration with Kota Children’s Committee, organised the event to disseminate life skills messages to other children.
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