Life Skills and Peer Education for Chadian Youth

The coronavirus has turned the world upside down and changed all our lives. The economy is stumbling, existential crises are taking place, health care systems and labour markets have reached their limits in many places. Now it is time to "move together" - although symbolically and more virtually than in real life.

At International Blue Cross, we too are trying to adapt as best we can to the demands of the pandemic. In our African project countries the schools will remain closed for the time being and social isolation measures have been taken. In order to be there for the young people nevertheless, we coach the local staff in how they can continue to look after the participants as efficiently as possible and implement alternative offers.

In Chad, online life skills sessions, whatsapp chats and awareness campaigns on the internet continue to implement the programmes as best they can. A telephone hotline is being set up through which the Blue Cross educators will provide targeted support to young people in dealing with the isolation and problems it brings with it.

Alcohol and domestic violence are problems that should not be underestimated in this context. In isolation, families consume more alcohol, which often leads to social tensions, up to acts of violence and generally irresponsible behaviour regarding the rules of "social distancing". Psychological problems occur or increase in isolation. Blue Cross educators can intervene to regulate and provide care - therefore the continuation of our program is important! Particularly in poorer countries with poor health systems and social security structures, people are more dependent on our support than ever before.

Thank you for your support to vulnerable people in countries severely affected by the health crisis. Thank you very much!

 The year 2020 began for the Blue Cross Chad with many exciting events:

• In January, secondary school teachers were trained. They were encouraged to take up the integration of life skills in some of the school lessons. Such topics are: Prevention of alcoholism, smoking, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, AIDS, violence and gender-based violence.
• In mid-January a press conference was held for the government on the subject of "Alcohol and Sustainable Development". 12 of 17 Sustainable Development Goals are negatively affected by alcohol. For this reason, discussions were held, for example, about increasing the price of alcoholic beverages.
• In February, 96 peer educators, leaders of Life Skills Club at high schools and university campuses were given training. The focus was on writing activity reports, bookkeeping for the clubs and budget monitoring.

Exciting events are also planned for the next quarter. With your donations you help to change young people and their environment. Thank you very much for your generosity!

The end of the year is marked by exciting events of the Blue Cross Chad:

• On December 1, activities were organized on the occasion of the International AIDS Day. Peer educators marched in the streets to talk about AIDS and HIV and distribute information. They all received a matching T-shirt and summer hats.
• A new office was set up for the activities in the school Amoul de farcha in N'Djamena. This is decorated with drawings and comics, so that the students already have the topics in front of them in a visual way. 
• From 10 to 11 December, the old and new members of the local committee for social responsibility were trained. Topics were good governance, complaint mechanisms and participation tools.
• The Life Skills Programmes and the long experience in Chad were presented to the governments of the Faroe Islands that regularly donate grants. For this purpose, the General Secretary and a project manager from Chad travelled to the Danish islands.

Now, a new year is just around the corner. Also, in 2020 the Life Skills sessions will continue in the schools in Chad. Every year more and more young people take part in the activities. Events, camps and promotions are planned to give young people skills and knowledge to make informed decisions about alcohol and drugs and associated risks, including the transmission of HIV/AIDS.

With your donation these activities can be realized! Thanks a lot!

In September, the Blue Cross Chad organized various activities for its youth. There were two camps during this period. One to train peer educators and the other a youth camp, discussing topics like addiction, gender-based violence, HIV, combined with lots of fun and games.

The Peer Education-approach describes the training of youth coaches who transmit acquired life skills amongst their peers for which they receive specific training. They develop social competencies such as communication skills, self-awareness and analytical thinking, and promote problem-solving and conflict management. Thereby they encourage their peers to develop sustainable healthy behavioural patterns. 

There were also two trainings for 44 girls each on gender, with the aim that the young girls get to know their value and their rights and can ask questions that interest them in a protected environment. 

A special highlight in September was a cooperation project with Burkina Faso. The Blue Cross Chad and Burkina Faso jointly worked out guidelines on the topic "Prevention of social abuse of minors and protection of children in conflict situations". This cooperation is to shape the work in the countries and the entire region in which Blue Cross is active. 

With your donation, great activities can also be implemented in the coming months to save the youth in Chad from drifting into addiction. Thank you very much!

BC life skills programme changes behavior from violence to conflict resolution, from substance abuse to healthy stress management, from alcohol as a livelihood to alternative options. Youth learn to provide feedback through social accountability scheme, girls and women are empowered and boys get skills to be positive agents for change. 

General Secretary Anne Babb and Finance Officer Katrin Schmidt had an opportunity to work with the BC Chad team. During the visit they updated skills at project cycle management (French) and good governance (French). Training focused on supporting BC Chad in meeting standards that enable involvement in development co-operation projects. Separation of powers, clear expenses policies and organizational functions were discussed. Board at BC Chad are closely connected with the project and meets regularly and reports transparently of BC Chad’s activities and finances. It was acknowledged that BC Chad wants to further develop its activities outside the Life Skills Programme too. It was discussed that further reflection is needed on communicating what is volunteering at BC Chad. What are the BC activities and what are Life Skills project activities. 

Life Skills programme is well rooted in N’Djamena schools. The need for drug and alcohol prevention activities is great and many skills that support good decision making are developed as a result of Life Skills activities. During the visit it become evident that unfortunately in Chad physical violence as tool for assertiveness is very common. Slapping and hitting children and other people is still a common practice. The IBC team talked about skills for positive assertive verbal communication and simple steps to taking responsibility of one’s behaviour. Topic is included in the LS sessions and this helps us to communicate to girls and boys that they have right for non-violent childhood and that the skills they learn now change their own families when they are parents and this changes the society to be a more peaceful place when people learn peaceful ways to solve conflicts. 

Another success in Chad is the social accountability scheme that uses feedback boxes at schools to welcome the voice of students. This has led to many positive improvements like keeping school grounds clean. Youth are more committed to support the change when they have raised the issue themselves- they also have solutions to the problems they raise. One headmaster said they “had never before thought of asking for solutions from the youth but it works! “ BC Chad wishes to spread feedback boxes to all Life Skills schools.  

You can follow the project and BC Chad on: https://www.facebook.com/croixbleuetchadienne/?epa=SEARCH_BOX

Your donation makes change possible! Thank you!