Healthy playground for ethnic minority students |=> Posted in Bac Giang newspaper

(BGDT) - Last May, An Lap Secondary School (Son Dong) launched the Leaders of Change Club. The club is a healthy playground, helping children gain confidence and become pioneers in promoting gender equality and eliminating bad customs in local ethnic minority areas.

The club is the first pilot model in Bac Giang province jointly implemented by the Provincial Women's Union, Son Dong District Women's Union, and An Lap Secondary School (Son Dong). The model belongs to Project 8 "Implementing gender equality and solving some urgent issues for women and children" of the National Target Program on Socio-Economic Development of Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas for the 2021-2030 period.

Members of the Leaders of Change Club chat and exchange knowledge.

It is known that An Lap Secondary School has 406 students in 4 grades, they belong to many different ethnic groups such as Kinh, Tay, Cao Lan, San Chi... Most of them have things in common such as: the distance from home to school is very far, family circumstances are difficult, the place of living still has gender prejudices. Based on the actual situation, the school has established a club of 21 members, including 19 students from grades 6 to 9, most of them are ethnic minorities and 2 presenters are representatives of school staff and teachers.

The club meets regularly every 2 weeks. Before each session, the facilitator guides students about the topic of each session. From there, students learn and expand information, raise awareness around the following contents: Gender equality; prevention of violence against children, school violence, sexual abuse, injuries; kidnapping, child trafficking; learning about early puberty; consequences of child marriage, incestuous marriage; behavioral skills in cyberspace.

To make the activities more exciting, interesting, and interactive, students can participate in activities such as: group discussions, games, seminars, drawing, and drama. After that, the club members themselves will be the propagandists, transmitting this knowledge to other students in the school during flag-raising and class activities.

Not only that, they are also active in spreading information to relatives and neighbors in their residential area. Nong Thi Hoai Anh, a student of class 8B and a member of the club, said: “In the past, some older people in my neighborhood often said, ‘Why do girls study so much? When they grow up, they will get married and become the children of other families.’ I realized that this concept is wrong. Therefore, I explained and shared in the hope that they would change their minds.”

According to Ms. Pham Hai Yen, teacher in charge of the Youth Union and presenter of the Leaders of Change Club, in the past, many students were still shy and timid, not daring to speak in front of a crowd and were not fully equipped with knowledge about gender equality and potential risks that threatened their personal safety.

Currently, the students are more confident, presenting their thoughts, analyzing right and wrong with friends, relatives, and neighbors. Many students also boldly propose to teachers about the topics and methods of organizing the activities. Although the school's Board of Directors and the Women's Union at all levels have created favorable conditions, the implementation of the Club's activities still faces some limitations in terms of propaganda materials; ways of organizing activities; some students are still hesitant and shy. To overcome that, in the coming time, the MC and the Club's Board of Directors will continue to develop plans and content suitable for students in mountainous areas; organize diverse forms of activities to attract more students to participate in the Club.

According to Ms. Nguy Thi Tuyen, President of the Provincial Women's Union, through the activities of the model, it aims to equip students with knowledge and skills to protect themselves. Thereby, creating positive changes in attitudes, awareness, and behavior in preventing and responding to issues related to children. At the same time, it contributes to supporting local authorities, schools, and parents to effectively protect, care for, and educate children in the locality. The Provincial Women's Union will evaluate the activities, draw lessons to expand the model in mountainous areas.

Article and photos: Thu Thuy

 

Bac Giang: Ensuring the rights of ethnic minority women and children

(BGDT) - To eliminate bad customs against women in some mountainous areas and ethnic minority areas, the Women's Union at all levels has effectively implemented the contents of the Project "Implementing gender equality and solving urgent problems for women and children" (referred to as Project 8).