By Trudy Simpson, Freelance WriterAPPROXIMATELY 2,000 students in 200 high schools and 20 tertiary institutions are being targeted for leadership and life skills training.
This, in order for them to become behaviour change advocates under a new programme officially launched yesterday by the Students' Christian Fellowship and Scripture Union (SCFSU).
The three-phase programme, called Project H2O, started in early October and ends in March 2005. It is made possible courtesy of a $6 million boost from the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ).
"We are trying to pull in an average of 10 students per institution and later these 10 should go into schools and influence at least 30 others," explained Dr. Stevenson Samuels, the SCFSU's general secretary and director of Project H2O. He was speaking at the launch, held yesterday at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston.
TEACHERS INCLUDED
The programme aims to teach the 2,000 students to embrace healthy lifestyles. Of that number, it aims to equip 600 students with basic healthy lifestyle skills and to train 300 in leadership skills and in becoming peer health and lifestyle advocates. It also aims to expose 50 teachers or facilitators to skills in dealing with adolescent concerns and behavioural changes.
Dr. Samuels said the programme should reach at least 15,000 students who will be influenced to make healthy lifestyle choices by the students who will be trained in areas such as peer counselling, leadership skills, critical thinking, HIV/AIDS in our environment, conflict resolution, human sexuality, self management and drug awareness.
The students will receive training up to December 2004 while they also develop educational but entertaining material to compete for prizes through 'edu-tainment' competitions such as cheerleading, dancing, debating and deejaying, through to March 2005.
