(For Our Homeland ... We Protect Our Children)
Awareness Campaign Targeting the Community of Zulfi In Celebration of The International Child Day. An awareness campaign (for our homeland ... we protect our children) was launched on Tuesday 29/2/1438 until Thursday, 2/3/1438 to address the protection of children from violence and abuse. The campaign aimed at raising awareness of the reduction of violence and abuse of all kinds and forms of abuse, cruelty, neglect and exploitation against children, contributing to their protection and creating a safe school, home and community environment for their growth and sound upbringing in which they have the right to care and security. This can be achieved by addressing the issue of violence, its manifestations, causes, types and characteristics of perpetrators; ways of discovering and preventing that violence as well as its psychological and physical effects on children, their personality, and future in addition to its impact on their families and societies at large. Among the objectives, children were trained on self-protection and safety. In line with the principles of the Convention on the Rights of children, the campaign drew some guidelines on the importance of implementing awareness-raising programs for children to help them protect themselves from violence. Furthermore, the campaign included awareness visits to children and to those responsible for the education and care of the children at primary schools and kindergartens i.e. (3) government kindergartens, (3) elementary schools, and some classes of special education (classes of integration). It also included visits to mothers, new mothers, children at outpatient clinics and to women and children at Al Zulfi General Hospital. Some awareness tours targeted a few mothers at the local community in open areas as well. A portfolio of tips was presented containing several publications and brochures on ways to protect children from violence and abuse, children's rights in Islam and international conventions. The campaign included several sections, programs, presentations, educational stories, scientific lectures, instructional videos, puppet theater, training workshops that aimed at training children to protect themselves from abuse besides a few educational theater performances by a group of college students under the supervision of a multidisciplinary executive team of faculty members- Dr. Salwa Ali Hamada, Dr. Jihan Farid Saber, Dr.Eman Hamdy Hamouda--specializing in mental health and special education; guidance and counseling, curricula and methods of teaching kindergarten children. A seminar on violence and abuse against children (causes and prevention) was held at the Zulfi Education Department in the Women's Sections. More than 50 teachers, leaders, school administrators and a group of women leaders in education headed by Assistant Director of Education for Girls' Education in Zulfi attended the seminar, which was presented by Dr. Mona Tawakol. The seminar recommended the activation of the community partnership and the provision of joint awareness programs and awareness campaigns.
