Over the years, World Economy skills and Agro Development-WESAD has been working with children, mentoring them and creating safe spaces that operates innovative after school programs to mentor girls to advocate for themselves and make their communities stronger
Mainstreaming the My Body Is My Body Program within WESAD’s girls clubs has been an additional factor towards bettering the lives of our girls. Singing the program’s songs and acting has been fun amongst participants.
Given that the rate of child abuse keeps increasing in Cameroon following the Anglophone crises, children have been caught in the midst of separatist fighters on one hand and the forces of law and other on the other hand.
With the assistance of dynamic mentors, participants have learn that the private parts of their bodies are special and no one has the right to touch or hurt them. They have also learned to decline help from strangers and to love and respect one other.
“My Body is My Body Program” initiated by Chrissy Sykes to prevent child abuse has also been so enriching to these mentors who always have children at their disposal to guide them through the right paths. Mentors on their part have learned how to
- Teach children sex education in a simple way that they can understand and without feeling uncomfortable
- That children like any other group of people have face some challenges and it’s always important to endeavor to follow them up and encourage them to share their problems that they can better have a solution.
- The My Body is My Body program has also assisted them to better relate with kids by listening to them more and also that love can be express through reading, writing and playing.
Listening to stories from participants about how they turn down offers from bike riders has been a great indication of practicing the My Body is My Body songs. Bike riders in Cameroon are fun of offering children free rides that most often than not leads to rape. But today, My Body is My Body songs keeps echoing in their minds when they come across suspicious situations and they easily overcome.