Dare to Be Different is a girls mentoring programme developed to guide, educate and impart values to adolescents and teenagers, by equipping them to make responsible choices at various crossroads in life, in order to build healthy families, and communities and countries free of HIV and STDs.
The purpose of Dare to Be Different programme is to address the need for value based sexual health education among adolescents. It not only addresses the issue of HIV/AIDS prevention, but looks at building foundational values in young people’s lives. In a world, where teenagers are learning about sexuality through the media or from their peers, the program was designed to help parents, teachers or care givers struggling to discuss taboo issues with teenagers. It uses value based material to supplement biological information.
In the networks in India, it has been used in conjunction with helping girls feel safe and empowered. This short video shows some of the impact and interviews with some of the girls who have taken part in the course.
The Dare to Be Different Course was developed out of an initiative called Nirmay (which means decision in Hindi) by the NGO ACT (the Association for Christian Thoughtfulness) in Mumbai. It is aimed at 12-19 year olds and includes 10 one-hour sessions.
7 Core Principles form the basis of the programme:
- Discover God’s power and Love
- Remember you are unique (develop a healthy self esteem)
- Follow your conscience (listen to your inner voice)
- Choose your friends wisely (How your friends can influence you)
- Follow your dream, focus on your purpose (have a life mission)
- Filter the truth (develop the capacity to discern right from wrong)
- Make right choices (know that choices have consequences and exercise self control)
These Seven Core Principles are introduced at the beginning of the course. These principles are then woven into 9 remaining lessons which deal with the issues of self esteem, peer pressure, puberty, friendship, love and dating, premarital sex, STDs and AIDS, media, having a purpose for life and choices.
Viva’s partner networks train adult volunteers from network projects to run the sessions with girls. As well as delivering Dare to Be Different lessons, the trainers act as mentors for the students, providing support and advice if required, beyond the classroom.
We track students’ progress through a psycho-social assessment of girls at the beginning and end of the course.
Viva has produced resources to accompany the course including a manual comprised of lesson plans for ten teaching units or modules, which should be run sequentially. Each lesson includes challenging information, real life examples and anecdotes and every lesson has a set of activities (demonstrations, role play quizzes and games) to reinforce the lesson. Each student is also given the opportunity to explore and re-examine their own attitudes through a worksheet that accompanies the lesson.
If you would like to find out more about Dare to be Different, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us on (+44) 1865 811 660 or info@viva.org
If you would like to give to this work, click here and choose the option ‘Unlocking the Potential of Girls’.
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