Hot off the heels of their successful carnival and #onemillionsmileskuwait campaign, the most positive NGO in Kuwait is doing it again.
The Alnowair group have just launched their latest outreach program. Kuwait’s first anti-bullying program for schools. Using two interactive plays that were performed by Year Six students at the New English school to help prevent bullying and promote kindness. And we totally get it! Bullying can be terrifying when you are a young child in school. And while telling the teacher is always an option, changing the environment so it doesn’t happen in the first place is a much better one.
Boomerang, the very cleverly named campaign because what goes around comes around, uses creative drama therapy to change kids’ behavior. Seven-thousand students in 14 private schools will learn how to rise above bullying over the next academic year. It is not a traditional solution where the students are lectured or taught that bullying is bad.
The students of New English School (NES) took part in four rehearsal workshops to understand bullying as a problem and the use of kindness and role-playing to counteract it. An eye-for-an-eye approach is ineffective when it comes to verbal or physical violence. Acts of kindness however are very effective and cultivate an atmosphere of compassion and friendliness that helps everyone move towards a safer and happier environment. It makes us feel very hopeful for the future. These students will take this new attitude to their homes and eventually universities and workplaces.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BiPGnTOBjXn/?taken-by=al_nowair
Alnowair’s founder and CEO, Sheikha Intisar Salem Ali Ali Al Sabah, officially launched the program herself at NES her alma mater. She said “Bullying is prevalent in many schools in Kuwait and it can severely affect the academic grades, school attendance, personality development and health of students. Our program is the first of its kind to give bullies, victims and by-standers an opportunity to work together through the creative medium of performing arts to find effective solutions to bullying. Alnowair is always responding to community needs to create positive social behaviour change, and I am very proud to see over seven schools joining the program to shape a future generation of confident, compassionate students.”
Mentorship is part of the program too. Successful role-models from the program’s sponsors Zain Kuwait – the main partner, and EQUATE Petrochemical Company, will be providing guidance to students in the anti-bullying workshops.
Alnowair is a huge champion of positivity, and they want sustainable, long-term and measurable change. The plays are supported by educational tools, projects and kindness songs for students. By providing the community with the right tools, change can and does happen. In the Boomerang program they will be surveying students, teachers and parents to make sure they stay on track.
For more information on what Alnowair do and their other campaigns follow them @al_nowair on Instagram.
Image courtesy of Alnowair.
