Mine Risk Education in Schools
UNICEF funded puppet plays in primary schools dramatize the danger of mines and spell out UXO. Performed by the Genesis Project, the content is synchronized with the BHMAC mine risk education policy. Traditional mine risk education, often adapted from military briefings, can be sterile, dull and inappropriate for squirming six year olds with short attention spans. In contrast, puppets offer opportunities for interaction and spark imagination and creativity, while holding children’s attention.
While puppet theatre has been a stunning success and remains a core activity for the Genesis Project, UNICEF has encouraged them to reach out to older children, aged eight to 12 years, who are able to engage more intellectually and directly in mine risk education/mine action. From 2003 to 2005, Genesis Project selected some 20 students of all grades at each of 40 schools and engaged them in 12 interactive peer education workshops, using games, discussions, stories and creative drawing, over three months. The children were also given a booklet answering frequently asked questions and told that whenever they could not remember something, the booklet could act as their “Bible on mines”. These sessions not only helped pupils to understand the dangers of mines and to behave cautiously, but also taught them how to communicate this to other people – especially their classmates. At the end of the course, the peer educators made a presentation of what they had learned to their classmates and were encouraged to pass on the message to parents, family and friends outside of school. This method actively involves children in the education of each other, thereby increasing their self-confidence, competency and sense of responsibility. By answering the questions of their peers, they are disciplined into learning the material properly and asking questions themselves. For example, the Genesis Project tested 192 peer educators on their knowledge of mine risk before and after attending the workshops. In the baseline exam the average score was about 43.2%; in the final exam it was 98.1%. The Genesis Project cannot be in every school at once. Therefore, with UNICEF encouragement, it has recognized the importance of training teachers to continue mine risk education throughout the school year. By 2005, the Genesis Project had trained 1,200 teachers with UNICEF funding. Looking at the school curricula, Genesis Project staff found that most pupils received no more than one class session – 45 minutes – of mine awareness each academic year, often from teachers who themselves were not well-informed. This is far from sufficient, so The Genesis Project has sought ways to mainstream mine risk education across the curriculum. They began holding workshops for teachers, giving them the basic message and brochures with sample lesson plans. They then had teachers brainstorm, with others from their discipline, ways to integrate mine awareness into other classes as well.
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