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Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Liz Waid.
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And I’m David Bast. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand - no matter where in the world they live.
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A group of children sit together. They are answering mathematics problems. The children test each other, to give the answers faster and faster. Many children in the world learn this way. So what makes these children special? They are living in Somalia - one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Today’s Spotlight is on these children, and the new school programs helping them.
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Somalia is in the northwest of Africa. It is one of the poorest countries in the world. Somalia is also one of the most violent countries. The country has been fighting a civil war for around twenty years. Because of this war, there is no government. Many groups have tried to govern the country. They want to gain control and power over the people of Somalia. But no group has succeeded.
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The people of Somalia live lives of uncertainty. Poverty is high. It is difficult to get an education, or good health care. Sometimes families must separate for safety. Often children are left as orphans with no parents. They have no family to care for them.
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In the northwest of Somalia, there is a small part of the country called Somaliland. This area is the only stable, safe place in Somalia. There is a small government there. There are schools, and health care.
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But even though it is safer, the people there still suffer from the effects of war and violence. Poverty is high. And this causes many problems for children and families. Violence is common in families. And often, children do not get enough to eat.
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These kinds of problems also cause problems at school. They make it difficult to learn. The children may have bad behaviour. Some students also stop coming to school because they do not want to do the school work. They do not understand the importance of education.
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Teachers may not think about all the struggles the students are facing. They often punish students strongly for bad behavior. For example, if a student misses school, the teacher may hit the student with a stick as punishment. This does not make the student want to come to school! Instead, the student may avoid school even more.
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Sabah Ismail Ali is a social worker in Somaliland. She helps children and families with emotional problems. Her job is to protect children who have difficult lives. She is also trained to understand the emotional reasons some children behave badly.
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She saw the problems these schools were having. She knew that many children had major problems at home. She decided to work to make a change for these children. She worked with several organizations to start school clubs – small, fun groups at school for students. These clubs were started in four main schools. The students in these schools were from families with the most problems from the war.
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They started first with the teachers. Teachers were trained to speak to students with kindness. Instead of punishing a student, a teacher would ask the student questions. The teacher would try to understand the problems a student was facing. The students then felt safe talking to their teachers. The students were not afraid of bad punishments.
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Next, they started three separate school clubs for the children. The environment and sanitation club helps clean and care for the school. They water plants, clean toilets, and clean up after students. The culture, sports, and arts club has events like football games for students. The awareness-raising club is where students learn about important issues like hygiene and health.
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Students enjoyed the clubs and wanted to be a part of them. As students became more involved in the clubs, they missed school less. They were having fun in the clubs. And they enjoyed coming to school.
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Ali explains the success of these clubs to IRIN.
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“With these clubs, there have been less students missing school. There also have been better teacher-student relationships. Students now come up to a teacher and explain a problem. They could not do this before.”
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These clubs helped 2,500 school-children. Because the clubs were so successful, many other schools wanted them too. In some schools, students started clubs themselves. They did not wait for teachers or other adults to start them.
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In Nasa-Hablood Primary School, students started Child-To-Child clubs. Each class chooses a student leader to represent them. This small group of leaders do many things. They talk about student problems with teachers. They give jobs to the many clubs. They also organize events for all the students.
The clubs have planted trees in the play area. A different student brings water each day for the trees and plants. Toilets have been fixed. Each week a different group of students cleans the toilets and classrooms. One club even invited a doctor to come and teach the students about sicknesses. The doctor talked to the students about how to stay healthy.
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These Child-To-Child clubs also make sure students stay in school. If a student misses school, the club will go and talk to the student. They will help the student to see how important education is. A religious leader may come with them to talk to the family too.
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A student, Muse Mohamed, told IRIN about when the student leaders came to his house.
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“There were some bad friends who said there was no point to education. I did not think about it. I just stopped coming to school. Instead, I did nothing in town. Then these people from the Child-To-Child Club came and talked to me.”
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He said that soon, he understood that without an education he would have no future. Mohamed is now back in school and doing well in his studies.
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Now there are many school clubs around Somaliland. Some meet to talk about peace. Some meet to keep their schools clean. Some meet to compete in tests. Some meet to talk about problems at school. All of these clubs are changing the difficult lives of children in Somaliland for the better.
Voice 1
The writer of this program was Johanna Poole. The producer was Joshua Leo. The voices you heard were from the United States. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. You can find our programs on the internet at https://www.radioenglish.net. This program is called ‘School Groups in Somaliland’.
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We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.