14-year-old girl enlightens public on Parenting Without Violence

^{Mammie and her peers having a radio discussion on Joy FM in Kailahun October 2022. Photo Credit; Malam Moi, Save the Children}

In October, 14-year-old Mammie Swaray took over the airwaves to enlighten the public on benefits of Positive Parenting. The one-hour long program was broadcasted for two days in Kailahun, Kenema and Kono district by Joy fm.

On the 17 and 18 October, Mammie hosted peers on a radio discussion program to let the public understand why Parenting without Violence is so important. Children had the chance to talk about physical and humiliating punishments faced by millions of children in homes and communities around the world.

The children dedicated the first half of the programme to the Parenting without Violence approach and how it can be adapted in different contexts. This was followed by feedback session from callers from all three districts.

Most applauded the idea, but argued that in as much as it would be nice to give the idea a try, it is almost impossible to do parenting without violence in their communities and context.

The children encouraged callers to try some of the ideas in the approach.

“To accept and start practicing the approach is always tough. Even with us at Levuma (a village in Kailahun), some parents still think the approach will make children turn bad. Some who decided to give the idea a try are seeing good results,” Mammie said

Parenting without Violence is a common approach by Save the Children that is being incorporated in our protection programmes.

Mammie and her friends started promoting the idea after they learned about it through participation in a safe space supported by Child Early and Forced Marriage project funded by Global Affairs Canada in Kailahun.  These radio programs will now run every month.

 Added to the radio program, the children are also involved in community engagement where they share Parenting without Violence and other child protection related ideas with parents and community members to create homes and communities where children are safe and free from violence.