A Chara,
Ireland for young people today is very different to the Ireland of 20 years ago. It is increasingly difficult to monitor what information our children receive because of the variety of media outlets that now exist.
- Television is no longer a few nationally controlled channels, there are hundreds of options many of which originate in countries that have very different values to our own and which are completely outside of our cultural influence.
- Email and the World Wide Web play a big part in our lives and the lives of our developing children and even if you have all of the safety controls in place, the sheer extent of the information available can very easily lead to confusion and misinterpretation by our youngsters.
- The mobile phone phenomenon has swept across the island with the clear advantage of greater accessibility of communication for all, but sadly bringing with it opportunities for bullies to target their victims through text and video.
- Even within our own historical culture we have a strong ongoing link with alcohol use. Every social event from birth to marriage is traditionally celebrated with drinking and even death is marked with the consumption of alcohol. Our sporting traditions also seem to be inextricably entwined with the alcohol industry.
With all these forces in play from very early in their development it just doesn’t make sense to wait until our young people reach their teens before we start the process of talking to them about the detrimental effects of drug and alcohol misuse. What we need to do is to instigate the concept of self care and personal health awareness at a very early age. At Kerry Life Education Ltd. we start programmes with children as young as five. With the children, we explore basic health and hygiene such as washing their hands, brushing their teeth, what they eat and drink, taking care of themselves etc. We also help them to start thinking about how best to cope with peer dynamics and bullying. In this way we sow the seeds for future development of these basic concepts.
As they grow older we increase the content of the programmes, building upon what we have already covered. We don’t preach; we encourage young people to develop their knowledge and understanding of issues through interactive teaching techniques such as puppetry and role play and also through audiovisual supports. Sessions in the mobile classroom are great fun and so the children have a really positive experience which encourages them to hold on to much of what they’ve discovered.
By 4th and 5th class we are starting to find out what the students already know about drug/alcohol use. They may know a surprising amount but their knowledge can be inaccurate and distorted. Through interactive activities and dialogue we are able to explore and add to that knowledge and encourage accurate and helpful understanding. The students will have experienced the previous Life Education programmes with us and so they already have an awareness of how different foods etc can affect the way that their bodies work. Therefore understanding that drug and alcohol use can have a detrimental effect upon the way that they perform both in work and play is a natural progression, and this will have a positive influence on the choices that the students make regarding drug and alcohol use, as they grow older.
Kerry Life Education Ltd. was set up as a joint venture between the South Kerry Development Partnership Ltd. and the Killarney Town Council. Research carried out by both groups, confirmed rising levels of alcohol and substance misuse amongst young people throughout the county, which was clearly a matter of serious concern. The two groups decided to pool their resources and look at the most effective way of making an impact on this worrying and increasing problem. Using the research that had been carried out, they identified a great need for increased early education and prevention provision, and began to explore alternative programmes on offer internationally.
They discovered a very effective internationally recognised system called ‘Life Education’. It was first established in 1979 in Australia and it offered interlinked, holistic, age appropriate social personal and health education programmes (including alcohol/drug misuse prevention) to children and young people. It was exciting, innovative and interactive and would also be a powerful support to existing social personal and health education, as defined in our own national curriculum. It was widely employed internationally with over 3.5 million children in 15 countries participating in and enjoying the benefits of Life Education.
In order to fully evaluate the system, the Killarney Town Council funded and commissioned a Life Education trial in Killarney in June 2001. The pupils of 9 Killarney schools visited a Life Education Mobile Classroom over a three week period. It was a resounding success. The favourable response from students and their parents, principals & teachers and the local community encouraged the Killarney Town Council and the South Kerry Development Partnership to act.
A specific company, originally named South Kerry Life Education Mobile Ltd., was set up in February 2002 to bring the project to Kerry. The Company name was later changed to 'Kerry Life Education Ltd.' in July 2006, following a decision by the Board to purchase another mobile classroom and extend the service into the whole of County Kerry.
We continue to receive great support from a wide range of organisations and individuals in order to help achieve our goal. The School Principals and Teachers, Students and their Parent’s, the Churches, the Gardai, the Local Authorities (Killarney Town Council from the outset, Kerry County Council from 2004 onwards, Tralee Town Council from 2007 onwards and Listowel Town Council commencing 2008), Chapter 23 of the Irish League of Credit Unions, Development Organisations, Voluntary Organisations, Corporate Sponsors, the General Public and many others have put their shoulders to the wheel to assist us. Substantial fund-raising is ongoing and we are indebted to those whose financial contributions made purchase of the first Mobile Unit possible and whose donations help to ensure the continuation and development of the service.
The first visit of the Kerry Life Education Mobile Classroom took place on February 16th 2004 and up until October 2007 we were visiting over 7,500 students annually in South and East Kerry.
Following much development work involving community representatives from all areas in Kerry during 2005 / 2006 a decision was made to extend the service to the entire county. We secured €115,000 funding from the National Drug Strategy Team through the Southern Regional Drugs Task Force and this funding, together with other donations, made it possible for us to purchase a second Mobile Classroom and employ & train our new Educator, Mary O'Donoghue. Mary started delivering programmes to North and West Kerry schools in early October 2007, adding to the work already being carried out in South and East Kerry by our Senior Educator, Seamus Whitty. This development means that we shall now reach over 15,000 primary school students annually. The visits are enthusiastically received by children, their parents and their teachers, and the important follow up work by the teachers, indicate that the children absorb a huge amount of knowledge from the carefully prepared, and professionally presented, age appropriate programmes.
Minister of State Pat Carey TD formally launched our extended service on January 11th 2008 with the following words: ‘Kerry Life Education was set up as a joint venture between Killarney Town Council and the South Kerry Development Partnership. In doing so, both organisations have displayed the kind of joined-up thinking that can have an immense impact on local communities. I am wholly in favour of this type of approach and I’d like to congratulate both groups on their achievements in Co. Kerry. I firmly believe that any resources put into our children and young people will be repaid many times through the future well being of our communities and society in general.’
In a previous statement to the Dail in November 2007 Minister Carey had said: ‘We need to heighten awareness of drug misuse. One of the best campaigns I have seen is in County Kerry, the Kerry Life Education for project. It has two mobile units that travel to schools in the county under the aegis of the Regional Drugs Task Force.’
In addition to our direct educational work with young people we host an annual National Conference in Killarney, concerning Substance and Alcohol misuse. Our 2010 conference will be held at the Europe Hotel and Resort, Fossa, Killarney on 7th / 8th October. Please go to our conference page for the latest information on this event and for information concerning previous events.
Kerry Life Education service makes a significant contribution to the future health and well being of our children by helping them to make healthy choices. It is a remarkable project and is a prime example of what can be achieved when communities focus their energies and work together.
Mise, le meas
Chris Barrow
Project Manager