The Voice of Kids program is dedicated to gaining awareness of the traumatic experiences of young people growing up in and around Nablus under the present occupation. The program uses a political and psychological approach to build trust and restore confidence in our young people. The program combines all our work methods and beliefs in four distinct phases:
- the aim is to create an alternative and trusting environment within the group while giving the kids the opportunity to express their emotions and feelings and to reflect on themselves and on the others. During this stage, the members begin to get to know each other and try to identify the goals they will to aim for during the project. The hope is that the group will become friends and work on establishing solidarity and tolerance amongst each other. Whilst in the workshops, the group facilitators help the kids express their emotions and feelings by thinking and reflecting upon themselves and on the political and social situation which they live in.
- the Voice of Kids team learn how to take responsibility through the preparation of projects that are decided at the begging of the second phase. The children have to answer questions such as; what do you like? What dont you like? How can you change what you dont like? These questions empower the group to express themselves and to feel useful and helpful in their society. It achieves the goal of making the kids go past their frustrations related to the context of Palestine in order to build up a new and alternative way for making positive actions.
- during this third working phase, the kids became real young journalists. The group are supplied with the critical tools that enable them to analyze the media and news concerning social or political issues. This stage gives them the opportunity to interview the people around them to get other perspectives and gives them full responsibility for their own work. Through this process, the children are finally able to learn how to write precisely about their thoughts and emotions.
- the final stage represents the results of all the work done during first year by the Voice of Kids team. In the last few months, the team gathers the articles they have written and create a magazine in order to publish it. Cooperation is key when facing the many unforseen difficulties and problems that may appear in this phase, this is one of the fundamental capacities in the Voice of Kids team spirit. The magazine is the first physical proof for the children of what they are able to do. They show with pride all the work and endeavor of the whole year to their families, friends and relatives. Added to this, the Voice of Kids program spreads out their achievements, questions and thoughts to the local and the international community, letting their voices be heard all around the world.
