UNICEF-South Sudan collaborated in the development of the Adolescent Kit beginning in 2013, and since then has implemented the Adolescent Kit young people’s psychosocial wellbeing and development of competencies through its child protection and nonformal education education programmes.
Today, UNICEF-South Sudan uses the Adolescent Kit with adolescents ages 10-19, especially those formerly associated with armed forces and groups, IDPs and vulnerable groups with a focus on stateless, separated and unaccompanied adolescents, adolescents with disabilities, and adolescents at risk of and survivors of gender-based violence. It is also used to reach South Sudanese adolescents who are refugees in Sudan and are currently out of school and in alternative learning programmes.
Through the Adolescent Kit, UNICEF-supported programmes in South Sudan’s schools, youth groups, community centers and child-friendly spaces have helped adolescents better cope with challenges, build their self-esteem, and protect themselves and others by expressing their views without violence or aggression and promoting social cohesion in their communities. By learning to identify their strengths and weaknesses and focusing on what makes them feel valued and confident, adolescents have become positive role models for others.
UNICEF and its partners have found that the Kit provides a crucial resource to strengthening UNICEF’s programmes with adolescents, especially to ensure the continuum of services in a protracted humanitarian situation. At a time when adolescents may feel frustrated and hopeless, building their capacity and providing them with meaningful engagement opportunities has brought adolescents a sense of value and worth to their lives. It also allows them to be perceived as agents of change rather than as threats.
UNICEF South Sudan continues to expand, contextualize and integrate the Kit in its overall programming with and for the South Sudanese adolescents and youth. UNICEF’s ongoing work with the Adolescent Kit includes building capacity of staff and implementing partners in the practical implementation activities and approaches, and in developing action plans and roadmaps to use it through programmes and services. In upscaling the Adolescent Kit efforts, UNICEF South Sudan is exploring its use in cross-cutting areas such as gender, disability, adolescents and youth programmes that would respond to the different issues identified in country, such as conflict, flooding, food and nutrition insecurity, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, UNICEF South Sudan has also utilized the Adolescent Kit by integrating it as part of the mental health and psychosocial support package for adolescents. The adolescents found that the games and activities in the Adolescent Kit gave them a sense of hope, increased their decision-making skills, and innovation which made it easier for them to participate and built a sense of camaraderie among their peers.
Learn more about UNICEF’s work in South Sudan. This link takes you to an external site.
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