Kidpower Lebanon

Zeina Hobeish, Kidpower Lebanon Director

Kidpower Lebanon was established in 2010 by Psychotherapist Zeina Hobeish to provide safety education skills to children and adolescents from ages 3-18, their caregivers, and specialists who work with children. Our center in Lebanon provides a variety of training packages, awareness and coaching sessions, counseling services, and advice to community-based organizations, schools, and community members. We deliver Kidpower’s tailored workshops for caregivers and professional in Lebanon and in the region.

Through Zeina’s leadership, Kidpower has impacted thousands of people in the region. Zeina has translated the Kidpower Teaching Kits into Arabic and is advising an educator in Saudi Arabia who is launching a national movement to stop child abuse about how to use the Kidpower program in her work.

Child development harm is preventable by giving the adults the essential information to build a protective environment, in which children are protected from violence, exploitation and abuse. As a clinical psychologist working for more than 10 years with needy and maltreated children who are suffering from domestic violence, I was searching for a practical and efficient method to empower the kids to keep themselves safe without scaring them. I was very impressed by the effectiveness of Kidpower method in teaching people to protect themselves with a very friendly way and high respect for diversity. I had the chance and the opportunity to bring Kidpower safety skills to my country and our region in the Arab world.

~ Zeina Hobeish, Kidpower Lebanon Director

Testimonials

“I thought that being severe is a good thing that will make children stronger. But no, it is the contrary; there should be moral support, communication, dialogue. The child should tell me everything that happens to him, and I should make him feel that what he says is true.”

“I learned that children should be able to tell, to inform us, and not to be afraid. No matter who the adult is, my child should not be afraid of this person but should be able to tell someone who is not acting safely, ‘No!’”

“I intend to teach my friends what I’ve learned, rather than just gossiping when we have coffee together.”

~ Comments from parents after Kidpower classes in Lebanon

Irene van der Zande, Kidpower Executive Director and Founder

Kidpower Personal Safety Skills for Children Workshops

Is non-explicit and non-threatening comprehensive curriculum; aims to reduce children’s vulnerability, increase self-confidence and to improve assertiveness.

The curriculum is designed around 5 themes:

  • Acting with Awareness, Calm, and Confidence to avoid potential danger.
  • Protecting themselves from words that hurt to stay safe with feelings.
  • Staying safe with people they know and with strangers.
  • Dealing with bullies, emotional pressure, intimidation, and bribery to prevent and stop abuse and exploitation.
  • Getting help and being persistent in getting help.

Children face challenging situations every day at home, at school, in their communities, and on the Internet. The People Safety Skills workshop can be conducted separately for children or separately for parents or for children and their parents together.
Target groups: Children from 3-12 years and parents
Duration: 1 or 2 days

Kidpower People Safety Skills – Educators Workshop

For educators who work directly with children from age 3 to 12 years. Participants will receive hands-on experience in 12 lessons (50 – 60 min each) where they will learn how to deliver the curriculum to their students. In role playing from real-life scenarios, participants will be practicing situations where they learn that all children have the right to feel safe at all times; they learn safety strategies through multiple skills; they learn how help children to become more responsible and caring for themselves; and how to react when threatened behaviors or situations occur.

This workshop teaches participants how to encourage children practicing prevention strategies into a broader context of living, with their parents, family, and friends.

Target group: educators

Duration: 3 days (21 hours)

Teenpower Personal Safety Skills for Young People Workshop

This program empowers young people to build safe and positive relationships with people everywhere they go. This program enable adolescents to know about available support, to understand how to report, and how to feel comfortable seeking help.

  • Acting with Awareness, Calm, and Confidence
  • To identify and avoid abusive relationships.
  • To manage risky situations.
  • Healthy Boundaries with people
  • To detect and manage bullying, peer pressure, abuse, or other unwanted behaviors.
  • Assertiveness Skills
  • To make requests, ask for help, and to be assertive insist that your rights be respected.
  • To overcome the fears and self-depreciation.
  • To react effectively in problematic and threatening situations.

Target groups: adolescents from 13-17 years and parents
Duration: 2 days (14 hours)

Teenpower Personal Safety Skills – Educators Workshop

To develop an advanced level skills to make a powerful and positive difference to young people 13-16 years. At this deeper level, participants learn about attitudes and relationships that have the power to positively impact youth to stay safe in their communities and our wider society.

Target groups: educators

Duration: 3 days (21 hours)

Specialized Workshops

–       Sexual Assault Prevention for children with Disabilities (One day)
–       Safety for Kids Ages 5-11 together with their parents or caregivers (One day)
–       Kidpower Starting Strong Workshop for ages 3-5 with their adults (One day)

Psychosocial Support training

This training is a group program conducted in schools, therapeutic settings, and community organizations for children, ages 6-18 and adults who have been previously victimized. This program helps participants to better recognize and manage the basic symptoms of psychological distress. Participants are taught effective and positive skills which can help reduce the risk of further abuse.

Professional workshop

The purpose of this training is to provide all staff, volunteers, counselors, and leadership with a clear understanding of how to recognize, reduce, prevent, and report suspected sexual abuse.Participants will learn about the warning signs and symptoms and how to respond appropriately to suspected child abuse. This program can address the aftermath of child sexual abuse with specialized treatments and therapy programs and serve an important role coupled with education and prevention efforts.

Target groups: Social workers, psychologists, health care providers, counselors.

Duration: 2 days (14 hours)

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