Three days dedicated to first aid, safety, puberty and self-care as part of the “Nurturing Hope” project.
Learning how to take care of oneself and others means developing skills that can guide children and young people throughout their lives.
At Balo’ English Medium School, as part of the “Nurturing Hope” project, three days of activities were dedicated to first aid, safety, puberty and personal hygiene during growth and development.
The programme was tailored to the different age groups.
For children from Nursery to Grade 7, the focus was primarily on how to respond to minor emergencies: staying calm, moving to a safe place, asking an adult for help and intervening only when it is safe to do so. Questions, demonstrations and practical activities helped the children turn simple concepts into concrete actions.
For students in Grades 8–12, the programme combined first-aid training with topics related to puberty and growing up. Discussions explored physical and emotional changes, the importance of personal hygiene and self-care, as well as respect, self-awareness and knowing when to ask for help. Through questions and “Myth or Fact?” activities, students were encouraged to discuss these subjects openly and clarify doubts and misconceptions. Students in Grades 8–10 were also encouraged to put together a small first-aid kit for their homes, bringing what they had learnt at school into their families and everyday lives.
One day was also dedicated to parents, because healthy development does not take place at school alone. The discussion focused on communication, active listening, hygiene, emotional support and the role adults play in guiding children and adolescents through the changes that come with growing up.
The active involvement of students, teachers and families made the programme much more than a series of lessons. It became an opportunity to learn how to recognise potentially risky situations, care for one’s own body, respect the bodies of others, and understand when — and whom — to ask for help.
This is one of the aims of Nurturing Hope: not only to meet the daily needs of the children and young people at Balo’ English Medium School, but also to provide them with the knowledge, awareness and practical skills they need to grow into more independent and confident adults.
Supporting Nurturing Hope also means investing in exactly this: education, prevention and skills that can make a lasting difference.
This virtuous model — combining daily meals, education for life and community development — is a concrete reality that takes shape every day thanks to donations and, in 2026, also with financial support from the Waldensian Church’s Otto per Mille programme.
