Life Concern Organisation and Operation Bobbi Bear

In 2011 Life Concern Organisation worked with Operation Bobbi Bear (OBB, see: www.bobbibear.org.za) on a research project called the EduToy.

EduToy trainingOBB is a South African NGO that focusses on (sexually) abused children: finding a safe haven for them, making sure they get psychological and medicinal support and ensuring justice is served. For this task they work closely together with the local SA authorities and community. They have two methods to work with their audience: the bobbi bear and the EduToy.

The Bobbi Bear is a bear used in individual cases of abuse. It makes it easier for children to talk about what happened to them. Have a look at the following film to get an idea how it works: http://youtu.be/MVAnxdI-7gU

The EduToy is used to address groups of children. It is an interactive presentation using puppets to explain to children how the HIV/Aids virus works. It also functions as a means of assessing larger groups (20, 30 and up) on the existence of abuse. The EduToy gets two main messages across: HIV/Aids is spread through bodily fluids, so don't touch it AND if you're abused tell someone you trust and get to the hospital for PEP treatment.

LICO director Peter Gondwe presents the EduToy in class with a volunteerThe EduToy method works perfectly in South Africa. What OBB volunteers and researchers Geertje Postma and Dennis Ringersma wanted to know, is if it works just as well in other African cultures so that the program can be exported from SA to other countries. LICO was more than willing to cooperate as (sexual) abuse and HIV/Aids are big problems in their area as well. In two weeks the LICO staff was trained to present the EduToy and give information on the situation around HIV/Aids and abuse in Rumphi for the research. More on the results of the research in Rumphi can be found through the following website: www.edutoy.wordpress.com