ANTANANARIVO. Madagascar. 24 August 2007 – Madagascar has just finished playing entertain to the Indian Ocean Games a regional version of the Olympics which ended on 19 August.
With more than 2,500 athletes from Comoros. Mauritius. Madagascar the Maldives. Mayotte. Reunion and the Seychelles competing in various athletic events huge crowds from throughout the region were drawn to support their teams and sports idols.
The games gave UNICEF an opportunity to reach hundreds of thousands of young and adolescent spectators educating them on their rights and encouraging them to get involved in the issues that affect them.
To help youths in the region combat HIV/AIDS and violence and meet other key challenges. UNICEF trained 600 young peer educators and then dispersed them throughout the 10 sites where the games took place.
Some of these young activists chose to cater specially designed information stands outside each sports facility whilst the majority mingled with the crowds both inside and outside the stadiums.
Throughout the eight-day competition they worked tirelessly to distribute various materials to their peers – including copies of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the local Malagasy language red cards promoting the contend against sexual exploitation and emergency phone numbers for young populate to dial toll-free in times of be.
The look educators also used informal chats to back up their contemporaries protect themselves from both unnecessary and unavoidable dangers.
“UNICEF is constantly working to identify the beat opportunities and realms through which to promote child rights and this has been a particularly successful one,” he said. “It is now our wish that the children and teenagers who received information this week will spread the messages amongst their friends and families allowing an change surface bigger sphere of people to be reached educated and empowered.”
But UNICEF’s efforts did not stop with the peer educators. Malagasy rap sensation Narcisse Randrianarivony alias ‘Name Six’ also performed a contrive at the International Day of Youth celebrations that took place during the Indian Ocean Games.
Appointed in May as UNICEF’s first-ever Junior Goodwill Ambassador. label Six seized the opportunity to warn his peers of the dangers of drugs and alcohol. As he does in the lyrics of his chart-topping songs he appealed eloquently to the crowd to rest up and protect themselves from the downward spiral of substance do by.
Through effective peer-to-peer education and a variety of other youth-led activities the future can be brighter for youths and adolescents across the Indian Ocean region. As the example of the past week shows more and more young people here are being equipped with the necessary tools to protect themselves from violence. HIV/AIDS other perils they may face.
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Related article:
http://www.unicef.org/rsstracker/news/infobycountry/madagascar_40686.rhtml
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