Training children for future peace-loving citizens

Working with children to ensure they are peace-loving citizens when they grow up is key to World Vision, primarily through teaching them how to have healthy and better relationships in their homes and communities. 

This year, WVSI adopted the Gudfala Life approach through its Faith and Development Programme and worked with a few communities in Honiara. 
Gudfala life is a Sunday School and Sabbath School tool produced by World Vision Vanuatu. WVSI adopted it and liaised with the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (MERHD) to contextualise it to the Solomon Islands context. The main focus is on teaching children how to have healthy and better relationships with each other and in their homes and communities. The book contains Bible Stories that illustrate how to have good characters and values, and also has many activities to help children understand the values they learn.

Importantly, through its strong partnership with churches, World Vision has taken the opportunity to promote this book to Sunday School and Sabbath School teachers. The programme also supported them with stationeries that helped their teaching more resourceful. The book is available for those interested in using it in their Sunday and Sabbath schools. 

This program is part of Faith and Development outcome 3 - of the project, which aimed at rolling out the book at Christian Care Centre (CCC) and any other churches that have shown interest in using it.
Among two others, the Taba'a community in Honiara is one of the first communities in which the programme was rolled out. The community Sunday school has recently completed the book. On Thursday, 20th October 2022, WVSI and the Taba’a community Sunday school celebrated this achievement in an event hosted at the community church hall.

A 14-year-old, Anneth, testified the tool had helped them to learn about the importance of having better relationships with other children. 

She said the tool helped them explore the meaning of Bible stories and their life application. 
The other two communities that Gudfala Life, currently implemented in are  Mt. Horeb Community, and Christian Care Center in - Tenaru. The project looks forward to rolling it out in other communities in 2023.