Using Animal Care to Promote Empathy in Children

On May 26, 27, and 28, I James Tsabedze (Vusumnotfo) together with Simon Mamba (SAWS) visited the 3 primary schools within Mshingishingini chiefdom - these being Mshingishingini Nazarene, Ekujabuleni and Phophonyane Primary Schools (combined enrollment of 1,244 students). 

In each presentation, we went through the basics of animal care. After that, I asked students three key questions - 1) Have you seen someone kick a dog at your home? 2) Have you kicked a dog at your home? and 3) How do you feel when you are hit by an adult? It is really sad to see how many hands went up after question 1 and 2. 

However, this gave us the opportunity to discuss the link between these three questions.  It may seem unusual for people who grew up with pets but in Swaziland people are pretty harsh with their dogs, so this seems normal to young children. 

These sessions gave us the opportunity to raise awareness that the "normal" behaviour many of these children see towards animals can be inadvertently reflected in their lives in ways that are not positive. Our aim is that with this awareness, children can break the chain of mimicking violent behaviour towards living things. 

On May 21 I also shared the project message with 60 community preschool teachers who attend in-service training at Vusumnotfo.  These teachers can help the 1,344 young children attending their preschools to develop positive attitudes and behaviour towards animals. 

We at Vusumnotfo feel strongly that this project has two benefits - that of the veterinary services, and that of the community education about animal care and how it relates to domestic violence.

Thank you so much for helping us pass this message around.