Education Canada Project #25331

Inspiring Virtues Globally

by Virtues Project International Association

Project Report | Sep 24, 2018
CHANGING THE WORLD - VIRTUES PROJECT IN SCHOOLS

By Verona Lucas | Manager Global Giving VPIA

Teaching Virtues in School

Newspapers, you tube postings, TED talks and many other information sharing communications are asking for virtues – honesty, truthfulness, justice, respect, and trustworthiness – are the virtues most often looked for.

In the past these were modelled by parents and teachers so children grew up just ‘knowing’ how to behave, but as societies have been overwhelmed with materialism these qualities were replaced with greed, jealousy, then uninhibited violence despite the call for ‘human rights’. There are cases where ‘human rights’ have been interpreted to mean you can do anything without consequences and ‘freedom of speech’ means you can use any words that come to mind without fear of reprisals.

Schools in many places in the world are using The Virtues Project to change the culture of the students and teachers and making a difference in the world. Stories come from Australian, New Zealand, Fiji, Canada, USA, African countries as to the impact that using the Virtues Project 5 strategies is having on the school, not only making it a peaceful place for students and teachers but also producing great academic results.

Schools in Fiji were introduced to The Virtues Project in 2003 with the Ministry purchasing 1,000 copies of The Educators Guide and many teachers were trained to use the 5 strategies with the Virtues Project Fiji. The headmistress of Adi Cakobau School near Suva actively supported the use of TVP getting prefects trained and the sports mistress using TVP with her students to the degree that for many years no other school could beat this school on the sports field. Only when there was a change in the teacher who did not follow with TVP were they beaten. Recently the teachers have returned to using TVP and again the school is unbeatable.

In Kenya a project to improve water supply for a school which included teachers being trained as virtues project facilitators not only got the water system secured but changed the way the school functioned so that the children came to school instead of staying away, parents learned of the virtues project and this influenced the entire community so that a recent report explained that they had a virtues club which has become a role models making our Guidance and Counseling Department very effective and lessened their work. Mwiyenga has become the most child-friendly school.

Furthermore where a community has committed to using the Virtues Project they explain that they have developed economic development projects from working together with the Virtues Project. They continue to practice the Five Strategies of The Virtues Project. Members say they appreciate the power of Speaking the Language of Virtues and find that this makes them unique within their residential areas. All members attest to the POWER of the Virtues Strategies, as they have experienced a true change in their individual lives.

Poultry farming is one of the community development projects that all groups are involved with to help create economic sustainability in their lives. The poultry structure project continues to be challenging as no group has managed to raise enough of the required funds. All groups are still committed to this income generating project as they have continued fundraising.

Following the signing of the MOA with Christian Partners Development Agency, Vihiga has actively joined the other community development groups that are ongoing. After the training in the Five Strategies of The Virtues Project, the Vihiga group were trained in TableBanking and joined the existing groups. On Saturday, 18th August 2018, all the groups met at Mwiyenga for a refresher, including virtues, table banking, and other activities. Guiding and training, highlighting and using Virtues Cards, is proving to be successful for all groups and impacts positively on their families.

In Tanzania: What we have learned:

For assistant teachers (non-professionals or on job trainees) and new teachers, more time is needed to learn new concepts and change mindsets toward discipline. Since there is a close link among TVP, Child Development (CD) and Child-Centered Teaching (CCT) methodology, teachers’ understanding of CD and CCT helps with the application of TVP to avoid giving unrealistic assignments, tasks or using an irrelevant approach in teaching that will cause children to misbehave.

Teachers’ understanding of the impact of their service as promoters of community well-being, helps them look at their service differently, more seriously and become more receptive to the application of TVP as it becomes more relevant.

Parents/guardians engagement in the progress of their children and an introduction of TVP to them is crucial for the wider and bigger success of the program to avoid confusing the children with a different approach towards discipline at schools and home.

There is a need for more regular sessions to assist teachers to overcome different challenges they encounter in applying TVP in their schools.

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Jun 26, 2018
You Are Making A Difference

By Valerie J Hess | Project Leader

New School Uniforms

Sometimes it is hard to really know how your giving actually makes a difference in the short or the long-term. So, I thought I would share examples of how, by giving to this project, You Are Making A Difference today and over the course of time.

Mwiyenga Primary School in Kakamega Kenya is now able to support students with school uniforms and lunches when their families are unable to provide them. A benevolent kitty, established by the teachers "for the special needs of teachers and students as they strive as a community to care for one another with compassion," received a significant boost. Teachers are excited to have funds to purchase virtues materials for their classrooms. Parents are grateful to learn that the poultry project now has much-needed funding. Once established, poultry farming will help sustain the school and local community. Your generosity is reciprocated as teachers, parents and students practice and share the Five Strategies of The Virtues Project in their homes, school, community and beyond!

Virtues Project Fiji provided training for women held at Uto Village for Uto and Nawaqadamu women in 2009. The project goal was to provide parenting skills by introducing the Five Strategies of The Virtues Project. The aim was to build family unity. At that time many children dropped out of school due to peer pressure, teen pregnancies, and lack of support from home for their education. Many positive changes have taken place as a result of the parent training nine years ago. The women in Nawaquadamu and Uto villages made significant contributions to village development and economy. These changes made it possible for them to provide academic support and encouragement needed by their children. Increasing numbers of children are now attending higher education at the university. Some have graduated and are working in a variety of fields, ie, banking, nursing, public service, and business.

Thank you for your idealism and charitable giving. Bringing The Virtues Project to the World donations make it possible for Virtues Project International Association to support both short and long-term projects led by our facilitators and Friends of VPIA all over the world. You Are Making A Difference today and toward a brighter future for all!

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Apr 2, 2018
From Violence to Virtues

By Valerie J Hess | Project Leader

Dan, Linda and John 2005

Did you know that the seed of The Virtues Project™ was planted on Easter weekend, 1988 when Linda Kavelin Popov, her husband Dr. Dan Popov and brother John Kavelin were discussing the state of the world over brunch at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia Canada? Deeply disturbed by a school shooting that had occurred, three family members were compelled to act in response to the growing violence of children toward others and themselves.

They believed that violence is a symptom and meaningless is a disease. They spent the summer discerning, "What would give children a sense of meaning and purpose?" They discovered that virtues are at the heart of meaning in every culture and belief system, from indigenous oral traditions to the world’s Sacred Texts. Having found a common ground-the agreement that virtues are important, they decided to write a parenting guide based on virtues and strategies to nurture the growth of virtues.

From 1989 until 1991 they were busy writing. In 1991, the founders launched The Virtues Project™ program in Canada. Based on their book, The Family Virtues Guide: Simple Ways to Bring Out the Best in Our Children and Ourselves, they provided parents with tools for spiritual and moral growth in order that they raise strong families. Word got out and the response was overwhelming! Within 2 months The Virtues Project™ spread by word of mouth to twenty-two countries!!

They quickly discovered that The Five Strategies of The Virtues Project™ have universal application in any setting from home to the classroom, in the workplace and the community.

In 1995, they published The Virtues Project Educators Guide: Simple Ways to Create a Culture of Character to provide educators with the tools to create caring, respectful and safe school communities. Responding to the needs that are plaguing our schools requires a focus on changing the cultures of our homes and schools. The Five Strategies of The Virtues Project™ are the tools.

The Virtues Project™ has been introduced in over 110 countries due to the initial work of the Founders and continues now through the ongoing work of facilitators and Virtues Project International Association, dedicated to Bringing The Virtues Project to the World. Master Facilitators and Facilitators from around the world provide workshops, training, and materials for parents, educators, leaders to create cultures of caring and respect, moving communities From Violence to Virtues. Globally, teachers report that implementing the Five Strategies of The Virtues Project™ provides:

a positive approach that greatly reduces discipline problems
strategies for staff and students to communicate more effectively
effective responses to eliminate bullying behaviors
classroom management tools
strategies that promote respect and caring in the school community
a positive environment that increases students academic achievement
results that engage parental participation

Where children feel safe and respected, learning is possible. Safe and caring school communities foster the spiritual and moral development of their children. Sadly, in the US we have had many debates on the value of funding character education in our schools and whether moral development should occur outside of the home. Of course, the moral development first begins at home, as parents serve as the first teachers of their children; and we believe it follows that educators, powerful role models, share that responsibility once our children enter the school environment.

The Virtues Project can be implemented as a prevention, intervention and/or healing program. We have been called to help schools heal after shootings occur. With your help, we will be there sooner to prevent school shootings from happening at all.

Your support of Bringing The Virtues Project to the World helps our world move from violence to virtues providing parents, educators, and children with powerful tools to create happy and healthy homes and schools, where cultures of caring and respect nurture positive social, emotional, academic, spiritual and moral learning that benefit everyone.

Your continued financial and social support ensures that Virtues Project International Association and our facilitators continue Bringing The Virtues Project to the World! We thank you for your idealism, to make a difference and your charitable giving which helps sustain us. Like us on Facebook! Please share this report with your friends and family.

Dan, Linda and John

Links:

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