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WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT
We need funds to translate and adapt Operation Respect’s music and materials for implementation in South Africa.
In the last five years ABC Connects has partnered successfully with schools in South Africa to explore and utilize community resources in the cause of creating a school that truly works for its students. Recently, ABC Connects connected, as one might expect, with Operation Respect to offer a social and emotional component to strengthening schools and now has identified a total of five South African schools that have invited us to work with them.
OPERATION RESPECT is an organization working to assure each child and youth a respectful, safe and compassionate climate of learning where their academic, social and emotional development can take place free of bullying, ridicule and violence. Founded by Peter Yarrow of the folk group Peter, Paul & Mary, the organization disseminates educational resources that are designed to establish a climate that reduces the emotional and physical cruelty some children inflict upon each other by behaviors such as ridicule, bullying and-in extreme cases-violence. It is a unique organization that provides a gateway to broad scale adoption of school-based character education as well as social and emotional learning (SEL) programs.
The program for schools is called “Don’t Laugh at Me” from a song by Steve Seskin and Alan Shamblin, one of the songs that is foundational to the program. The program is offered in a Teachers Guide for all grades and is supported by professional development for teachers and other educators.
So, as we said, we need funds to translate and adapt the existing materials for the South African Xhosa speaking community. With your support, we’re ready to go!
ABC Connects uses schools as a community resource, ABC Connects works with schools and other education stakeholders to develop a network of school-based interventions and development programs that will provide youth and their families with support and services to enhance the cognitive, social, and emotional development of young people. ABC Connects will coordinate the translation process as well as co-plan the implementation of the project.
Operation Respect has a siginificant track record in implementing international projects. This South African Project will be informed by the work that Operation Respect has done and continues to do in Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and Ukraine where the program was translated into Arabic, Hebrew and Ukrainian respectively.
ABC Connects, has worked with two South African schools for the past five years where it successfully implemented its community schooling framework. Three additional schools are now onboard for the “”Don’t Laugh at Me” program, bringing us to a total of five schools to begin the implementation process.
THE TEAM
Carol Gorelick Executive Director ABC Connects
cgorelick@abcconnects.org
Nomsa Mazwai Project Coordinator
nmazwai@abcconnects.org
Mark Weiss Education Director of Operation Respect
mweiss@operationrespect.org
WHY PLEDGE
Initially, we will produce an MP3 of the “Don’t Laugh at Me” song in Xhosa, then complete the “Don’t laugh at Me” album of five or more songs to be used by the schools. Finally, should we exceed our target, we will translate the workbooks and program materials into Xhosa and Afrikaans.
