Expert Views

The recent rise in reports of missing persons in The Gambia, particularly children aged 7 to 17, is deeply alarming. This troubling trend is further compounded by increasingly frequent reports of armed robberies, some resulting in fatalities. These developments signal growing insecurity in a country long known as “The Smiling Coast of Africa,” a nation once considered one of the safest in the region.

Unfortunately, we lack a coordinated and effective national strategy to address these emerging threats. At the same time, both parents and school systems must do more to teach children essential life and safety skills. Many parents, overwhelmed by work and social responsibilities, are not taking the time to discuss protection issues with their children. In schools, the importance of equipping children with basic safety knowledge is often overlooked.

So how do we confront this rising threat to our children and communities?

The answer lies in Education for Protection and Wellbeing (EPW).

Education for Protection and Wellbeing

ChildFund’s Education for Protection and Wellbeing (EPW) model is designed to strengthen the ability of children (ages 6–12), caregivers, and educators to prevent, identify, and respond to violence against children (VAC). Implemented primarily through schools, the model fosters healthy development—social, emotional, and academic—while promoting positive attitudes toward gender and nonviolence.

EPW targets children aged 6 to 14 and focuses on four key components: children, caregivers, teachers, and the school-community partnership. Together, these groups work to:

• Strengthen social cohesion
  
• Improve teaching methods
  
• Encourage positive parenting
  
• Increase parental involvement in education

A key concern is that many children leave home without adult supervision. Parents and caregivers often don’t know where their children are, who they’re with, or what environments they’re exposed to. As a result, children are more vulnerable to threats because they don’t know how to distinguish between safe and unsafe situations—or between appropriate and inappropriate touch.

To safeguard themselves and others, children need a clear understanding of safe environments and basic self-protection skills.

What the Data Tells Us

In a recent survey conducted through the EPW program, 403 children were asked about abuse. Shockingly:

• 37.2% (149 children) did not consider touching, hitting, or pinching their genitals to be abuse.
  
• 84% (336 children) said their teachers would hit students for misbehaving.

These findings highlight how abuse has become normalized—and how rarely children are engaged in open, honest conversations about safety, sexuality, and boundaries.

We also see a lack of supervision during play and limited efforts to ensure children’s surroundings are hazard-free. Instead of guiding behavior through positive discipline, adults often respond with scolding, corporal punishment, or even mockery—inflicting emotional harm and missing opportunities to build resilience and self-awareness.

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and “Thousands of Hands”

As pioneers of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in The Gambia, ChildFund integrates SEL into the EPW program using the Thousands of Hands (ToH) approach. This evidence-based training supports teachers and caregivers in promoting positive parenting and violence prevention. While adults receive SEL and ToH training, children participate in classroom-based SEL and Self-Protection activities—including through an engaging comic book developed with support from Janella Nelson, Education Director at ChildFund International.

We train teachers in positive discipline, helping them establish classroom expectations through consequences that guide and correct behavior—rather than punish. The goal is to orient children toward better choices through collaboration, reflection, and support.

Discipline versus Punishment

Many still believe that “beating is the only way some children will behave.” But there is a clear distinction between discipline and punishment.

• Discipline comes from the Latin word disciplina, meaning “to teach or guide.” It is about helping children understand expectations and learn from their actions.
  
• Punishment, by contrast, instills fear, encourages dishonesty, and often worsens behavioral issues.

Discipline provides an opportunity to teach responsibility and repair harm, while focusing on restoring relationships rather than enforcing rules.

Children learn that:their actions have consequences, positive behavior leads to encouragement, and inappropriate behavior leads to corrective, not punitive, responses.

Children Protecting Themselves

Our weekly sessions with children focus on six key self-protection competencies:

• Types of Touch – Understanding safe, unsafe, and confusing touch.
  
• Assertiveness – Learning when and how to say “no” and ask for help.
  
• Unsafe Situations – Identifying risks and staying safe.
  
• Network of Trusted Adults – Recognizing who to turn to for help.
  
• Recognizing and Reporting Abuse – Knowing when something is wrong and what to do.
  
• Community Safety – Mapping safe spaces in their neighborhoods.
  

Looking Ahead

I firmly believe that the EPW model is one of the most effective strategies for ensuring both academic success and child protection. It creates safe, nurturing environments where children can thrive, and it calls upon the entire ecological community to play an active role.

We at ChildFund are committed to working with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education to scale up this model nationwide. As the first to implement SEL in The Gambia, we invite all stakeholders to join us in building a safer, more supportive education system where every child is protected, empowered, and prepared for the future.