Heroes Foundation Energises Youth to End Violence

The mission of the Heroes Foundation, a local NGO targeting youth, is to be a source of inspiration to T&T’s young people by fostering an appreciation of local achievers and the concept of heroism, while nurturing the next generation of heroes from the current generation of youth. 31 secondary schools across the nation have partnered with the Spotlight Initiative and Heroes to create 45 awareness campaigns focused on targeting misinformation and harmful ideas about GBV, abuse and harassment and promote gender equality. Projects included spoken word, skits, dance, and poster campaigns.

A team of 12 coordinators and facilitators have worked with over 500 local and migrant children and youth to implement the programme through workshops over the course of 6 months. These workshops are participant-centred and use creative engaging means of talking about and teaching difficult subjects and challenges that participants may encounter in their daily lives. Over the course of the Heroes Spotlight programme, several findings have been revealed, which reinforces the importance of the programme and giving children and youth a space to safely be heard. One such finding is that children and youth are too often silenced by adults when they speak up about things that make them feel unsafe or uncomfortable or if they talk about violence and abuse that they see or experience. 

Heroes has also found that children and youth’s lack of knowledge creates space for misinformation and abuse. Working in tandem with the previous finding creates situations where they do not speak up because they believe they cannot get help, or even that they do not deserve support. A related significant issue that was revealed during workshops was the misunderstanding or lack of understanding of sexual consent with minors. Several male and female participants of the programme shared the view that sexual acts and activity with adults are okay if they consent, even if they are a minor. Many did not know that this is illegal, and the topic received much debate with a spectrum of views. These findings point to the need for continued and reliable education and information for children and youth, balanced with spaces for them to be honest, share their perspectives and speak about issues that affect them.

The Spotlight Heroes Programme directly addresses these problems, and more, by empowering children and youth to demand lives free from violence and abuse, self-protect, and lead interventions in their schools and communities targeting problems they experience.