From Student to Storyteller

 Sitting in my seat among the 17 other girls at the Macha Girls Secondary School Peace Club, I began the session by asking the class a simple question. “Have you ever bullied or been a bully at this school?” Perhaps in fear of judgment, they all quickly shook their heads; no. However, as a female myself who has endured through those formative, yet painful years of high school, I have come to the conclusion that no place can be void of the malicious behavior girls can so easily inflict on each other. The student’s anxious faces were not doing much to convince me either, but I bit my tongue as we dug into the Peace Club curriculum lesson called “Bullying.”

 We began by breaking down the term bullying into 4 types: physical, relational, cyber and verbal. As we delved into each of these, the simple and over arching word bullying became increasingly more specific and relatable. Although, it’s easier to stand from the sidelines and categorize others as “the big bad bully” since you’ve never actually thrown a punch at a fellow classmate, it takes a lot more courage to admit the subtle things we all do on a daily basis that hurt others. So I prodded them with simple questions, and I shared some experiences of my own.  And all of a sudden, the room quickly transformed into an open forum on bullying. It seemed as if every person had a story to share about the mistakes they have made as an offender, or the pain that they have endured as a victim.  I marveled at the way a once quiet classroom could be so willing to share and indulge in the supportive community around them. Especially, on a topic which is makes each person so vulnerable.

More and more, I am seeing the ways that Peace Clubs acts as an outlet for people to not only share their story, but to feel like that story matters. By creating an atmosphere for students that encourages freedom of speech, we allow the opportunity for students to see the change needed on their own terms. When each student can look around the classroom to see others nodding their heads in agreemen,t or sharing similar stories of their own, they can’t help but feel like their life and experience has the power to change others.  Each student becomes their own storyteller, and through that, they can begin to see the change that is needed in themselves, rather than through fear inflicting lectures and punishments by authority figures. After telling her story from years of being a bully, Mapuwo Chip, a member of Peace Clubs comes to the realization, “Peace clubs teaches us not to find the bully, but to find the root cause of the bullying and then find the solution. It also teaches us not to remain the same, but to change.”  Similarly, Daphne Chimmkaam, the president of Peace Clubs at Macha Girls says, “Before I joined the Peace Club I always thought I could bully people who are younger than me; because,  I thought I was big, but all I got was hatred from all my mates”

Peace Clubs feeds the innate desire every person has to express themselves.  Whether it be through the story telling and dramas we had in that Peace Club session, or the testimonies each student wrote to us; we are placing value to their thoughts and opinions. This will be invaluable to each of them as they grow and develop as members of their community. Daphne concludes, “Peace club has taught me a lot. It has taught me how to live with my friends and family (sic), it has taught me the right way to express my feelings. I believe that we are going to promote peace in our families and communities and at large the nation”