PESHAWAR, May 30: The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has prepared a manual for teaching various skills to boy scouts and girl guides with a view to addressing the problems and issues faced by teenagers, sources told Dawn on Monday. Unicef’s education and child protection officer Mukhtar Aziz Kansi said the life skills programme 2004-2008, which would cost about $70,000, would create awareness among young people about many issues. He said the manual which would be used by trainers to impart skills had been approved after a thorough review by stakeholders.

Established five months ago by Unicef, the Youth Resource Centre (YRC) is coordinating between Unicef, the Girl Guide Association and the Boy Scout Association.

YRC coordinator Afshan Naz said 10 skills would be taught to boys and girls in the age group of 14-19 at summer camps which would be set up in Abbottabad and Peshawar from June to August.

A survey was conducted in the NWFP sometime ago to find out the needs and the level of understanding of the youth. The manual had been prepared keeping in mind the results of the survey and local culture and social environment, said Ms Naz.

Entitled ‘Essential life skills for adolescent’s health and development’ the manual includes issues like know-how about self-awareness, empathy, coping with emotions and stress, communication skills, interpersonal skills, critical thinking, creative thinking, problem-solving and decision-making.

A group of five master trainers will be trained in the first two weeks of June who will train scout masters and teachers so that they could impart skills during the summer camp. About 7,000 boy scouts and 3,500 girl guides would benefit from the adolescent education programme, Ms Naz added.

She said in the first year, young boys and girls would be taken for peer education. After the completion of the life skills programme, youths from Peshawar district would be monitored. Youth clubs would be established in schools wherever possible to teach these skills to other students.

The manual was reviewed more than once to erase sensitive words. The manual contains topics like Convention on the Rights of Child, rights of an adolescent in Islam, prevention from drug addiction, protection from abuse, awareness about diseases such as hepatitis, TB and HIV/AIDS. The youth will also be taught skills to live a healthy life and to make them sensitive regarding health and hygiene.

Verses of the Holy Quran are also included in the manual to persuade the youth that Islam gives them every right and it’s not something adopted from the West, said Ms Naz.

The idea behind teaching skills to young people was that instead of getting involved in unhealthy activities, they should utilize their energy for the welfare of the people, Ms Salma, a master trainer at the YRC said.