As Mentors we provide the:
1. Time
2. Plan
3. Encouragement
4. Discipline and Guidance.
TIMEWe meet with the kids on our program once a week as a group but every child has access to the mentor 24/7.
During the Lock down due to Covid 19 we are offering a global virtual mentorship program every Saturday on Zoom from 10:30 am eastern time to 12:15 pm. We have a different adult or Child guest speaker every Saturday and from their stories kids learn life lessons or life kills.
PLANWe have a program with home work ideas that we use to keep our kids engaged while we are away from them. Every week during the lock down we are asking every kid to share a picture of something from their country e.g. a food, a landscape, family, personal drawings and share with the group and then we share those on our social media. We also have a question for the day based on our guests topic of presentation.
ENCOURAGEMENTIt is very important for everyone to be praised for work and effort put in to improve themselves or work put in for others. We are careful not to praise for just talent but for choice of behavior.
DISCIPLINE AND GUIDANCENot every child or teenager will follow rules be it at home, school or in the community. We have to be able to guide the child back into the right direction without making them feel hopeless. We offer the kids a two week guided humanitarian trip to Kenya where they learn respect of culture, value of a dollar, the joy of giving and how to be grateful for everything they have.
WHY VOOCVoice of Our Child (VOOC) is an international foundation focused on engaging the world, especially the youth, in maintenance of the biggest human resource that is, their minds. We have the ambition to open an office in each country in the world, but currently the foundation is operational in the USA. Voice of our child was created to educe the rate of depression and suicide by offering mentorship to children 6 to young adults.
At voice of our child we just don't educate or talk about the signs and symptoms of depression, anxiety and mental illness which is fantastic. We offer mentorship and educate our Children through life skills lessons about avoiding anxiety and depression and how to handle life's challenges that might bring about anxiety and then depression or suicide ideation.
FACTSSuicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in teens 14 to 17. Anxiety, depression and mental health as a whole has been something that we as a society shy from talking about. Until lately mental health is not a topic from the pulpit or teachers and yet it should be. Kids as young as 9 years old are committing suicide.
The founder Dr. Caroline Verkaik, alongside her team, work to use mentorship as a means of curtailing the rates of suicide and depression on a global scale. It is a journey prepared to help shape the psychology of tomorrow’s leaders with an all rounded curriculum. The balance is also found in the participation of parents in the journey with their children.
STIGMA AND TREATMENTA lot of people are dying in silence for fear of the stigma that comes from suffering from mental illness.
People who suffer from depression are the most lonely people who can't avoid but keep to themselves due to their illness and lack of drive that comes with depression. A lot of individuals suffer from side effects of some of the medications they are on to treat their mental illness. A large number give up on life from the physical, emotional pain brought about by their illness.
A lot of young children shy from seeking help because they don't understand what's going on in their life. Our teens self medicate with drugs and alcohol for lack of knowledge on what to call or handle what they are experiencing. Each individual should have a voice that is valid and with a ready listener, we offer the platform for acceptance and teach the value of expression. Join us today, we offer our hotline for emergencies to each country where you can talk to the founder herself or a professional.
HOW WE DO ITWe go into schools or communities and offer our services to same age groups and same sex in groups of 10. Each group is assigned a mentor who works with these particular group through out the year. Our programs covers different areas of each child’s growth and is suited to meet the needs of kids at each level of their growth. The program gives each child a solid foundation as they grow and helps them in making smart decisions. This program guarantees to walk with every mentee and ensuring they stand out among their peers. At Voice of Our Child, we want to help train an undefeated mind. Prone to experience life stresses, but well equipped to have practical discernment and critical thinking to apply for different challenges. We use a meticulous curriculum designed to support children up to transitioning adults from the age of 6 to 18 years old.
During Covid we are doing virtual zoom summits every Saturday from 10:30 am to 12:15pm .The first hour the guest speaker get's to know their audience. Every child introduces themselves name. age, the country they are zooming from and then they answer the question of the day of the day the next one hour and fifteen minutes from 11:30 am to 12:15 pm the guest speaker of the day starts sharing and we go live on our Voice Of Our Child Facebook page to allow parents and relatives to watch.
OUR MENTORS.The mentors are a dedicated team who have different backgrounds but with a passion for morality and guidance. They meet children in groups or home visits and embark on creatively instilling positivist and supplement the role of parenthood- it takes a village to raise a child.
The narrative has to change, the equilibrium that VOOC strives for is a lifetime approach that not only aims at easing depression on individuals, but also celebrating the achievements of life, our rites of passage, where cohorts support each other and have a shoulder to lean on for what lies ahead.
SOCIETYSociety is structured as a fundamental agency that ought to bring out the best in each and every of its inhabitants. This fundamentalism is fairly relative when comparing different countries, but how the mainstream structure is set in the contemporary world comes at a high price.
We have developed a demanding system that has created so much pressure; to earn a living, to feel accepted, be educated and stand out from everyone. These pressures create an orbit, and sometimes, when one is ill-equipped, you are pulled out of it.
Firstly, we accept that this is the world we live in, suicide is rampant and relatively normalized. Depression to those who have never experienced it personally or through their surroundings, is like a white noise in the background.
Surprisingly, depression is still being stigmatized by the same society that cultivates it. We are all the same and each one of us has an equal opportunity to thrive and succeed if we put the effort and discipline required to stand out.
The World Health Organization (WHO), highlights that in every 40 seconds of the day on a global basis, a life is lost to suicide.
The USA charts social media with condolence photos of such inspiring and adorable children lost to suicide from bullying, sexual assaults, depression, feelings of neglect and the philosophy of ending life just because of a mistake. These reasons are homogeneous, but manifest themselves differently among cultures, age groups and other variables.
TEENS SPONSORED MISSION TRIP.The process targets the youth and children, as this is the largest population globally, and the one most affected by suicide and depression from day to day stresses from different avenues externally and internally. Children are made to feel significant in the society when organizations or individuals offer to sponsor some of these teens on a humanitarian trip to Africa for Community service. Humanitarian work is encouraged as it has proven to change the life of many troubled teens by making them realize that they have impacted the world in a remarkable way and by helping others they help themselves.