1

Activities for tutor time & PSHE Key Stages 3 & 4

Ikmatu is 16 years old and lives in the Marbella slum in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone.

The Ebola outbreak reached Freetown in the summer of 2014 and the virus spread rapidly through the city’s slum areas. YMCA Sierra Leone used funding from Red Nose Day to organise a life-saving health education programme, informing communities how to protect themselves from Ebola. Hundreds of young people like Ikmatu were trained as peer educators and carried out dangerous, difficult work – visiting families and explaining good health and hygiene practice.

The Ebola crisis was declared over in November 2015, by which time nearly 4,000 people had died in Sierra Leone. Since then, Ikmatu has continued to work for her community by keeping the streets clean and educating people about hygiene.

Watch our inspiring short film about Ikmatu with your class and choose from the suggested activities to explore the issues it raises.

To empathise with the life of a young person in Africa and explore similarities, differences and diversity among people of different race and culture.

To express opinions and ideas through group discussion and debate.

To learn how to access local health services and obtain health information, advice and support.

To explore the role peers can play in supporting one another.

Film: ‘Ikmatu’s story’ from rednoseday.com/secondaryresources

Activity sheet: ‘Ebola in Sierra Leone: facts and figures’ on page 4.

Film: ‘Talking to Ikmatu’ from rednoseday.com/secondaryresources

Activity sheet: ‘Where would you go for advice?’ on page 5.

Internet access for the activities ‘Ebola in Sierra Leone: facts and figures’ and ‘Health information and advice’.

Learning objectives: What you will need:

2

Activity ideas

15mins

Moving images

Watch the film ‘Ikmatu’s story’ with the students (you can find this at rednoseday.com/secondaryresources).

Ask them to think of words to describe Ikmatu (e.g. brave, positive, happy, proud, strong, powerful, motivated, hard working). How do they feel about what young people are doing and have achieved in Sierra Leone?

Talk with students about how they too can change lives in countries like Sierra Leone. They may not be able to save lives directly, as Ikmatu has, but they can enable her work to continue by raising lots of money this Red Nose Day.

30mins

Ebola in Sierra Leone: facts and figures

Talk with students about what they learnt about the Ebola virus from watching the film. Do they know how it spread? What was Ikmatu doing to try to prevent the spread of the disease?

In small groups, ask students to complete the ‘Ebola in Sierra Leone: facts and figures’ activity sheet (they will need internet access to carry out research). Which facts and figures do they find most surprising? How do they think that Sierra Leone’s socio-economic context affected the outbreak?

Talk with students about what they feel helps them to understand the Ebola crisis best – factual information like this, or Ikmatu’s story?

Debate: community matters

Ikmatu put her desire to protect her community before her own safety. In her words: ‘The community is not just mine, it belongs to everyone so I think everyone should come and work and be part of this so the younger children will have a future.’

When asked to offer advice to young people in the UK, Ikmatu said:

‘Young people in the UK should hold their community with both hands because that’s all they have and if they should lose it, they won’t have another community again.’

Do your students agree with this statement?

Organise a debate on the motion: ‘Individuals should always put their community first, even at risk to their own safety.’

Choose one student to act as chairperson then split the rest of the class into two groups: one ‘for’ the motion and the other ‘against’. Give students time to research and prepare their arguments.

If you’re completing this activity in tutor time, run it over two sessions – one for research and preparation; the other for the debate.

Pick and choose from the following activities to develop students’ understanding of the issues raised by Ikmatu’s story and why they are going to raise money this Red Nose Day.

Why not complete a range of them, building up to your own class fundraising activity in Red Nose Week?

1hour

3

Activity ideas

15mins

Talking to Ikmatu

Watch the film ‘Talking to Ikmatu’ with the students (you can find this at rednoseday.com/secondaryresources).

Ask students what they found most striking about the conversation between Farrell and Ikmatu. Were they surprised by anything? What questions would they like to ask Ikmatu if they had the chance?

30mins

Health information and advice

Ikmatu played a vital role in educating her community about how to avoid spreading the Ebola virus. Ask students to imagine what it would have been like living in the Marbella slum during the Ebola crisis. Why would living in a slum increase the likelihood of Ebola spreading? What advice would Ikmatu have been giving people living in her neighbourhood?

Since the crisis has come to an end, Ikmatu has continued her work to keep the local community healthy. Which organisations and individuals do this in the UK?

In small groups, ask students to complete the ‘Where would you go for advice?’ activity sheet (they will need internet access to research some of the facts).

Share the information as a class. What do students think would happen if the UK faced a crisis like Ebola?

15mins

Peer education

Talk with students about peer education that goes on in your school. Do older students help younger pupils with reading? Is there a mentoring scheme? Do you have prefects and if so what do they do? Do students lead assemblies?

Ask students whether they think peer education is effective. Why?

Fundraising action

Has finding out about Ikmatu’s life inspired students to raise more money for Red Nose Day?

Talk with the class about possible fundraising activities you could organise. Could you run a break time bake sale? A tombola? Take on a sponsored challenge?

If your school already has activities planned for Red Nose Day, why not spread the fundraising out? Organise your class activity for earlier in Red Nose Week, or even for the week before.

30mins

4

Ebola in sierra leone: facts and figures

1. Schools in Sierra Leone were closed during the Ebola Crisis from July 2014 to April 2015. What school year were you in during this period? What would you have missed out on if you hadn’t been able to go to school?

2. 12,023 children in Sierra Leone lost one or both of their parents to Ebola. How many students are there in your class? How many times that number lost a parent in Sierra Leone? What particular problems will this create in a country where almost half of the population is under 18?

3. In Sierra Leone, $1.4 billion in GDP (gross domestic product) was lost because of Ebola. Research the GDP of Sierra Leone in 2013 and work out what percentage of this amount was lost as a result of the Ebola crisis. What do you think the impact of this would be?

4. The average fatality rate for the Ebola virus is around 50% (that is, 50% of people who contract the virus die). Why were people so scared of the virus?

5. Ebola is spread by direct contact with the blood, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials (e.g. bedding, clothing) contaminated with these fluids. List five measures that you think could be taken to reduce the risk of spreading the disease from human to human.

5

Where would you go for advice?

Can you list five helpful sources of information and advice on each of the following health-related issues? Try to include individuals and organisations.

Issue Sources of information and advice

Mental health 1.2.3.4.5.

Sexual health 1.2.3.4.5.

Substance use and misuse

1.2.3.4.5.

Cancer and other illnesses

1.2.3.4.5.

Exercise 1.2.3.4.5.

6

Children’s rights

Adapted from the Child-friendly Version of the Universal Declaration of Human RightsComic Relief, registered charity 326568 (England & Wales) and SC039730 (Scotland). Photo credits: Lucille Flood. RND17_190.

Article 19

Children have the right to be protected from being hurt and mistreated, in body or mind.

Article 28

Children have the right to a good quality education. They should be encouraged to go to school to the highest level they can.

Article 24

Children have the right to the best health care possible.

Article 31

Children have the right to play and rest.

Article 32

Children have the right to protection from work that harms them and is bad for their health and education. If they work, they have the right to be safe and paid fairly.

Article 20

Children have the right to special care and help if they cannot live with their parents.

Article 17

Children have the right to information from TV, radio, newspapers and the internet. These media should provide information that children understand.

Article 37

No one is allowed to punish children in a cruel or harmful way.

Article 27

Children have the right to food, clothing, a safe place to live and to have their basic needs met.

Article 8

Children have the right to an identity – an official record of who you are.