Brazilian co-ordinator on

European fact-finding trip

With the launch of Zippy's Friends in Brazil barely five months away, Co-ordinator Tania Paris recently came to Europe to see the programme in action.

She travelled first to the UK and, with two colleagues, attended a training course for English primary school teachers in the city of Southampton. Then she went on to Lithuania, to visit kindergartens running Zippy's Friends in the capital, Vilnius.

And, despite the obvious differences between Brazil and the countries she visited, the trip left Tania feeling optimistic about the prospects for Amigos do Zippy.

The Brazilian programme will start in Greater Sao Paulo, the country's largest city, with 15 million inhabitants - more than four times the entire population of Lithuania!

'We really need this type of programme,' said Tania. 'At the moment in our society there is a lot of focus on escape - drugs, violence, the things that happen if you run away from your problems. The young people who get involved in these things are getting younger - they used to be 18, now they're 14, even younger. Zippy's Friends teaches you how to cope with problems, not just to run away.'

But was it really helpful for Brazilian trainers to attend a course for teachers in England?

'Yes, we appreciated it very much,' said Tania. 'The way to work is different - English teachers are much, much more formal than Brazilian ones, that's for certain! - but the issues are the same.'

'I appreciated very much the method of training. Instead of delivering speeches and lectures, you let people realise the power of the programme through discussions and role plays.'

In Lithuania, where Zippy's Friends is expected to help almost 7,000 children in the 2003-04 school year, Tania wanted to know the secrets of success. She met staff and consultants of Vaiko Labui and was impressed by the way in which people from different backgrounds co-operate.

Tania Paris (center) with Aurelija Okunauskiene, Director of Vaiko Labui (right) and Ruta Petrulionyte, (left)

But the highlights of Tania's trip were her visits to Lithuanian kindergartens, where she was able to see children taking part in Zippy's Friends.

'To see the children interacting was amazing,' she said. 'Every time the teacher asked one question, they could think of ten answers - and then still they were looking for one more! This is just beautiful because they are learning from each other. When they add an answer, they are adding to the group and to themselves. That will come back to them in real life as they search for another solution, another option, another way of coping.'

By the time Tania headed home, she felt she had a much deeper knowledge and understanding of the programme.

'There are things you cannot imagine just by knowing the theory,' she said. 'Now I'm much more confident. We have a lot of challenges, I know that, but I'm very optimistic.'

Zippy's Friends is a school-based programme that teaches coping skills to six and seven year old children. Teacher training in Brazil will start in March next year and classes will begin in April.