In September 2022 the Wonderfully Made curriculum will have become a part of the educational program of the Hope schools in Ethiopia. Together with our partner Woord & Daad and Hope Enterprises, we made a constructive train the trainer plan that includes:
- Online training for the Hope staff and a consultant (Nov-Dec 2021).
- Training of a small group of Hope teachers from all branches and gather input for the contextualization process (Jan 2022).
- Contextualization process (Febr – May 2022).
- Training of 35 Hope teachers (June 2022).
The training sessions of the Hope staff and consultant have taken place with a spirit of collaboration on both sides to serve the educational context of the country as best as possible.
I found the “Wonderfully Made Curriculum” to be well designed and relevant. The topic of relationship and sex education is discussed from a Christian worldview. What impressed me the most is the sensitivity and understanding of the trainers for a need to have a cultural context. The respect they have shown to the Ethiopian culture and readiness to adopt the changes is worth mentioning. The “Wonderfully made curriculum” in its contextualized form will help the young generation to be more responsible and God fearing citizens.
- Yonatan Tekie (country director Edify, consultant in the project)
Any school in the world hopes that the children and young people will find their place in society. The Wonderfully Made curriculum equips teachers to prepare them, so that they:
- Recognize and appreciate themselves as a boy or girl, created by God.
- Are able to make wise choices and show protective behaviors in accord with the Word of God, despite the brokenness caused by sin.
- Are able to connect to others in healthy relationships of love and faithfulness.
Children are not matured enough to know their environment and people around them. Therefore the school should arrange persons who behaved with a God fearing personality. By so doing (with full confidence) in addition to what has been said, children:
- Are empowered to develop their self-esteem.
- Are able to easily identify suspicious situations to be cautious for taking action.
- Worede Berhanu (Hope AA manager)
An essential part of the project is to bring in the cultural and contextual aspects of Ethiopia. Terminology, habits, experiences and stories need to be elaborated into the Hope’s own WM curriculum.
The current WM Curriculum topics, terms and stories should be adjusted according to Ethiopia’s culture and context, and made age appropriate as well. This will help to properly implement and to avoid any confusion.
- Gashaw Tefera (child care and sponsorship expert)
Additional tool: During the train the trainer, but also later on, a learning app is used, which we call the Wonderfully Made app. Participants receive, among other things, inspiration nudges and set personal learning goals that the trainers coach on.
Wonderfully made is a teaching curriculum for sexual education with Christian values. Several editions are available for primary education, secondary education and special education.
Wonderfully made has been developed with a holistic approach: it addresses sexuality, relationships and the development of protective behaviors throughout the curriculum, focusing on biblical values and norms.
For more information, visit our website: Wonderfully Made
