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 A special programme in this unique series from the Community Channel and the BBC focussing on young people and the problems they’re facing. Sarah Falkland introduces the stories and meets some outstanding individuals and charitable organisations working with children and young adults across the country.
The children’s charity ChildLine has reported a disturbing increase in the number of calls it’s helpline has received concerning bullying. In the last year alone the helpline’s counsellors spoke to more than 31,000 children and young people about their experiences of bullying, making it the single biggest reason that young people made that call to ChildLine.
We meet Kayleigh Ball from East Sussex whose experiences at the hands of school bullies so affected her that she was withdrawn from mainstream education and tutored at home instead. Targeted for her studious nature and desire to learn, Kayleigh was subjected to sustained verbal and physical abuse. Once removed from harms-way, Kayleigh’s studies flourished once again and she soon began working at her local animal rescue centre, earning herself a nomination for Young Volunteer of the Year.
“I love working with animals. My life is getting back on track and I’m going to college in September, so everything’s getting there. My confidence is a lot better than it was before,” says Kayleigh. Asked if she has any advice for those experiencing bullying, Kayleigh states: “They should just speak out and tell somebody what’s happening and get it sorted out, because otherwise it’s never going to be alright.”
 We meet a young girl from West Africa who’s been flown to Cambridge for an operation with the potential to help her walk and transform her future. Emade Okungbowa is a nine-year-old girl from Nigeria whose childhood has been blighted by the stigma associated with her condition. Since birth, Emade has been branded as an outcast and denied a basic education simply because she’s suffers from a swollen and deformed foot. Born in an area of the Niger Delta twice the size of Ireland and without a single doctor, Emade’s chances of medical treatment have remained bleak, and with it her future.
Hope arrived for Emade and her family when a Cambridgeshire couple visited the area and, moved by the young girl’s plight, arranged for her to fly out to the UK for specialist treatment. She is receiving specialist care through a private hospital in Cambridge where the doctors have donated their time to help. She is looking forward to returning to Nigeria and wearing her very first pair of shoes, saying: “I’m very happy in England and I want to do more with my leg.”
Also featured on this special programme is a primary school that claims to have eradicated bullying, and a counselling service for young people using mobile phone text-messaging (Base 25). We meet a father who designed a special frame to help his handicapped daughter to pass her first ballet exam; a pioneering new scheme to help homeless young people back to work; and much, much more. Don’t miss your opportunity to find out about these outstanding people and projects right here on the Community Channel.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 02 March 2006 )
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