SuperBetter Children for Health is a curriculum for young adolescents that can be integrated into a school’s curriculum or taught as an extracurricular activity. The curriculum has been co-created by Children for Health and Kelvin Nsekwila, a teacher and the founder of the Tusekwile Imiti Ikula Foundation (TIIF) in Zambia. TIIF provides educational services for the most vulnerable and marginalised children in the district.
The content and activities have all been tested and revised with the children of the SuperBetter Children’s Club, Sansamwenje, Isoka District, Zambia.
The Toolkit was developed with the support of our ally, SuperBetter. SuperBetter and the SuperBetter logo are registered trademarks of SuperBetter, LLC. The SuperBetter model was invented by Jane McGonigal, an American researcher and video game designer. SuperBetter is available as a book and an app. We have repurposed the SuperBetter model as a curriculum that can be used in low-resource settings, in mainstream schools, or as part of an after-school club.
Throughout the toolkit, there are comments from teachers and children set out in pink boxes, like this one:
The SuperBetter/Children for Health curriculum has played a vital role in the lives of children and youths in the Sansamwenje community of Isoka District in Zambia. The SuperBetter activities have helped shape the children’s mental health and now they’re stronger, healthier, and more resilient. Children who piloted this model have grown to learn that they are the masters of their own thoughts, no situation can harm their feelings without their consent, and that they live in a world full of precious allies to turn to in bad times.
The sessions set out in the toolkit are designed to be implemented over the course of one year. It has three levels and each one has several sessions. Each level could be implemented during term as part of the school programme or as an after-school club.
See below more comments from Kelvin and the children about activities from each level.
Level One: Social and Emotional Learning – focusses on social and emotional learning that will aid in developing self-awareness, developing a vocabulary to describe different feelings and emotions, and developing skills in identifying and discussing emotions as they relate to daily life.
We loved this [Special Me] activity. It was easy to do, and it helped us realise that despite going through hard times there is always someone who cares and loves us. We, too, can give out something valuable to our friends (such as kindness). We felt loved, and it is so special and that we can also give this feeling to our friends.
Level Two: SuperBetter – is an introduction to the ‘seven helpers’ of the SuperBetter model and introduces video game related ideas and vocabulary including: Epic Wins, Challenges, Power Ups, Quests, Allies, Battling Bad Guys, and adopting Heroic Identities. We have repurposed the seven helpers for our programme and linked the helpers to tackle real health challenges that affect children in many parts of Zambia.
The past few months have been loaded with a lot of sad eventualities. We have had challenging situations such as deaths, sicknesses, abrupt school closures due to Covid-19 and other factors beyond our control that have delayed us. The SuperBetter Model has helped us to bounce back stronger and with much hope and positivity. SuperBetter has come at the right time when we were hit with challenging circumstances.
Level Three: SuperBetter Children for Health – is the stage at which the children apply the SuperBetter model to examine and resolve problems and develop strategies for building their health, wellbeing, and resilience. They identify one or more everyday health issues that can be improved upon and then set about finding out more, making action plans, implementing actions plans, and reflecting on the results.
Children Learning and Sharing
From the start, the children are encouraged to share the ideas and activities at home – with their families, with friends, and in the community. The idea is that the children involved in the activities learn for themselves and then share those ideas. The children therefore become messengers of health and wellbeing. Experience shows us that everybody benefits from this ‘child to child’ and ‘child to family’ and ‘child to community’ approach. It brings the us into learning and activities and is an important part of the Children for Health approach.
We reached 25 children, and they reached a further 25 with the messages. These children reached over 50
family members. The topic taught the children and their families about the importance of wellbeing and how they can best take very good care of themselves. We should advocate for the integration of the SuperBetter curriculum into the Ministry of Education main curriculum.
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https://www.childrenforhealth.org/SuperBetterChildrenforHealth
If you would like to work with us to create similar resources, please get in touch! We’re always keen to work with new people and organisations to improve the health of children all over the world.
