Kellimni
KELLIMNI
A pilot project in Online Counselling for Teenage Children through a partnership between SOS Malta and the Salesians of Don Bosco
2008-2011
The aim is to set-up a website offering information, advice, support and counselling for Young People in Malta
INTRODUCTION
SOS Malta and the Salesians of Don Bosco in Malta are currently working towards a partnership/ joint venture which will involve the setting-up of the project Kellimni. This initiative will involve an Online Counselling Service run by volunteers who are working towards a career in the Caring and Helping Professions. Other organizations involved in the project implementation shall include: The Malta Professional Association for the Counselling Profession and the Malta Association of Psychotherapy.
Definition of online counseling:
Online counseling is when a professional counselor or psychotherapist talks to a person over the Internet, providing emotional support, mental health advice or some other professional service. It take the form of question and answer, or of an ongoing conversation; facilitated either via e-mail or chat. Why ‘online’ counseling services for teenage children?
The internet today is part of teenage children’s natural environment. Most children and adolescents have access to internet in Malta – either at school or at home – and they tend to spend between one-two hours daily on the web. They use the internet both for educational and entertainment purposes. They use the internet both for educational and entertainment purposes. Research carried out by the National Statistics Office of Malta in 2005 titled Survey on the Use of the Internet by Students revealed that out of a total of 3,231 children interviewed, 3,060 use a computer compared to 171 who do not. 2,432 of these students use their computer at home.
Through its chat and networking applications, the internet has become a source of socialization among children and adolescents. It has also become a source of refuge for some experiencing social exclusion, neglect or a personal difficulty. The latter represents a catchment area of children who are in need of attention and of being listened to, but who might be reluctant or unable to access existing counseling or support services in the traditional face to face manner or on the phone.
At a Global Portal for Children taskforce meeting held in Amsterdam in June 2006, Child Helpline International noted that online services for children are a good addition to child counseling services and telephone helplines. It seems that children are more inclined towards writing an email or instant messaging (chat) than to pick up the phone. Within existing e-counselling services for children in other countries, there seem to be very few “prank” emails or chat sessions and it appears that the subject matter is often of a more serious nature, with abuse cases and potential suicides appearing more often than via the telephone.
AIM
To offer one-to-one, real-time counseling services online to teenage children suffering from any form of social exclusion, abuse, neglect, and/or psychological difficulties.
OBJECTIVES
- To set up a three-year pilot project in Malta for online counselling services targeted primarily at teenage children living in Malta and aged between 12 and 16.
- To operate the said pilot project in the spirit of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child with a specific focus on the protection and ‘listening’ rights of the child.
PRINCIPLES UNDERLYING THE PROJECT
Focus on Child’s Rights
Child helplines and internet counseling services are founded on the belief that children and adolescents have rights and that they can identify their problems. Children have a right to demand for care and protection.
The Kellimni project will be based on the rights afforded to children in the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child. Furthermore, its implementation will be recognizant specifically of Articles 12 and 13 of the UNCRC, which ascertains children’s rights to express their views and to be heard in matters that affect them.
The Kellimni project will be implemented on the premise of accessibility. For the online counseling service to be effective among children and teenagers, they first need to know about the service and understand what it can do for them. Outreach and awareness-raising activities will therefore be key components of the Kellimni project. These activities and related initiatives will be geared towards ensuring accessibility to the most marginalized of children.
TARGET BENEFICIARIES
The service will be accessible to all children and teenagers aged between 12 and 16 years. However, its main focus will be on adolescents suffering from any form of social exclusion, abuse, neglect, and/or psychological difficulties. The service will seek to reach out to children and teenagers who are denied or stripped of their rights – particularly children experiencing abuse or neglect, differently-abled children; children whose families are in crisis; children who are bullied by their peers or superiors; child addicts; children who are being discriminated against on the basis of religious, racial or sexual grounds; and children in conflict with the law.