In the Solomon Islands, many young people drop out of school because they don’t see employment opportunities, or sadly, even a future. Some fall into cycles of violence, drugs and alcohol abuse, while others struggle with mental health issues – a taboo subject that’s not even discussed.
To fill a void in the support for young people, ChildFund in partnership with the Honiara City Council, created Tok Spot. A counselling service for young people despairing for their futures. By addressing the root causes of mental health issues, alcohol and substance abuse, domestic abuse and gender-based violence, Tok Spok is slowly breaking the cycle of despair.
Tok Spot is now recognized as a trusted provider of youth well-being services – invited to represent youth across government, private sector and faith-based organisations. The project is such a success, the Youth Council at the Honiara City Council has now taken it over.
This is a very positive outcome for the project, where local capability is established, trained and supported to continue the great work started in partnership.
Tok Spot also included a community outreach programme, where Youth Engagement Officers facilitated community sessions reaching 919 youth on topics such as drugs and alcohol, peer pressure and positive choices – with 94% of participants reporting improved knowledge.
ChildFund is now working in partnership with the Solomon Islands National Youth Congress to build a business for the continuation of the Youth Engagement programme – another successful outcome, where local partners continue the work started.
