LCIF and UNODC Make New Strides in Drug Prevention Education in El Salvador
Ariel Dickson
In March 2019, Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) and UNODC’s Regional Office for Central America and the Caribbean (UNODC ROPAN) teamed up to offer Lions Quest training to educators in El Salvador. Lions Quest, a school-based drug prevention program, supports UNODC ROPAN’s current team in "Prevention of Drug Use and Crime among Youth.” These professional development workshops are an integral part of the Lions Quest program because they prepare teachers to build social and emotional learning competencies in their students in order to cope with life’s challenges.
Workshops prepare teachers to build social and emotional learning competencies in their students in order to cope with life’s challenges.
36 Teachers, school principals, psychologists, and counselors from five schools in San Salvador and Santa Ana completed the Lions Quest training program. The teachers received special instruction on teaching methodologies and strategies for successfully imparting social and emotional skills in their students. One year later, teachers participated in a follow-up workshop in order to discuss challenges and share strategies for success to improve programming for the upcoming school year.
Lions Quest is a youth life skills program that provides teachers with evidence-based and research-based resources for decreasing substance use and abuse through building a positive school climate, improving students’ connectedness to school, and strengthening interpersonal relationships.
Ariel Dickson, is the Lions Clubs International Foundation regional specialist for Lions Quest programming in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and South Asia.
