Driven by a desire to give back to their communities, six young men from the Youth Unit at Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison are encouraging others to take a stand against bullying.
Calling themselves Letz Lead, the team wrote and illustrated an educational resource, 'Can you relate?' as part of the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES). The book is supported by a rap CD and yellow bracelets, which symbolise anti-bullying.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison Education Tutor Nic Scotland says when deciding how to best give back to the community the team chose to tackle bullying because of its effect on a large number of people.
"They have a social conscience and decided their YES project would be about something that would benefit youth in their communities," she says.
"Because they’re in the prison they aren’t able to protect their younger siblings, so one of the main things is that they wanted to stop bullying."
Can you relate? is aimed at youth aged 12 and over. The booklet and rap both use kaupapa Māori values and whakatauki (proverbs) to start conversations around feelings and emotions.