One of the sessions of the Life Skills Club is being conducted by a professional trainer while the teachers and counselors listen attentively. (Courtesy photo)Organized by the Ministry of Education in Jeddah, and in cooperation with ALJ Community Initiatives, activities of the Life Skills Club (LSC) for the year 2011 started with a training course for the supervisors of LSC in Jeddah, in addition to similar courses for the teachers in Taif and Ola. The 3-week course will enroll approximately 120 teachers, student counselors and educational counselors. The course is seeking to provide supervisors with the skills required to interact with adults and how to influence them, and to detect characters and preferences of each character, so that the supervisor will be able to modify student behaviors in the secondary school, help them succeed in life and positively contribute to their communities. Saad Al-Qarni, LSC's supervisor and director of training department in the Ministry of Education branch in Jeddah announced that the high efficiency of the supervisors will certainly help LSC achieve its goals. Al-Qarni added that the Club is being launched in 40 schools for the current year, through a fruitful partnership between the branches of the Ministry of Education and ALJ Community Initiatives. On the other hand, Engineer Mohammed Yahya Hakami, senior director of programs development in Bab Rizq Jameel, which is an initiative of ALJ Community Initiatives, stressed on the importance of LSC, saying that it is one of the valuable educational initiatives that effectively contribute in developing behavioral skills of secondary school students. During 2011, LSC is seeking to attract almost 2,000 students in Jeddah, Taif and Ola. Since its inception in 2007, the Life Skills Club has benefited more than 5,000 students in more than 40 schools. The program is expanding every year where more teachers are being qualified to join the program. The program is also helping students gain practical experience during summer months and preparing them to join the labor market.
