I am not going to fight back; I don’t want this - Josephine
Josephine* went from hiding her passion for singing to sharing her singing for the first time during the Khulisa ‘Face It’ 1 to 1 sessions with our therapeutically trained facilitators. At the age of 15, Josephine has boosted her self- esteem and her control over her emotions after completing the ‘Face It’ programme, a behavioural and personal development course encouraging pupils to reflect on the root causes and triggers of their disruptive or challenging behaviour.
Having to cope with the separation of her parents and then the loss of her father through a public accident within her community, Josephine grappled with identity issues particularly due to the frosty relationship with her step mother.
School life was not any easier; as she struggled to understand healthy relationships, she dealt with continuous bullying due to a physical illness which increased her feeling of shame and humiliation. This caused her to distance herself from everyone around her and lash out angrily whenever she felt uncomfortable.
Experiencing the ‘Face It’ programme has given Josephine a better understanding of her triggers and boosted her self-confidence. She now carries a red book containing beautiful things her father used to say to her as a child, and uses this as her positive coping mechanism. Keeping her father close to her heart always.
Josephine misses the ‘Face It’ programme and recognises its impact in improving how she manages conflict. Now, in the face of conflict, she responds with “I am not going to fight back; I don’t want this” which is a positive step. There is still a long road ahead, Josephine says, “I am still a bit anxious but I am just going to sit here and ground myself” but Josephine is hopeful about her future.
Learning how to cope with her emotions rather than letting her emotions dictate her is just the first step in her healthy journey of self-actualisation. Khulisa are proud to support her in this journey.
*Not her real name. We used a different name and picture to protect the identity of our participant.