This initiative is making school bathrooms safe, positive spaces for young girls

As the back to school surge of organisation reaches a fever pitch, the sad truth is that there are many young girls around the country dreading the long walk back down those school halls. It’s no secret that being a teenager, with raging hormones and changing bodies, is difficult. Moods are swinging and the lows can feel so low, but thankfully there are initiatives like The Shona Project’s Safe Bathroom Challenge carving out space for vibrant and infectious positive energy.

Endeavouring to empower girls and young women to laugh, learn, try and cry together, The Shona Project are on a resilience revolution. By encouraging kindness, confidence, and self worth, and opening up a safe space for discussions on topics ranging from mental health struggles to relationships, body image, and drama, they’re helping to instil a mindset in the next generation that will last a lifetime.

The Shona Project’s founder, Tammy, often speaks about how she spent many hours hiding in toilets from her bully. When she shares her story, many young girls relate to the feeling of solitude and loneliness experienced within those cubicles. That’s how the Safe Bathroom Challenge was born.

Whether it’s to avoid the perceived humiliation of spending lunchtime alone, to seek refuge from the cruelty of schoolyard bullies, bathroom stalls can be a bleak reminder of the cruelty of others, and the pain experienced in solitude.

To combat this, The Shona Project wants schools all over Ireland to splash some colour on their bathroom walls. Through their free stencil packs, words of positivity and encouragement can be in students’ eyelines every day, so that no matter what’s going on in their interior world, the right sentiment will find its way into their hearts.

So, how does it work?

With the return to school on the horizon, now’s the perfect time to get the ball rolling. Just send an email through to info@shona.ie requesting your pack, and they’ll send you on your very own stencil kit.

The kits feature quotes that were chosen by the girls in The Shona Project community, including quotes like ‘You never lose; you either win or learn’, and advice to ‘Be brave with your life’, among many others in a range of fonts, colours and styles.

You can opt to print them out and attach them to cardboard, and cut out the stencils if you wish, but the best way is to use a projector and trace them onto the wall or door, so you can size them exactly how you need, and draw the outline using a marker.

The Shona Project recommends giving the stencils to Transition Year groups or art students, or using them as an SPHE project. Allow the students to decide where, how, and what format they would like to use to reinforce the point that it’s their space, giving them ownership of the outcome.

Find out more about The Shona Project on their website today.

The Shona Project is IMAGE Media’s official charity partner for the year.