This is Oslo's story

Oslo came to the Resilience course in April 2023 at Wimbledon. He was very lacking in confidence because he had experienced some bullying in school that had occurred several times. He had been really affected by this because most of the other boys came from wealthy, two parent families and Oslo felt very upset.

He was going for weekly sessions with the wonderful play therapist but there were repeated incidents which really impacted him. Seeing him so upset and feeling powerless, I applied for a Role Models bursary as I wanted to support him in every possible way.

From the bottom of my heart I can tell you that the change came after the completion of the course because Oslo in his own way told me how he could control ANTS. The effect lasted even until now because he understands ANTS are controllable, that he should be treated with respect at all times, and also, that unkindness and bullying is the problem of the bullies, not a problem with him as an individual.

My heart had been breaking for him because my older two children had been bullied too and it had left lasting damage which only dissipated with intense therapy. With Oslo, the improvement in his school work was immediate and he got a stellar summer school report. He is now in the very top and he had been almost in remedial. This is because his confidence has shot up. 

I lived in many countries including West Africa and India and the adage "it takes a village to raise a child" is so true because as parents we can only do so much to support our children. I firmly believe Role Models' courses are part of the village.