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Did you ever lose something special, believe it was gone forever – and then have the joy of getting it back by surprise?
Our student “Sara” shared her story about losing her belief in herself and her power – and finding it again through learning to teach safety skills to others through our Safetypowers program for people with disabilities:
“I loved riding horses. It made me feel so strong and so powerful! Sadly, because of my disabilities, I had to stop, and I lost a lot of confidence in myself. Nothing has ever made me feel as good as when I was able to ride horses – until I became a Safetypowers Ambassador. Teaching people how to use their power to take charge of their safety makes me feel like I did when I rode horses. I thought I had lost that feeling forever, and now it’s back!”
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Published: November 21, 2023 | Last Updated: November 21, 2023
Irene van der Zande, Kidpower Founder and Executive Director
Kidpower Founder and Executive Irene van der Zande is a master at teaching safety through stories and practices and at inspiring others to do the same. Her child protection and personal safety expertise has been featured by USA Today, CNN, Today Moms, the LA Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Publications include: cartoon-illustrated Kidpower Safety Comics and Kidpower Teaching Books curriculum; Bullying: What Adults Need to Know and Do to Keep Kids Safe; the Relationship Safety Skills Handbook for Teens and Adults; Earliest Teachable Moment: Personal Safety for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers; The Kidpower Book for Caring Adults: Personal Safety, Self-Protection, Confidence, and Advocacy for Young People, and the Amazon Best Seller Doing Right by Our Kids: Protecting Child Safety at All Levels.