Return to flip book view

Jiemba is a young boy seeking to better his future, despite the legacyand trauma associated with his family. Under the guidance of hiscoach, he begins to reshape his path in a way that will allow for hisfamily’s future. This story intertwines the beauty in different cultureswith the reality of day-to-day struggles. Tackling topics such as ADHD, domestic violence and poverty, Jiembaserves as an example of how children are able to set goals for theirvision of achieving a bright future.tBy Celeste PreeceandCo.ShopW W W . P L A N B F O U N D A T I O N . C O M . A UHERO J

Chapter 1...………………..……………………………….………...….....…The Loud Home Chapter 2………..……………………………………....………………...............……Captain A Chapter 3…...….…..…………………………………………….……...........……Step by StepChapter 4….…….............…..………………………………………....…The Birthday Goal HERO J

Jiemba lived in a big creaky house on a large property, farout in the countryside. The house was filled with his manyuncles and aunties, parents and his brother. Hisgrandmother lived there too, often cooking many largebarbeque dinners. There was never a dull moment andplenty of noise with so many family members within thathouse! Amongst all this , Jiemba’s father was depressed. Itwas challenging for him to make a living so far out inthe country, away from the big city. Rarely smiling, hewas unhealthy and always tired from his long daysspent working hard. There seemed to be no hope for a future, living amidsuch poverty with so many mouths to feed.Depression is a constant state of sadness. It canhinder you from doing your normal activities andtaking an interest in your life around you. Depressionis not the result of a single event but rather the resultof many events and factors over a long period of time. CHAPER 1

Parents with depression love their children but may findit difficult to show at times. However, it is important tounderstand that whilst you may not be able to changeyour parents, you can change your situation over time. Create your own reality. Your life isn’t out there; it isentirely inside your mind. Your brain interprets lightand sound waves and, from that, creates yourversion of reality. VISION BOARD KEY WORDS

When Jiemba looks at a Bee, he thinks of honey andopportunities. When his father looks at a bee, hethinks of a bee sting. This is the difference betweenhaving a positive attitude or a negative one. How do you see the Bee? Jiemba loved making vision boards, cutting imagesfrom discarded magazines and pasting them into theframes. He would often paste parts of awards hewon at school, proudly showing his uncles or familymembers his accomplishments each time. Though ashard as Jiemba tried to involve his tribe with hisprojects, they gave encouragement.“Stop with your dreaming, son,” they said. “This is the life you have been born into.”

Vision boards provide a daily reminder of your goalsand dreams. Looking to these in moments of self-doubt can serve as a prompt that you can achievewhatever it is you set your mind to. Jiemba’s grandmother often slept in the same roomwith him, especially on the nights when fightingerupted between his family members downstairs.Alone in the quiet of their room, she would whisperinto the darkness about how she longed to live in aquiet home by herself. While she wanted to stay close to her family, shewanted her own space to decorate, a small cottagefilled with shells to remind her of the island she oncegrew up on. Jiemba added her vision, to his own visionboard, to add towards his goals. VISIONBOARDKEYWORDS

He kept imagining himself at the age of 25....and slowly got inspired to create his own future plan.Most of Jiemba’s uncles had been arrested, with policeofficers coming to the house to take them away. Theflashing lights and loud voices were scary, and he feltashamed and embarrassed every time they knocked onthe door. However, Jiemba knew the police were goodpeople despite all this. After all, they often let his unclescome home after a day or two. Jiemba wanted to escape, to break free from this cicle.Even though he loved his family very much hoped toleave his family behind for a fresh start .Life is like the wind; you need to be able to adapt tochange and be flexible with everything that happensaround you. Taking time alone to process things is veryimportant. Ask yourself who you really are without using your nameor job description. This exercise is very liberating; youcan create a new you this very second if you trulydesired.

In this case, Jiemba realized he is kind, caring, intelligent,diligent, determent, strong. All of this made him excited to step out into his newworld. He felt the energy deep inside of himself.Whatever your goal is, you must first know the directionof your path before attempting to get there. Success and freedom cannot be defined as one thing;it means something unique to everyone.What are your goals of success? Who are you truly to this world?

His mother and aunties never seemed to be relaxed.They were always working, spread between manydifferent jobs for hours on end. Jiemba wanted somealone time with his mother to tell her about his dreamsfor the future and to show off his vision board. Hewanted to share his struggles at home with her, but shewas always working, trying to make ends meet. Eventhoshe loved him very much , her time was just to limited.One afternoon, Grandmother Liliko found Jiemba hidingout, sad and alone. She told him to dream big andexplore the world. Then, she began to chant in her old,traditional ways. She would chant so that her grandsoncould leave this life and become a famous hero. CHAPTER 2

Jiemba was constantly on the lookout for his brother. Hisbrother was always doing things to get both of them introuble. His teachers would punish him for his brother’sactions, which seemed so unfair! His brother was very disorganized and impulsive, oftenacting out violently towards Jiemba. He hated hiding fromhis brother, anxious that he might be found andtormented again. Brothers were not supposed to hurtyou, so why did he continue doing it? The family said his brother had ADHD, which wassupposed to explain why he was so hyperactive. Since hecould not focus and complete tasks, he would benaughty, doing bad activities to keep himself busy. Jiemba’s brother never listened to the adults; instead, hewould do what he liked when he liked, making excusesfor everything. The adults told Jiemba “not to worry,” “hisbrother was a kid,” and that “he will grow out of it, andyou to know that he does love you...” This was when she gave him the nickname HERO J

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is a chroniccondition that can include attention difficulty,hyperactivity and impulsiveness. Both children andadults alike with this condition find it extremely hard tofocus on tasks. It can also be hard for them to controltheir emotions. Living with someone with ADHD can be very difficult. Jiemba knew his heart was ok, buthe needed help with his mind and sensory overloud.

It is important to show compassion and remain calm atall times. The family needs to set boundaries and abideby the same set of rules. This is very important to each family member’s sense ofsafety and personal space. Daily routines may assistindividuals with ADHD, allowing them to form the habitof completing tasks at hand. The longer an individualwith ADHD stays undiagnosed, no matter if a low levelor high, the harder it is to find a suitable managementplan. There are many ways to create a harmonioushousehold and steps should be taken to ensure thecondition’s symptoms are reduced—ensuring a betterquality of life for all.Jiemba felt alone and anxious.....constantly worrying about his brother’s situation. Heknew that he could not control his brother himself, andhis mother did not have the time or energy to care. He turned to his school sport’s coach, who was avolunteer within his community. Everyone called himCaptain A, as he was a Navy Veteran. Captain A took thetime to sit with Jiemba and listen to everything he hadbottled up for so long inside.

Jiemba spoke about his family’s poverty, the violencewith his brother, and how he longed to become thehero his grandmother Liliko saw him to be. The coachlistened to Jiemba’s powerful words, inspiring him tocreate a plan to achieve his goals.“Spend some time alone, away from your family,” he said gently. “It does not mean you love them any less, but it doesmean you will have more time to focus on building yourfuture. Focus on achieving one goal at a time, step bystep. You have the power to create the life you want.” ..you have the power , you have the power..Jiemba found himself repeating this mantra at timeswhen he found his goals seemed too far away. He wouldreflect back to his vision board, which was becoming farmore detailed and certainly more achievable. The coach had encouraged Jiemba to inspire otherswithin his family to be more goal-driven in the hopes hisbrother might too catch on. Jiemba wanted to bringawareness to ADHD so that others might know how tohandle the difficulties of living with this condition.

Setting goals for the future ensures a long-term vision,allowing you the focus to achieve them. Breaking downthe goals into different steps ensures they are morelikely to be achieved and avoid being overwhelmed. This is a process everyone needs to do forthemselves. No one is able to do this for you. Take a clear look at yourimmediate circle. Is thisthe future you seeyourself in? Armed with his decision to create a better future,Jiemba thought it was time to create a brand newvision board.

This board was set until his 25th birthday, fifteen yearsfrom now—fifteen years to accomplish one goal at atime, step-by-step. The first goal was to work in a hugestadium, where he would be surrounded by manyexciting sports. The second goal was to buy hisgrandmother Liliko a white cottage so she could haveher own space. The decision had been made! Jiemba was to step out ofhis current environment and become the hero hisgrandmother wanted him to be.Discipline is required when setting big goals, as youneed to break away from the ease of a routine you arecomfortable and familiar with. Discipline means pushingthrough when times get difficult and the steps seeminconvenient to accomplish. Be kind to yourself, and set small goals at first. Never forget to celebrate each win, and remember thatevery day can be and is - a new beginning for moresteps to take forward. CHAPTER 3

Jiemba knew he needed to move away, leaving his familybehind for a while. He needed a fresh start in a newplace, away from the troubles of his brother. This wasnecessary if he wanted to succeed in his education,which would lead him towards accomplishing hisdreams. The vision board included steps forward, yearby year, step-by-step. Jiemba’s coach, Captain A, had a friend who lived in anearby town close to a big sports stadium. Captain Aspoke to Jiemba’s parents, helping them to understandthe importance of their son having the opportunity toexpand his horizons within the new environment.By his 16th birthday, Jiemba had already completed stepone. He was living away from his family, with his first littlejob at the huge stadium.

This allowed Jiemba to have time to spend on achievinghis goals, away from the chaos and the trouble withinhis family home. Even though Jiemba felt a little lonely at times, he knewthis part of his life was important. This time would allowhim to accomplish his dreams. His Grandmother Lilikowas so proud! His new job at the stadium did not yet pay that muchmoney, so quickly, Jiemba had to learn to save. He madesure he bought healthy food and paid for his room withthe rest of his earnings going into savings. Over the years, Jiemba stayed loyal to the stadium andworked very hard. Each year, he stepped up to everynew opportunity his job presented, just as his coachhad taught him. With each year, the harder he worked, the closer he feltto achieving his goal. Before he knew it, his 25thbirthday was approaching. Jiemba chose to spend moretime alone than out with friends, avoiding distractionand conflict. Some thought him to be lonely, but Jiembawas focused, devoting every spare moment to working.

He wanted to be able to return home to hisgrandmother Liliko, providing her with the white cottageshe had spoken of so long ago. Some self-development journeys need to be traveledalone. The benefits of being comfortable with your owncompany allows for added concentration on achievingyour goals. As a result, you have more time for boostedcreativity and productivity. After this foundation, youthen can join others with the same beliefs. In this case,Child Care Officers are often a good contact to assist inhelping children in need.Jiemba connected with a lovely Officer called MsMahlee. She integrated him into youth groups of similarbackgrounds. Jiemba met lovely new friends. Rather than focus onachieving his goals alone, he shared his dreams withthem, allowing the two of them to pursue these dreamstogether. His friends also came from similarcircumstances; their childhood had also been full ofstruggles. Together they chose to be heroes to otherchildren, the way his coach had been to Jiemba.

They volunteered at a youth centre, and Officer MsMahlee assisted them in making the right decisions onhow to not only heal their own childhood but focus andsupport others. There was so much to learn from peoplelike her, and Jiemba became lifelong friends with thisinspiring Child Care Officer Ms Mahlee. Through helping others..they too began to heal their childhood traumas, allowingthemselves to grow stronger as they transitioned intoadulthood. Jiemba got to share their experiences aboutunsupervised mental health issues with the youngergenerations.

Today was his 25th birthday. Jiemba had finally completed his goals. He had a little cottage airlifted into his family’s propertyfor grandmother Liliko to have for her own space.Naturally, this caused quite a stir in his village. Thecoach was there to honor him with thisaccomplishment, and his family showed their respectfor the hero he had become.For the first time in many years, Jiemba’s father smiled. “I’m so incredibly proud of you, son,” he said. “You did it. You made something more , and you did thisall by yourself .”From this day forward, Jiemba really was the Hero J, ahero to both his family and many other children withinhis area. He taught other children the beauty of makingvision boards and the importance of striving to achievetheir goals. CHAPER 4

Hero J had proven to his family that he could doanything, as he had accomplished all of his goalswithin the fifteen years he had set for himself.

Go out and create an incredible story. Be uncommon amongst the uncommon and leave yourmark in this world. A wise man once said, “We are here to shift the universe, otherwise, why would you live your life”?

THESE STORIES & BOOKS ARE RELATED TO COMMON MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES. EACH STORY'S PURPOSE IS TO SUPPORT ALONG IN KIDS& TEENS JOURNEY AND HELP WITH ANY CHALLENGESTHAT MAY ARISE WITHIN THE FAMILY DYNAMIC. GUIDING THE STORIES TO SUPPORT NEW BETTERDECISIONS THAT KIDS & TEENS MAY BE STUCK WITH ANDOFFER SOME DIFFERENT POINTS OF FUTURE VIEWS ANDENCOURAGE TO STEP OUT ALONE INTO A NEW WORLD. WE AIM TO EMPOWER CREATING THEIR OWN PLAN BAND TRULY LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST! WWW.PLANBFOUNDATION.COM.AU Our intensions are to act in servitude of the people