By Tamara Shephard
Etobicoke Guardian Staff

March 30, 2003

Foot-tall puppet Casey the inquisitive squirrel who finds drugs she thinks are a "treasure" teaches young children things aren't always what they appear to be.

About 100 Kindergarten to Grade 3 St. Dorothy’s Catholic School students seemed to get the message last Friday.

“The key to the puppet programs is that they’re interactive. It’s a non-threatening way to talk to kids about important subjects such as drug awareness and HIV and AIDS. Kids might not ask questions about HIV or AIDS for example of an adult,” says Livia Pravato, one of the puppeteers who staged the hour-long drug awareness show.

“The puppets talk straight and they’re about the same age as the kids. It’s almost like they’re talking to their own peers.”

Pravato is also the office co-ordinator of The Concerned Kids, a non-profit organization of 15 puppet troupes communicating through puppetry to kids about social issues including drug awareness; viruses; bereavement; violence, gangs and prejudice; substance abuse and HIV/AIDS.

Students of the John Garland Boulevard elementary school heard one fable on street proofing, another on self-esteem. Casey the squirrel learns from pharmacist Trisha the Owl that the ‘treasure’ she found is actually a box of pills, and that drugs can be harmful.

The puppeteers engage the students in an interactive repetition of four questions to ask themselves if approached with drugs: Who gave it to you? Where did it come from? Why should you take it? What should it do?

“If you don’t know the drug, don’t touch it,” said Grade 3 student Renz Ramirez, eight, repeating the message after the show. “Leave it alone and tell an adult.”

The Concerned Kids purchased the Woodland Tales script for the drug awareness program from a former Toronto Police officer who sits on the Council on Drug Abuse, an organization that has since become a Concerned Kids’ partner.

Students respond to the puppets, and their prevention message, said St. Dorothy Grade 7/8 special education teacher Maria Caramanico.

“The Concerned Kids deals with issues young people today all have to deal with, including controversial social issues. Through the use of the puppets, they deal with issues in a delicate way and tell good moral stories to give a good message to our students,” she said.

In a second fable, Willie the green magic dragon who feels sad and rejected when his parents don’t believe his fire-breathing abilities, tells kids to love and respect themselves: “If you believe in yourself, dreams can come true.”

“Kids need to get the information at an early age. The drug awareness tells kids to ask themselves four questions. It’s about street proofing and self-esteem. Often, kids won’t get into something bad if they feel good about themselves,” Pravato said of delivering the drug message young.

Since its inception in 1988, the group has reached 386,000 students in the Greater Toronto Area. Some 80,000 students will hear their free staged shows by the end of the current school year.

The organization is currently seeking volunteers, to play the narrator in The Woodland Tales drug awareness show on Thursday afternoons in Etobicoke and York Region, as well as someone to play Casey the squirrel Thursday and Friday afternoons. Training is provided.

The Concerned Kids is also in need of funding, Pravato said. Individuals, corporations or foundations may sponsor a puppet troupe from $5,400 to $10,000 or foster a puppet for $1,000.