The cyber walk will take place all across Saskatchewan, said Shirley Semkiw, the executive director of Child Find Saskatchewan.
The intent is to promote awareness and to stop bullying, she said.
Bullying can result in a young person feeling the need to escape or to run away, Semkiw said.
“There are 3,000 reported cases of missing children in Saskatchewan every year … and that is just the reported cases,” she said.
“Seventy-five per cent of them are runaways,” she said.
While children and youth run away for a variety of reasons, including abuse or a lack of safety or trust in the home, school and their social life outside of the home is also a factor.
“Kids leave because they are being bullied at school, or being bullied at home,” Semkiw said. “There have been cases of people being bullied and they didn’t want to got to school again.”
Taking part in the cyber stroll involves leaving a message on the wall in the form of a statement against bullying or a personal account of bullying and its impact.
Child Find contacted schools around the province to ask their students and their staff to participate in the online movement.
“There have been cases of people being bullied and they didn’t want to got to school again.” - Semkiw
Bullying can take many forms, from the verbal to the physical to the most modern variance, cyber bullying.
Semkiw said that Child Find decided to launch this awareness campaign to reach a wider audience and connect people and communities not just in Saskatoon, but all across the province.
“This reaches a lot more people,” Semkiw said.
She said there are also supporters beyond the province’s borders who plan to show their support by leaving comments on the board.
“That’s the way that things are done. When people get together.”
For anyone wishing to show their support in ending bullying in their community or the whole of the province, Semkiw invites them to leave a message on their wall or to add them as a friend.
The Facebook page is Child Find Saskatchewan.
https://www.facebook.com/child.saskatchewan?ref=ts&fref=ts
