KOFFEE is aiming to inspire and empower the youth with the 2022 staging of her Haffi Make It school tour. The tour kicks off on September 14 at the Lewisburgh Primary and Marborough Primary schools in St Mary.

This is the second staging of the tour, which was first held in 2019.

“The aim of Haffi Make It is always to inspire and empower youth. This year, the theme is ‘Rise Up Against Bullying’ and we’ll be focusing on promoting that message,” Koffee disclosed in an interview with the Jamaica Observer on Monday.

When the tour was first held, the focus was on students in high schools. This time, the main focus will be on students at primary schools.

“The team felt like we needed to capture their attention at an early age, especially with this year’s message,” said Koffee.

“We want students to just feel inspired and encouraged to take action against bullying. We also want them to know there are other paths in life,” she continued.

The tour is a joint effort with Tammi Chang, VP, Foundation and Membership Chair of Rotary Club (Ocho Rios East), artiste manager and CEO of LEVELS Management. The concept of the initiative was borne out of the desire of Koffee to give back to her peer group and to inspire, encourage and empower them within their environment.

The tour is this year focused on promoting the message of anti-bullying, in all forms: cyber-bullying, in-person conflicts and conflict resolution and will cover the channels by which students can report instances of bullying.

“We are so excited to be back with another staging of the Haffi Make It School Tour!,” Chang said. “This year’s theme is ‘Rise Up Against Bullying’ and it’s not only a timely topic but also one that the team and I are extremely passionate about. We are aiming to equip students with the tools they need to cope with and diffuse instances of bullying, so they are able to focus on unlocking their true potential.”

The tour will take on the form of motivational talks from key persons within the anti-bullying fraternity, short performances from a range of artistes and brief meet and greets. The aim of the tour is to: urge victims and/or perpetrators to seek counsel from their guidance counselling department and practice conflict resolution approaches that are coherent with school values. The tour will also see the development of self-confidence and help students overcome fear. Additionally, it aims to share or provide intervention approaches that are helpful to students, such as teaching empathy and respect to students through classroom lessons.

Supporting Koffee on the tour is singer Genrus, who was the opening act on Koffee’s recent Gifted Tour.

Koffee, who emerged on the music scene in 2018, is known for the hits Toast, Lockdown, W (featuring rapper Gunna), West Indies, and Rapture.

In 2020, she won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album for chart-topping album Rapture. Her singles Toast and W have been certified gold and silver, respectively, by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).