A father of a Columbine High School shooting victim spoke about his pro-kindness programme, Chain Reaction, which will start in Bermuda?s schools in October.

Darrell Scott, father of Columbine victim Rachel Joy Scott, founded Chain Reaction, also known as Rachel?s Challenge, a programme that aims to stop bullying in the prevention of school violence. It?s a programme for both public and private schools.

Research has proven that violent outbreaks in schools are usually due to bullying, teasing and/or ostracism. The programme aims to disarm bullying and therefore prevent potential violence by promoting kindness, respect and understanding.

This was Mr. Scott?s third visit to Bermuda. He spoke to local school administrators and counsellors and prospective sponsors last week in preparation for the programme?s launch.

Sitting in on a session for prospective sponsors at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess last Friday it was clear the audience was moved, many to tears, by the presentation and one couldn?t help but be inspired by the moving, motivating, and interesting talk which gave voice to positive messages of kindness, hope and truth out of such a terrible tragedy.

Mr. Scott said that they wanted to go beyond touching hearts with a two-year training programme and follow-up programme that had been tested in the United States and was found to increase attendance and academic achievement and decrease bullying and violence in schools.

Rachel was Mr. Scott?s inspiration through her everyday behaviour, morals and good choices, essays, diaries and drawings.

He told of an essay they found under her bed after her death, which was titled, ?My ethics, my codes of life?, in which she wrote, ?I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same.?

The phrase ?chain reaction? was also used by her killers, Eric and Dylan, in a video they recorded before the shooting, ?We need to get a chain reaction going here. It?s gonna be like Doom [the video game, man.?

A news broadcast of the shooting was shown as well as an interview with her bother Craig Scott, who survived the shootings in the library. He described the trauma of seeing two close friends die as well as his own near death experience. The gun had been pointed at him, but he was saved by the sprinkler system that served as a distraction for the two boys. After recovering from the traumatic experience Craig chose to go into the film industry as he had seen how the power of the media had influenced Eric and Dylan to kill. He instead wanted to make movies with positive messages. ?I am so proud of my son,? said Mr. Scott.

Craig has spoken to tens of thousands of people in live settings as well as millions through shows such as ?Dateline?, ?Oprah? and ?Good Morning America? and was featured in countless newspapers as well as Teen magazine.

Craig spoke at assemblies in Bermuda in 2002 and Chain Reaction Bermuda is planning to have him return for assemblies this autumn.

Mr. Scott?s assembly presents five challenges for students. These are ?Eliminate Prejudice?, by looking for the best in others, ?Dare to Dream?, write goals for your life, keep a journal, giving evidence that those who have goals are more likely to succeed in life.

The third was ?Choose Positive Influences?, highlighting that input determines output. He pointed out that Hitler was one of Eric and Dylan?s role models, while his daughter?s was Anne Frank. The shooting actually took place on Hitler?s birthday. The fourth was, ?Understand the Power of Kind Words?, emphasising that many do not realise the impact of a simple compliment and the fifth ?start a chain reaction of kindness with family and friends?.

?People will never know how far a little kindness can go ... you may just start a chain reaction,? were Rachel?s words.

Rachel?s father mentioned that although she was very popular she had reached out to people, in particular the handicapped, new people at school and people who were being picked on by their peers.

A motivational video showed a re-enactment of Rachel inviting a lonely student to come and eat lunch with her and her friends. This message had apparently touched students and Mr. Scott had received e-mails by the thousands with students reporting that students they barely knew had walked up to them and given them company in the cafeteria.

Rachel lived a life filled with kindness and compassion, and because of it, she?s changed the world,? said her brother, Craig Scott.

After her death Rachel was awarded the Acts of Kindness Association 2001 National Kindness Award for Student of the Year. Her father also mentioned some strange and powerful parts of Rachel?s story. She had had a premonition that she would die young and that she would be a homicide victim, but she also had said, ?I?m going to have an impact of the world?, all of which were made true.

Found in her backpack was her diary and the latest entry showed a picture of crying eyes with tears dripping onto a rose surrounded by drops of blood. This had been drawn just before her death and she had drawn exactly 13 tear drops, the number of people who were killed in the Columbine shootings.

She had also written poems in the months before her death and one excerpt read, ?The world you have created led to my death,? and much earlier in life had drawn her hands on the back of a piece of furniture with the words, ?These hands belong to Rachel Joy Scott and will some day touch millions of people?s hearts.?

Chain Reaction has been endorsed by US President George W. Bush for US schools and locally by Minister of Education Terry Lister and has earned the support of some of the local private school principals.