The Ministry of Education and the Peace Corps on Friday launched the Youth Educators Safeguarding Our Workforce HIV/AIDS (YES) education programme which will be conducted in schools.
According to a press release from the Government Information Agency (GINA) 41 volunteers from six administrative regions—Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and Ten—were trained to conduct the programme in schools.
Dr Shanti Singh, Programme Manager at the National AIDS Programme Secretariat, told audience at the launch that 49.1 per cent of new cases of HIV reported to the ministry in 2012 were in the 15 to 34 age group. She also stated that the findings indicate that young people become sexually active from as early as age 14. GINA said the volunteers were trained to conduct the sessions aimed at creating behaviour change and stopping new infections.
Peace Corps Response Volunteer Lindsay Kurth said the YES volunteers were taught the basics of HIV and AIDS, effective communication, what a youth educator is and how to be an effective youth educator, among other things.
She said the YES Project has three ultimate goals; to build the capacity of the in-school youth, remove risky behaviour and replace them with healthy behaviour and to achieve zero new HIV infection from in-school youth. To achieve this, volunteers would be given a package that includes primary and secondary school manuals and guidebook that deal with HIV and AIDS and other subjects. They are expected to use these tools to aid their sessions among Grades 5, 6 and 9 students during the hour-long weekly sessions. Each volunteer committed one school year of service, and some volunteers would have committed to working with more than one school, GINA said.
Meanwhile, in his remarks, Chief Education Officer Olato Sam lauded the collaboration; noting that such partnerships are needed, “when moving the issues of broader significance to national development.” He said no single ministry can effect such changes alone, “what is needed is broad-based support and inter-sector.” To this end, he applauded the Peace Corps for supporting the initiative.
Sam also recognised the youth who have volunteered to serve the project. “It is very important that as you sit here to internalise the tremendous responsibility that we have placed on your shoulders… You are now ambassadors; you are going out into the trenches to try to address an issue that is of national significance,” he said. Further, he told them that if they keep the magnitude of the task in mind they will recognise that they are providing a valuable service to the nation.
