HIV&ME

With the support of our valued partners, Regency Foundation Networx has brought ‘HIV&Me’ education and training to over 1100 educators and almost 50000 learners in a range of urban, peri-urban and rural communities in 2009.

HIV&Me is an HIV prevention and management program which aims to enable young people (12 – 15) to make responsible and informed choices about their health and sexual behaviour. The program utilizes an Outcomes Based Education approach and provides lesson plans, learner worksheets and assessments that are easily integrated into the existing school curriculum. Natural Science and Life Orientation Educators are trained on the program materials and subsequently coached and monitored during their in-classroom delivery of the lessons to their learners.

Feedback from the training workshops, complemented by discussions with educators, indicates a very positive reaction by educators to the program and a constructive response from learners to the lessons. What is also evident is the huge void in entry level HIV&AIDS information, as throughout the program misperceptions and misinformation had to be dispelled.

Quantitative feedback from the educators is consistently high. Response to the lessons is excellent and educators are motivated to deliver the training on to learners. On a qualitative level, educators show an appreciation for the knowledge, skills and content required to train learners on HIV&AIDS; and the opportunity for them to share their own personal fears in a safe, open and informative environment.

Testimonials
The workshop came to my rescue because we are facing this dilemma and we need answers and more information about HIV&AIDS to address the situation we are in.
Nkosi Khanyile , Zinikeleni Sec, Secunda

The lessons are well planned, clear and easy to present to learners. Learners are going to get more knowledge and skills on HIV awareness and control.
Olga Makasi, Bula PJ

It highlighted on my insecurities and other uninformed issues I had on AIDS. It provided me with more information that I will use to motivate, educate and empower my learner about the pandemic.
Micheal Ngobeni, Eastbank Bank High, Gauteng

An independent impact assessment has confirmed the effectiveness of the program content and methodology, demonstrating a positive impact on participants in their desire to practice safer sex, and more specifically, in the acceptance of girls carrying condoms. Enhanced confidence around abstinence as well as negotiating safer sexual practice was also confirmed by learners. Further, participants indicated a significant increase in confidence regarding the uptake of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) and an improvement in HIV knowledge and openness for discussion was also evident.

I was scared to eat with a friend who is infected, but now I do not discriminate him, I now share with him (boy)
I thought that if a person with HIV spits on me I will get HIV (girl)
I have an aunt who is infected and first I didn’t even want to touch her, or eat with her , but later after learning more about HIV I realised it was wrong to discriminate, I learned ways that one can get infected and now I know that sharing food, or bed or toilet with her, I now stopped discriminating (girl)
I am abstaining from sex so that I can keep myself protected (boy)
I learnt that I can face any challenge, like peer pressure, I do not have to do what friends say I should do (boy)
I will insist that one should use a condom even if you know a person’s status (girl)
I am encouraging those around me to use condoms if they do not abstain (girl)

At the end of this successful year for HIV&Me, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our corporate partners, without whom this progress could not have been possible. Some have come on board to sponsor a cluster of schools and communities in specific geographical areas, others have supported the program in its overall development and implementation, all of whom have made a vital contribution to our achievements to date.

To AngloGold Ashanti, Clientele Life, Coronation, Edcon, Eskom, JD Group, Mango, Sasol, Shell, Unilever, WBHO and Xstrata, we are grateful for your faith in our program and for your support which has enabled us to impact on the lives of educators and youth across South Africa.

We look forward in continuing to work with our valued partners during 2010 as we reach new schools, new communities, new educators and new learners. We are also pleased to welcome Harmony Gold, and Tongaat-Hulett to our HIV&Me family.