Siyafundisa (“Teaching our children”)

Aribuisaneng (“Let’s talk to one another”)

Youth Peer-to-Peer HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Programs

 
BTCI is partnering with Siyafundisa and Aribuisaneng to help the four-year-old HIV/AIDS prevention education programs establish sustainability for future growth. Intensive training of community youth leaders throughout South Africa helps them become more comfortable and knowledgeable in ways to speak to their peers openly on the causes and prevention of HIV/AIDS.

The program helps dispel the myths and misinformation that spreads between youth and reduces the stigma associated with speaking about, or having, HIV/AIDS.

The programs work together to educate community leaders, priests, HIV/AIDS caregivers, lay people and youth leaders in effective ways to communicate its message on ways to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS,  the importance of “knowing your status”, removing the stigma associated with having and speaking about HIV/AIDS, so intelligent conversation may be held to better educate people on cause and prevention of HIV/AIDS.

Watch the highly-recognized Siyafundisa video to learn more:

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Egumeni

HIV/AIDS Prevention Education for Grandmothers, Daughters and Granddaughters

Building on the Siyafundisa foundation and model, “Egumeni” is a pilot HIV/AIDS prevention program in Swaziland that focuses uniquely on three core sub-groups: adolescent girls, mothers and grandmothers.

PHOTO: African woman with baby, by Flickr user "cbertel"

Training will include the HIV/AIDS prevention curriculum and life skills materials developed for Siyafundisa and will initially employ Siyafundisa’s knowledgeable, trained and experienced field staff. Materials will be expanded to include information and training exercises that address the communication needs of the specific target sub-groups for this program.

What we believe is truly unique about Egumeni is the focus and inclusion of the grandmothers. As the elders of the community, grandmothers were traditionally relied upon as the teachers of sexual knowledge. Their information was passed down in oral tradition and believed to be credible and accurate.

HIV/AIDS has placed grandmothers back in the role of primary care givers. Egumeni would reestablish the grandmothers as a credible source of knowledge on issues of sexuality, including HIV/AIDS prevention education.

Egumeni will be delivered through the existing Anglican Church infrastructure but will be open to other community members in a “train the trainer” format. The training will focus on developing knowledge and learning new interaction and communication skills.

Knowledge of HIV/AIDS is crucial in any effort to prevent transmission. It becomes useful only when people are empowered to act on that knowledge. Egumeni will include training to help empower girls and women. The goal is to provide individuals with the tools they need to go back into their own communities and to stand as both educators and as living examples. The trained “teams” will take their knowledge and new skills back to their own churches, communities and families to train others and build support groups.

Egumeni partners with the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.