WIXLIB

INTRODUCTIONIf parents learn to praise more and criticiseless, to be good role-models to their children,to teach with love and to critically think abouttheir changing cultural norms, then they canstrengthen the socialisation that they already do.As facilitators, you might want to use thistoolkit in the same way as the Stepping Stonesprocess (see Resources at the back of thistoolkit). In this process, older men and women,young men and women and boys and girlsmeet in peer groups and learn each topic at thesame time. They sometimes come together toshare what they have learned and discuss howthey want to change. At the end of a series ofmeetings, the peer groups make a request tothe whole community to change.Guide to using the toolkitPlanning your sessionsThe toolkit contains topic sessions with aims,key facts and a number of different activities.You need to plan each session with its aims,key facts and activities before you start.Always begin meetings with a new group withintroductions, trust, working together, groundrules and listening. This will help people to staysafe and feel comfortable.In some topics in the toolkit, you will find a‘Take care!’ note for the facilitator, to help youavoid hurting or offending the group.Decide on the age and sex of your groupand the amount of time that you have for thesession. For example, in our programme, peereducators hold regular sessions of about 90minutes with single sex groups in three agebands, 9-12, 13-17 and 18-24 years. Also thinkabout what materials you have available; forexample, paper and pens or beads.Select topics and activities that meet theinterests and needs of your different age andsex groups. Spend time in the first sessionfinding out from the group what they would liketo learn about. What questions do they have? Ifpeople are shy to ask their questions, ask them6TimingYou need to select aims, facts and activitiesthat you can realistically cover thoroughlyin your agreed time. Do not try to covertoo much. Everyone in the group needs tounderstand the topic thoroughly and havea chance to explore their feelings about itand develop skills. Group activities takelonger than giving facts in a lecture. Peoplework at different speeds, so we cannot sayexactly how long an activity may take.However, as a rough guide, a session willhave:Introductions and warm-up game15 minutesActivity45 minutesSummarising learning and key facts20 minutesEvaluation10 minutesIn some sessions, you may want to providesome facts first and then do the activity.Most of the activities involving role-play,stories, pictures and debates will take 30to 45 minutes to do. A few activities maytake longer. For example, the HIV infectiongame.to write them on slips of paper and put themin a bag or box anonymously. Those who canwrite can help those who cannot.People in the three age groups have differentneeds because of their different stages ofdevelopment. Males of different ages havedifferent needs to females.For example, girls of 9-14 years will needdetailed information on how to managemenstruation, while boys of the same age maybe worried about wet dreams. Many young

INTRODUCTIONpeople aged 18-24 will already be sexuallyactive or married and/or have children. Theymay be concerned about child-spacing andsexual happiness.Select activities that a particular age and sexgroup will enjoy. Ask them how they like tolearn, and evaluate their participation andinterest in different activities.Preparing for the sessiongame you need plastic bags or gloves andprepared slips of paper.Make yourself a plan for each session (seepage 13).Evaluating your sessionsEvaluation can tell us: how well we facilitated the session and howwe can improveRead the key facts before you start a session toget them clear in your mind. Keep your toolkitwith you in case you need to refer to it. Provideinformation as people need it throughout thesession. Use the facts to answer questions, tohelp people understand an activity and to addto their knowledge after the activity. what people have learned from the sessionIf an activity is new to you, try it out with afriend. If necessary, adapt the story or role-playto suit your group.We can evaluate the session in three ways:If you are going to use a resource person, meetwith her or him beforehand, go through thesession and the key facts, and agree on whowill do what and how long it will take.Ask yourself:What resources will you need?You and the young people that you work withare the best resources for learning. You cantalk, discuss, debate, perform role-plays andpractise new ways of saying things. All thesemethods help people to learn actively ratherthan just memorising facts.In most of the sessions, you will only needyourselves, your toolkit and a notebook torecord the evaluation of the session. Preparefor the session beforehand so that you haveeverything you need.If you are using activities with pictures, makesure that you have the right picture with you.If you are doing mapping or diagrams such asthe ‘But why?’ tree, you need a smooth areaof ground, soil or wall to draw on, some sticksand some objects such as flowers, leaves andstones to use as markers. For the HIV infection whether the topic and activity wasappropriate for the group what more they would like to learn how they have used what they learned intheir lives.1Self-assessmentWhat went well? What was difficult? What did Iachieve? How will I do it differently next time?2 ObservationIf you are working with another person, youcan take it in turns to observe how the groupis working together and responding to theactivities and discussion. If you are alone, youcan still observe how the group is respondingand working together. Watch out for thefollowing: How many people have come to themeeting? Who is actively participating and who iskeeping quiet? Who talks most and who talks least? Arepeople listening to each other? Are people working together or splitting offinto smaller groups? What is the mood of the group? Are peoplebored or interested? Is anyone upset orembarrassed?7

Trust andconfidentialityINTRODUCTION How do people respond when the peereducator does different things? Give feedback to each other after thesession.3Feedback from group membersInvite participants to tell you their views on thesession. You could go around and ask everyoneto say something, or invite people to call out ifthey want to say something.Feedback questionsFollowing up issuesIssues may arise in the sessions that requirefollow-up. For example, a participant may needcounselling or referral. They may want you toinvolve their family or friends. The group maybring up an issue that requires the involvementof other community members or serviceproviders. Try to make contact and collaboratewith resource people and service providers inthe community so that you can work with themto solve problems identified by the group. What is the most important thing that youhave learned in this session?How to use the activities How will you use what you have learned inyour own life? (if appropriate)The following suggestions aim to help you tofacilitate the activities in the toolkit in a safe,enjoyable and effective way. What did you enjoy most about this session? What did you find difficult?Working with groups What suggestions do you have for improvingthe next session?Try not to have more than 15 people in onegroup. Divide into smaller groups or pairs todiscuss sensitive topics. What questions or issues would you like tocover in the next session? If appropriate, you could ask people at thenext session how they were able to use whatthey learned in the previous session. You could ask them to respond to questionswith body language. For example,Ask people how interesting they found thesession. If they found it very interesting, theyput their hand up and wave. If they found itinteresting, they put their hand up; neitherinteresting nor boring, put hands in lap;boring, put thumb down; and very boring,put thumb down and waggle it.Or make an imaginary line on the groundwith one end ‘Very interesting’ and the other‘Boring’. Ask people to stand along theline according to how they feel about thesession.Start with groups of the same sex, especiallyfor sensitive topics. When people have gainedconfidence, mix boys and girls together toshare their ideas and get used to talking toeach other on these issues. Find ways thatyoung and older people can share their ideas.Do the activities in a place where peoplefeel comfortable, private and free frominterruptions.Always be aware that there are likely to bethose of us with HIV in the group or peoplewho have experienced the situation underdiscussion. Use language that includeseveryone, for example, say, ‘those of us withHIV’ instead of ‘people with HIV’ as if they aredifferent from us.Agree on how much time you will spendtogether. For example, 90 minutes is a goodperiod of time to cover a topic.Arrange the seating so that everyone feelspart of the group, able to make eye contactwith everyone and to talk and hear easily. Forexample, sit in a circle without desks.8

INTRODUCTIONTrust and confidentialityExplain that in this book people learn throughdiscussions and activities, rather than lectures.Each person has valuable ideas and peopleshould feel free to express their ideas andfeelings.Say that we all feel embarrassed at times whentalking about sexual matters. But this is essentialif we are to enjoy safe and happy lives. Pointout that because a person talks about sex doesnot mean that they are unusually free in theirbehaviour.Use games such as singing and dancing to helppeople to relax at the start of an activity or after adifficult topic.Agree on some guiding rules with the group. Thegroup could make pictures of these so that theycan be used at each session to remind peopleof their rules. Or the peer educator could writethem down and remind people if they forget. Inthe right-hand column is an example of guidingrules agreed by a group in Zambia.No question is stupid or not worthaskingAsk open-ended, probing and clarifyingquestions to encourage people to talk more fully.Put a box nearby so that people can write theirquestions anonymously.Focus the discussion and summarise so thatpeople can see what they have covered andwhere to go next.If you use a picture, make sure that everyonecan see it. Pass it around the group. Ask peopleto give the characters names and tell a storyabout them.If you are using a story, agony aunt letter, roleplay or picture to start a discussion, use thesequestions: What is happening in the story or picture? Does this happen to people like us? What are the causes and consequences ofthe situation?Our ground rulesWe will not talk about personal storiesand ideas that are discussed in the groupto people outside the group.We will speak one at a time and listen toeach other. Let’s begin by going aroundthe group and giving everyone a chanceto say something about themselves.We will help noisy people to quietendown and quiet people to speak.We each have a right not to participate.We will never pressure anyone to takepart in an activity or share personalinformation.We will respect each other’s right toour own opinions and values. We won’tjudge or ridicule people.We will take responsibility for challengingharmful prejudice and oppression inourselves and others.We all have a right to change our mindsand make mistakes. How could the characters solve the problemor what could the characters have done toavoid the problems?Role-playsIn a role-play, people act out a particularsituation. They may act as themselves or playthe role of another person. There is no writtenscript in role-play and the focus is on whathappens in the interaction, not how well people‘perform’ or act.Role-play is used as a basis for discussion; toincrease communication skills and self-esteem;to explore different situations and ways ofdealing with them; to express feelings openlyand see how others feel; to get inside other9

Trust andconfidentialityINTRODUCTIONpeople’s shoes and see how things feel fromtheir side and to rehearse for the future.In role-play, males can role-play females andvice versa. This experience helps males andfemales to understand each other better.How to use role-playInvolve everyone as participants with a role,or as observers. Ask people to volunteer forroles. Start in pairs or small groups with a fewobservers to build confidence. Encouragepeople to get into the role they are playing. Ifthey are playing a new character, have peopleask them questions about themselves to helpthem get into that person’s shoes. If they areplaying themselves in a new situation, theyshould respond as honestly as possible to thatsituation.Help the role-players to stay focused andexplore the situation fully. Most role-playscome to a natural pause. The best role-playsare fairly short, not more than 10 minutes atthe most.Tell the observers what to look for in the roleplay by giving them some questions.For example: What happened? Why did it happen? What did the characters feel? How did others react?After the role-play, give each of the players anopportunity to express their feelings about thecharacters and situations they portrayed. Thenask them to shed their characters and returnto themselves by removing any props, sayingtheir names and something about themselves.Then discuss what everyone learned from theexperience, analyse the role-play and discussits relevance to their lives. Talk about the roleplay positively in ways that increase the selfesteem of the players, especially if they havebeen brave enough to practise new skills and10deal with a difficult situation. Give praise first,before suggestions for improvement. Help withinformation and skills as necessary.Hot-seatingIn hot-seating, the players stay in role afterthe play. The observers ask them questions todeepen understanding of their motives, feelingsand situation. The observers can challengethem by asking why they behaved as they did,but not judge them.Forum theatreIn forum theatre, the role-play is shown once.It is then replayed from the beginning. Theobservers can clap and say ‘freeze’ to stop theplay at any point. They then ‘go into the shoesof’ one of the characters and change what theysay and/or do so that the situation goes better.The observers then discuss whether the newway worked well and whether it is realistic. Theplay then continues from where it was beforethe freeze.StoriesYou might use the stories in the toolkit indifferent ways. For example, read the storyaloud and then discuss it or role-play the storyor draw pictures of the different scenes. Youmight tell the story in the way that it is writtenand then retell it so that the characters avoidthe problems and have a happier life.Drawings and diagramsTry drawing and making some of the diagramsshown in the toolkit. For example, flow charts,maps and seasonal calendars. These methodsare called participatory learning and action(PLA) because they help people to shareand add to their knowledge, to analyse theirsituation, to plan and to act. Everyone can drawon the ground with a stick, on the blackboardor walls with chalk. The drawing does not haveto be professional because the creator canexplain what it means. Help everyone in the

Trust and confidentialityINTRODUCTIONgroup to pick up the stick and add their ideas.Use leaves, seeds, stones or sticks to markdifferent places or to score.Visits to health and other servicesIt can be very helpful for young people to visitlocal health services and talk with the nursesand family planning workers. It gives them anopportunity to ask questions and express theirconcerns, so that they feel more confident touse the services. Involve the whole communityin the use of the toolkit so that you get thesupport you need.Talking with people in thecommunitySome activities suggest that you talk withpeople in the community. For example, talk withparents and grandparents about how genderrelations have changed since their day. You canmake this go well by involving the communityin the activities and trying to get agreementon the needs of young people for sexual andreproductive health education.11

Trust andINTRODUCTIONconfidentialityActivity record sheet: Group meeting on sexuality and life-skills1. Details of group meetingDate of meetingLocation of meetingNumber of participantsType of participants (e.g. age and sex)2. Topic and activities covered during the meetingTopic(s) coveredActivities used3. What went well and what was difficult?What went well?What was difficult and how can we address this?4. What did we learn and how will we use this learning?5. Action points6. Date and time of next meeting and topics that we will cover at the next meeting12

What?Session titleKey factsWhy?Objectives andgroupCourse plannerWhen?Activity andDate and timeresources neededHow?LocationWhere?Peer motivatorsand resourcepeopleWho?EvaluationWhat effect?INTRODUCTIONTrust and confidentiality13

Introduction toTrustsexualityand confidentialityand life-skillsAims21 To introduce ourselves to the community. To explain the sexuality and life-skill programme. To find people who want to attend the meetings. To organise the next meeting.GroupCommunity members and young people want to know more aboutthe sexuality and life-skills programme.Time2 hoursi Key factsWhy have we organised this meeting?Introduce yourselves. Explain that you wouldlike to talk with the community about holdingsome meetings where people learn moreabout sexual and reproductive health andhow they can enjoy happy, healthy and safesexual lives as they grow up and as adults.We are all sexual beings from birth to death,even at times when we are not having asexual relationship. We are born and broughtup to behave as males and females. Later,we get together and make more boys andgirls. Sexual relationships are often difficult totalk about and make us feel shy. Yet this is anarea of life that is very important for all of us.We may learn about sexuality from ourelders, friends, families, school, books,magazines and films. We learn about growingup, relationships, being a man and a woman,pregnancy and how to avoid sexuallytransmitted infections.These days we also face an epidemic ofHIV, the Human Immunodeficiency Viruswhich causes Acquired Immune DeficiencySyndrome or AIDS. HIV weakens the immunesystem, which protects our bodies fromgerms. When the immune system is very14weak, we may suffer from a number ofdiseases – we have AIDS. Without treatmentmany us get very ill and die of AIDS.In Zambia and Uganda sexual intercourseis the main way that HIV is passed fromone person to another. For this reason,young people need to know how to protectthemselves from HIV from an early age. InZambia, evidence shows that young peoplehave a 50% chance of dying of AIDS in theirlifetime.There may be ten years when youngpeople have sexual feelings and perhap

Association of Zambia, Young, Happy, Healthy and Safe, the Ministries of Health and Education, and peer educators and young people in rural Eastern Province, Zambia. The toolkit was tested by peer educators and revised on the basis of their experience and the lessons learned in monito