Most of my time this last week was spent in the Cape Town office, which was certainly a change-of-pace from working in the Townships. The Curriculum and Training team (which is where I’m interning) is gearing up to host four ToC’s (training of coaches) in the month of September, so we’ve been pretty busy getting all of the logistical aspects squared away. I’ll be working with some of the other interns to make sure that the Training team and the Programs team have everything they need to host the first ever “Generation Skillz” (our new pilot program curriculum for high school kids) ToC event.
As a side project (although its taken up a majority of my time this past week) I’ve also been working on designing a small portion of our new “Development Training” curriculum. “Development Training” is essentially continuing education to help our more advanced coaches stay focused and gain a better/deeper understanding of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa. The section that I have been assigned to work on is called “HIV Experts”. Basically this exercise is designed to create a discussion-based learning environment about HIV, its driving forces, and some of the science behind transmission rates. I’m hopeful that the activity will create a “Socratic” learning environment, where coaches and trainers can engage in an open dialogue of the primary forces driving HIV in South Africa. Accomplishing this task however is a little more difficult than I initially anticipated. I’m going to try and post the activity once its been approved but for now I’ll try and provide a brief synopsis of what we’re working on!
HIV prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa is a complex issue, yet research has shown that HIV transmission rates are directly correlated with four primary interrelated behavioral risks. These behavioral risks are certainly not the only means of HIV proliferation in sub-Saharan Africa, yet they are doing more than anything else to spread the HIV epidemic. In no particular order they are: Multiple concurrent partners, age-disparate relationships, alcohol abuse, and gender-based violence. While these four issues may seem unrelated, they are in fact highly integrated. Each risk factor is also a function of the other three, and the highly interrelated web that they form is one of the key lynch-pins in the battle against HIV.
For a better idea of how this exercise actually plays out, I have provided a brief example of what I’m working on. Its designed in a fairly linear fashion. Essentially we start with a FACT, then raise a series of QUESTIONS based on that fact. The “notes” that follow are designed to help the facilitator steer the discussion in the appropriate direction.
Fact: Last year it is estimated that over 500,000 women in South Africa were raped…
Question: How does rape affect the HIV epidemic? What role does rape play in the concurrent partner equation? How does “viral load” effect the proliferation of the disease through rape?
Discussion Points: Make sure the relationship between rape, concurrent partners, and viral load (essentially risk of transmission) is clearly defined. Participants should be able to understand the basics of transmission as a function of viral load AND concurrent partners. They should also be familiar with the relationship that time and rate-of-infection play in transmission.
Well that’s just one example. The Fact/Questions are ordered in a logical progression, this one is taken from the middle so it might seem a little out-of-place.
Alright, I’ll have more posts about Cape Town later today. I haven’t had internet for the past week, so its been a little challenging to get these up. Here are some pictures from my walk to work. Its okay, you can be jealous...
Later.
No comments:
Post a Comment