HIV/AIDS

Overview
Peer Education
Awareness & Prevention
Support for HIV+ people
Coaching For Hope

Studies show that young people seek information on sex primarily from their peers and hold onto those beliefs and misconceptions. Taking this lesson, we designed our program around the use of peers as a strategy for building awareness on HIV/AIDS and promoting behavioral change.

We identify village adolescents, college students, and truck drivers who have leadership qualities and spare time to become peer educators. They undergo training courses where they learn the basics of HIV/AIDS, sexual health, anatomy and hygiene. They also receive training in communication, decision making, confidence building, and negotiation so they can effectively teach others what they have learned.

The peer educators then disseminate the information, often to hundreds of peers and villagers, and modify their own behavior to act as role models. We help create "Balaka Mandas", groups of village adolescents who discuss issues with the peer educators and spread the message to the rest of the community.

Since the program started, 1,200 school dropouts have become peer educators and have helped train over 7,000 adolescents on HIV/AIDS and sexual health. Read a success story.