A proposed multi-faceted peer education approach to ensure sustainable community development

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Thus far, no youth intervention strategy has responded to the root causes of theHIV/AIDS crisis amongst young people through an approach that encompassesboth a prevention and a future leadership strategy in one development model.This article tells the story of the development and pilot process of an adolescentpeer education model, for which the author of this paper was the leader. Themodel is being proposed as a youth development strategy to positively impactcommunity social norms by using young opinion leaders as the catalyst forchange.The model was developed through an NGO, OIL Reach Out Adolescent Training(OIL), that specifically set out to pioneer, implement and evaluate best practiceadolescent peer education in one cross-cultural community as a model for othercommunities in Africa.OIL set out basing its belief in the efficacy of peer education on behaviouraltheories, which support it as a strategy for behaviour change. At the heart of theirpeer education pilot was the belief that the message giver is the strongestmessage; people don't change with information, they change when othersaround them change. Together with peer education theories, OIL applied a'futures-oriented education approach in their curriculum development.OIL set out with a definition of peer education as being 'the process wherebyskilled facilitators assist a group of suitable young people to: educate their peersin a structured manner; informally role-model healthy behaviour; recognise youthin need of additional help and refer them for assistance; and advocate forresources and services for themselves and their peers. (Deutsch, C. & Swartz. S2003),OIL strategically selected a community at the tip of the Western Cape to pilot,made up of 4 diverse school communities and representing a microcosm of periurbanSouth Africa as a whole.OIL was selected by the Western Cape Education Department as part of theprovincial pilot programme. The core programme framework was designedtogether with community stakeholders and adolescent communityrepresentatives. Selection of Adolescent Peer Educators was through acombination of self-nomination and referrals from peers. The aim of this processwas to yield a diverse group of teens from all the different sub-cultures who wereleaders, chosen on their shared experience with learners and making up 10-15%of the class.Training content included a diverse values based curriculum that was designedto provide skills and information needed to tackle root issues facing young peopleand providing a sense of vision and purpose. Personal transformation of the peereducator was realized to be the critical factor in effective peer education.Overthree years, a structured and long-term programme was put in place withprogramme standards and clear manageable outputs for peer educators.Once the pilot was drawing to completion in 2004, the author of this paper asrepresentative of OIL at the time, together with representatives of the seven otherimplementing organisations involved in the pilot, were brought together tocompile their learnings and document a proposed common model forimplementation from 2005 into other communities. OIL's model anduncompromising standards of peer education were recognized for futureprogrammes to learn from and model. Challenges for future implementersinclude accessing financial sustainability, community buy and combatting HIVrelated attitudes

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University