Marseille 2007
| Abstract #288 - Thina Abatwana Siyaqoba Together we the children can beat it | ||||
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Session: 38.5: Counselling and Therapy (Parallel) on Tuesday @ 14.00-16.00 in CP Chaired by Barbara Hedge, Michael Blank Authors: Presenting Author: Ms ELIZABETH BROWN - MADaboutART, South Africa |
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| Additional Authors: Mr COLLIN ALIE, Ms NTOMBI MDINGANA, | ||||
| Aim: To create engaging, actionable and accessible HIV educational interventions that are informed, led and delivered by children and young people. | ||||
| Method / Issue: Youth of today face challenges in balancing experimentation with risk-taking in an environment dominated by HIV. Poverty, gender inequality, lack of knowledge and resources, substance and alcohol misuse and low self-esteem combined with a complexity of other factors enhance vulnerability to HIV. Loss of parents and siblings compounds the negative impact. Repetitive messages about HIV have resulted in young people becoming disassociated from traditional educational approaches. Refreshing, innovative approaches that involve young people in learning and teaching others are required to address individual vulnerability to HIV. MADaboutART is a community-led approach to HIV education designed by young people for young people in a high HIV prevalence area of South Africas Western Cape. Innovative, child-friendly interventions build self-esteem through expressional art and narrative therapy to ensure a strong foundation at the individual level. Involvement of HIV-positive people enables young people to deconstruct myths and misunderstandings. Four Youth Ambassadors supported by 14 (school-age) Young Youth Ambassadors act as peer facilitators at after-school MAD clubs using a toolbox of techniques adapted from those developed by narrative therapy practitioners including Hero Booking (narrative therapy used in Southern Africa and elsewhere by 10MMP partners to build self-esteem in a supportive team environment by focussing on the hero-ness of the child), ME Boxes (support communication skills and presentation of me by enabling the child to represent their life on and within a self-made box) and Body Mapping (investigates personal health and emotions using story-telling to know and value self and others). Art Attacks (rapid artistic responses to check understanding) act as an evaluation tool and increase group understanding of HIV. Youth Ambassadors undergo a programme of HIV knowledge training integrated with leadership, facilitation, management and life skills development. | ||||
| Results / Comments: Combined with art-based HIV education, these tools leave tangible, reaffirming and empowering references to me and reduce vulnerability by increasing knowledge and self-esteem through simple guided approaches to problem identification and solving that support development of coping strategies and greater understanding of self. A youth-driven programme designed by youth for youth ensures high level participation. Involving young people in a structured programme that provides information followed by skills development and application supports risk-reduction through empowerment and self-advocacy and enables them to Make A Difference through peer-led educational projects. | ||||
| Discussion: Narrative therapy interventions support and facilitate self-discovery and emotional understanding. At a time of youth fatigue, innovative, fun approaches to HIV education can stimulate children and young people to re-engage in self-discovery and learning. Empowerment enables individuals to make choices. Some choices may involve risk-taking strategies and it is important that choices are made in an environment of knowledge and personal responsibility and with respect for self and others. Young people have the capacity to input and lead and should be involved in all stages of development and delivery of youth educational programmes. | ||||
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