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SALESIAN LIFE CHOICES
Our Vision
“A South Africa with empowered and passionate youth equipped to make informed and healthy Life Choices”
With this vision in mind Life Choices South Africa aims to reach 56 000 young people with a powerful self development message that will equip them to make informed and healthy life choices. This innovative HIV/AIDS prevention programme started in October 2005 working with youth between the age of 10 to 19 years.
Life Choice’s office is based at the Salesians’ Lansdowne premises in Cape Town. The Provincial Department of Health and Education identified three disadvantaged communities (Delft, Manenberg and Athlone) for the implementation of the Life Choice’s project. These three communities were selected so that duplication of services did not occur and they have an estimated HIV prevalence of 15-19%.
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Life Choices is a school-based project, as schools present the perfect opportunity for accessing young people from all walks of life. In turn these young people interact with their parents, siblings, peers from other schools and peers who are not within the school system. In this way these communities are truly impacted.
Currently Life Choices is working in eight Primary Schools and fourteen High Schools. The aim is to have a holistic approach in the schools. This is achieved through several different programmes, namely, Life Skills, Peer Education, educators programme, parents programme, welfare programme and mobile VCT.
The Life Skills programmes is made up of seven fun and interactive sessions for grade 4 to 12, run during the Life Orientation period. The first seven topics are self-esteem; vision and goal setting; HIV/AIDS and STI’s; HIV/AIDS and abstinence; risk behaviour; gender and violence; and diversity. The second year topics are values; respect; acceptance; love; care; responsibility and perseverance. All topics are designed around youth issues and to reinforce the key messages of the programme.
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Life Choices train Peer Educators to be informal role-models of healthy and positive behaviour, who can educate their peers in a structured manner. Once a week after school Peer Educators meet for one hour and attend a training camp, in total 30 contact hours a year. They are trained to recognize youth in need of additional help and refer them for assistance and to advocate for resources and services for themselves and their peers. A similar programme is also run with the Grade 7 Prefects in Primary Schools so that they can be leaders amongst their peers. |
There is an urgent need for young people to identify positive adult role-models outside their families and to have available support structures. Life Choices therefore runs workshops and teambuilding with educators. With the aim of motivating educators, to create team spirit among school staff and to promote a supportive environment in schools. Life Choices also runs workshops with parents in order to encourage better relationships between parent and child, and to increase the parental skills amongst the parents. |
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VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) has been shown to be effective in HIV prevention by decreasing risky behaviour. Life Choices makes mobile VCT available to the High Schools by networking with a highly qualified institution (‘New Start’).
The Peer Educators mobilise their peers to be tested. Life Choices works hard to change Social Norms in order to create safe environments. Many Children need help to overcome the difficult situations they find themselves in. For this reason Life Choices employed an Auxiliary Social Worker to work in each of the schools.
For more detailed information please contact the office for a copy of Life Choices's Annual Report 2005-2006.
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Who we are xxxxxxx |
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- Sofia Neves: Programme Manager
- Shadrack Kosane: Trainer Coordinator
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| Personal Experiences |
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Life Skills: Kairos Primary
During an interval three learners came to the facilitators and told them how grateful they were for all the sessions they were doing. One said that she could relate to every single session. The one session that touched her life the most was “gender and violence”. This learner’s father does not work and her mother is the only breadwinner. Her father drinks a lot and the end result is that he hits her mother. She says that she hates the weekends because that is when they fight the most. She expressed that she has been blaming herself. The facilitators spoke to her and told her that in no way is it her fault and the facilitators have been speaking to her ever since, she actually looks forward to the life skills sessions every week. Facilitator: Akhona & Laaiqah |
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Peer Education: This is not an isolated occurrence
The Life Choices programme came to Holy Cross in 2006. They ran sessions with different grades. Thereafter they held interviews with some grade 10’s to become Peer Educators. Peers who would be leaders and be a representative of their class, grade, school and community.
These learners undertook training in all the areas of the Peer Educator model i.e. HIV/AIDS, sexuality and lifestyle issues. Thereafter they would be able to educate and help their peers around their community and school.
Before any of the Peer Educators can go out into communities they are equipped in fulfilling the four roles of a peer educator:
- Role modeling positive and healthy behavior,
- Educating their peers in a structured way,
- Recognizing peers with needs and referring them for help,
- Advocating for change and uplifting the community, Which our Peer Educators understand and fully adhere to.
Life Choices has made a huge impact on Holy Cross, the Peer Educators are educating their peers in life issues. Facilities like VCT have been made available to the learners at Holy Cross. The Peer Educators mobilized their peers, so that their peers can have a clear understanding of what VCT is. This is only one of the many wondrous impacts Life Choices has had on Holy Cross. All I hope is that all of this is not only an occurrence in my school but in many other schools. We, young people, need to be educated!
Written by Peer Educator: Tholakele Nyongo, Age 15, Holy Cross Convent High School
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Prefects: Leiden Primary
In Leiden Primary we gave a prefect session which is “My Sexuality” and then after the session a girl came to us saying the boyfriend is pressurising her to have sex to show that she loves him. And when she thought of what Life Choices teaches them she manage to stand her ground and stick to what was valuable to her. She is very grateful for what Life Choices had done for them and eventually she spoke to her boyfriend and taught him what love and sex is all about.
Facilitators: Mirriam & Shaun
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Facilitator: Vergenoegd Primary
Ever since the programme started in Vergenoegd primary children and Educators came to us saying that there has been a difference in learners and educators. That the learners now have realised how important life is and what it is to achieve their goals. And we all the times receive letters from learners just to say thank you for what we did because no one else speaks to them about sex. We are glad that Life Choice’s puts a smile on their faces.
Facilitators: Mirriam & Shaun
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Welfare Programme: Rosendal High
A Grade 10 learner was living with her mom and her stepfather. She was experiencing panic attacks in class and could not concentrated so her grades started to drop. She decided to drop out of school to find employment to sustain her. One of the educators encouraged her to speak to the Life Choice’s Social Worker, Marina, before she makes a decision. The learner was very traumatised and scared. She shared with Marina that her stepfather physically abuses both her mom and herself. Sometimes her mom runs away from home and leaves her with him where the abuse still continues. He threatened her if that she tells anyone he will kill her and her mom. She claims that he is seen by the neighbours as a very respected and righteous man, however behind closed doors he is a monster. Marina (Social Worker) managed to get hold of the learner’s mother and she came to see Marina at the school. Marina counseled the mother around stopping the abuse and taking control of her life. She refereed her to the Bellville court to apply for a protection and eviction order. It was granted and the stepfather was evicted from the home. The learner’s mother was referred to a support group for abused women. And the learner has been recovering and improving academically at school.
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