We want young people to own who they are, to invest in their lives, to build themselves and to actively make choices that will give them the freedom to grow.

The project bases its work in the principles that whatever circumstances young people are faced with, in order to protect themselves against social illness, young people need:

• Information
• Skills
• Youth-friendly healthy services and
• A safe and supportive environment

With this in mind, Life Choices developed its methodology.

Our Work
Life Choices project uses two main strategies (School Programme & VCT Programme) aiming at working towards achieving the project’s vision.

School Programme

Life Choices bases its work in schools because they present the perfect opportunity for accessing young people from all walks of life. These young people in turn have access to their parents, siblings, peers from other schools and peers who, for whatever reason, are not within the school system. In this way, school-based programmes can truly impact communities.

Life Choices work is based in Primary and High schools. Working with children beginning with Grade 4 and continuing to Grade 12 allows the Project to work at preventing behaviours and also to work towards modifying unhealthy behaviours before it is too late.

Life Choices developed a comprehensive approach that is put in place in each school for a period no shorter than 5 years.

SCHOOL MODEL

Life Skills: Life Skills aims at addressing the need for young people to become aware of risk and how to avoid it (skills). This component also emphasizes other developmental issues that in the long term will lead youth to make more positive choices (self-value, vision, respect, responsibility, problem solving, human rights and more). This programme reaches every single individual in a school. The programme consists of 7 curriculum-based sessions given in an interactive way during school hours by a pair of young-adults.

Peer-Education: Peer-education is a strategy that involves the use of members of a given group to effect change among other members of the same group. Life Choices believes that Peer-education can support young people in developing new skills, positive group norms and in making healthy decisions once behaviour is socially influenced. This component aims at training young people in order to increase their knowledge as well as to equip them to fulfil the four roles of peer-education (role modelling positive behaviour, educate their peers in an informal and formal way, recognise and refer peers with problems and advocating for youth friendlier services in their community). Besides attending the skills training sessions, peer-educators were requested to organize different activities with their peers (assemblies, debates, one-on-one conversations, lessons, workshops and community projects).

Welfare: Life Choices targets children and youth from disadvantage communities. On a daily basis the project finds children that need help in order to overcome the difficult social situations they find themselves in. Life Choices Social Worker visits targeted schools twice a month and additional emergency situations. Educators referred people to this service. Counselling takes place on a one-on-one basis and thereafter parents are informed and counselled if necessary. Referrals to other specialized organizations and government services are made and followed-up when the situation required it.

Mentorship/Coaching: Schools have learners that are experiencing difficulties at school for different reasons. Educators identify such learners and this component is offered to them and their families. Psychology students mentor/coach learners on a one-on-one basis for a minimum of ten weeks in order to help learners step by step to overcome their difficulties and to become once again productive members of the school.

Career and Job Guidance: Children that are motivated and excited about their futures are more likely to protect their lives by changing their lifestyles. This component aims at giving individuals’ personalised guidance (one-on-one) so that they have clear plans for when they are finished with high school and to give individuals’ a sense that their future is promising.

Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT): The Project brings the ‘Life Choices Youth Friendly Mobile VCT Unit’ to High Schools once a term. Youth are invited to small group information sessions and after that they are offered pre-counselling, HIV testing and post-counselling sessions - TB and Sexually Transmitted Infections are also screened for. All clients are referred to the relevant services.

Parents: This part of the programme supports parents in their role as key players in their children’s lives. Research has shown that the quality of the relationships that parents have with their children is a key determinant of a child’s behaviour. Life Choices offers Parental Skills workshops to parents and guardians. The focus of which is to improve their knowledge and skills to deal with youth issues, as well as to improve the parental involvement in the child’s social and school life.

Educators: Life Choices recognises the important role that educators play in a society where many children are parentless and family structures are no longer as they used to be. This component engages educators through workshops to develop skills to enable them to be supportive role models. Some of the topics covered to the whole school staff include HIV/AIDS; Conflict Resolution; Child Abuse; Problem Solving; Team-building and the Circle of Courage Theory among others.

Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) Programme Life Choices acknowledges that the HIV/AIDS epidemic is fuelled by the fact that an estimated 10% of the population in South Africa is HIV positive and only a small percentage (one out of nine of those people), is aware of their HIV status. Life Choices believes that Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) is an effective method of preventing new infections. In 2007, Life Choices was granted by the USA Government to start a ‘Friendly Mobile Voluntary Counselling and Testing’ Programme that will aim not only to target young people but will also aim at targeting the general population.

Life Choices bases its work in the belief that sustained and positive behaviour change requires significant investment of time, one-on-one support and resources. Based on this principle, Life Choices developed its VCT model in order to fulfil these requirements.

VCT MODEL

Awareness Campaigns (Optional): Life Choices offers as part of its campaigns - Awareness and VCT Mobilisation Activities. These are activities that can run for 20 to 30 minutes before the VCT campaign takes place or they can also take place hand in hand with the VCT campaign through out the day (community campaigns).  During these activities people are addressed in interactive ways (drama, dancing, drumming and more) in order to make HIV/AIDS information more appealing, to create awareness about the VCT processes and to encourage people to go for an HIV test.

Information Sessions (Optional): Young people are combined in groups of 12 to 15 people and presented with an interactive session where HIV/AIDS basic facts and testing procedures are discussed. During these sessions youth is allow to ask questions in order to clarify myths and to voice concerns. They also discuss different risky behaviours (multiple partners, intergenerational relationships, substance use, STI’s, etc) associated to HIV/AIDS. In this way, Life Choices opens to the small group the opportunity to discuss HIV/AIDS information and different social norms associated to the epidemic before dealing with the particular individuals’ behaviour during the counselling sessions.

Pre-Counselling Sessions: During the pre-counselling sessions, clients discuss risk factors in their lives, their fears and supporting structures. They use the information discussed during the information session in order to analyse their life style and to think of ways they could minimise the risk or of ways they could maintain healthy behaviours. These sessions are done on a one-on-one basis using interactive and creative methods in order to make people feel comfortable in sharing their experiences - TB and Sexually Transmitted Infections are also screened for.

Testing: Life Choices Nurses conduct the test using a serial algorithm as the Western Cape Department of Health recommends.  Rapid tests that only need few drops of blood are used during the process and the test results are obtained in 10 – 15 minutes. 

Post-Counselling Sessions: During the post-counselling sessions, clients receive their testing results and they reflect about what was discussed during the pre-counselling sessions. Plans are made with each client about how to maintain their negative status or how to manage their positive diagnosis. Life Choices offers to each client diagnosed as HIV positive, 5 psychological support sessions (one-on-one) with a professional psychologist and telephonic support. All clients are further referred to the relevant services.

Know your HIV status
Knowledge is POWER!!!!
If you test HIV-negative you can choose to stay that way and make small lifestyle changes that will make sure you stay negative.
If you find out early that you are HIV-positive, you can seek medical treatment and learn about the infection what will allow you to live long and to continue being a responsible and productive citizen.

Please, contact us if you would like to organise a Testing Campaign in your school, workplace, church or community. ALL OUR SERVICES ARE FREE OF CHARGE. Together we can make a difference.