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Mpilonhle News
EDC Develops Mpilonhle's Health Education Materials
11 Mar 2008
“A stifling stigma surrounds HIV here. In that environment, there’s little frank discussion about it and misconceptions flourish. But things are changing.”
The approach EDC employed in designing the materials was to create a fun, interactive, and participatory curriculum to engage students in building HIV prevention skills in real-life situations, rather than simply learning facts through rote memorization. Additionally, the material is grounded in the local culture, reflecting the realities of how HIV affects and relates to the particular community students live in.
EDC consulted with teachers at the participating schools to dovetail with their health efforts. According to Pulizzi, teachers welcomed the idea of outsiders presenting critical information on the basics of HIV prevention. Due to their roles as teachers and disciplinarians, teachers expressed that students may talk more freely about HIV and sexuality with others.
EDC employed an iterative process to develop the materials, working closely with Mpilonhle staff to draft the curriculum and test it with Mpilonhle health educators and counselors. Pulizzi and Mpilonhle staff then engaged many stakeholders to pilot test the materials, working with students, teachers, and staff in four participating schools to improve upon their efforts.
“From the 8th to the 11th grade, students had the same types of questions and misconceptions,” says Pulizzi. “This program provides a space where they can ask questions in a non-judgmental atmosphere. I think that was an important service.”
Mpilonhle engages qualified health professionals to answer students’ questions. A major strength of this curriculum is that it is rooted in medical science, yet develops students’ HIV prevention skills and knowledge in a way that relates to their lives and is developmentally appropriate. While the curriculum and worksheets are written in English, the health educators present the information in Zulu.
Pulizzi notes, “The students speak and live their lives in Zulu, so it’s critical to present the information in their mother tongue. It’s easy to think of something as part of school but not part of your life, and language can really add to that barrier.”
The program attracts students because it offers them access to and skills in technology. It integrates health education with computer learning, so that health education information is also present as students develop and practice their computer skills.
Many people are vulnerable to HIV because of their lack of opportunity. While the curriculum builds skills to enhance economic opportunity and reduce HIV vulnerability, it is also intended to develop a sense of personal investment.
“As health educators, our greatest challenge is apathy,” adds Pulizzi. “If someone doesn’t care, whatever we teach will not take hold – eating right, exercising, negotiating, safer sex, delaying sexual activity. The real issue is when students are out of class, hanging out with their friends, will they make that choice because they want to.”
View www.edc.org for more.
