Ladies and Gentlemen,
World Links has the proud honor of announcing our first project
adaptation of locally produced HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health material
from print to an electronic platform for schools and the general public.
The new site, Auntie Stella (described below) is featured at the
Zimbabwean Training and Research Support Center (TARSC) NGO, website at
www.tarsc.org/auntstella/index.html, and is part of our ongoing AIDSWEB:
HIV/AIDS and IT in Schools' Project with ongoing participation from
students and teachers in several African countries -- Botswana, Ghana,
Kenya, Nigeria, So. Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe -- and schools
in the United States.
Please let us know what you think about it -- feel free to circulate
this e-mail -- and/or contact me if you any further questions about our
project activities.
Tony
Anthony Bloome
Anglophone Africa Regional Coordinator
World Links
202-473-2282
P.S. We'll talk about the website as well as other AIDSWEB project
activities at a Brown Bag event on February 27th (J7-044 at 12:30-2:30)
with teachers from each of the above countries here in Washington to
share their AIDSWEB project-related experiences.
AUNTIE STELLA
A new web-based resource for adolescent reproductive health
The Training and Research Support Centre (TARSC) based in Harare,
Zimbabwe (www.tarsc.org) announces the creation of a new site linked to
the TARSC website specifically developed for young people to engage in
discussion and problem solving on issues related to their reproductive
health.
The website Auntie Stella: Teenagers talk about sex, life and
relationships can be reached through the TARSC address above or directly
on www.auntiestella.org. The site, developed with support from World
Links has been adapted from the print version of Auntie Stella which
has been successfully used by youth in and out of school.
Both the print and electronic versions use the question and reply format
of problem page letters written to agony aunts in magazines, a popular
source of information for young people. The basic method is for a
question letter to be read and the problem discussed, usually in small
single-sex groups, or by individuals reflecting on their own. They then
turn to Auntie Stella's reply for expert information and suggestions
about how to apply any new knowledge in real life, and to explore ways
to change their behaviour.
There are over 30 'questions' covering such topics as emotional and
physical changes in adolescence, relationships with peers, parents and
the opposite sex, forced sex, gender roles, wanted and unwanted
pregnancy, STDs and HIV/AIDS.
The content of the letters, as well as the format and methodology used,
was based on research with secondary school students in Zimbabwe and
reflect their real experiences, needs and concerns.
The website also includes detailed information to facilitators on
various ways young people can use the site, a glossary of difficult
words and a bulletin board in which young people from around the world
can talk to each other about issues related to sex, life and
relationships. The emphasis is on creating an informal and
non-judgmental atmosphere where teenagers can work in privacy and focus
on their own experiences, knowledge and needs.
Using a participatory (PRA) approach throughout, Auntie Stella stresses
that young people should learn through discussion and through doing
things themselves, rather than by having teachers/facilitators (who
know) pour knowledge into teenagers (who don't know). The PRA philosophy
begins with the knowledge and experience of the learners, and uses
various methods to provoke discussion and encourage them to action.
The print version has been widely used in schools in Zimbabwe, as well
as in AIDS support organisations, youth centres, sports clubs, child
abuse support centres, family planning centres, and church and debating
clubs.
Auntie Stella was developed by Barbara Kaim, Programme Manager of the
Adolescent Reproductive Health Project at TARSC. TARSC is a Zimbabwean
non-profit organisation which provides training, research and support
services for civic organisations to develop social capacities,
networking and action. Funding for the print version of Auntie Stella
was provided by the Ford Foundation and the Royal Danish Embassy
(Danida). The electronic version was produced with financial assistance
from World Links Organization (www.world-links.org) and technical
oversight by the World Bank's WorLD Program to provide and promote
access to and training in information and communications technology for
schools in developing countries.
For more information about TARSC and Auntie Stella, visit TARSC's
website at www.tarsc.org or contact us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
AIDSWEB: An Ongoing Project Exploring the Use ICT for HIV/AIDS
Education in Schools in Africa
with contributions from African teachers from
Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and
Zimbabwe
TIME & VENUE:
Wednesday, February 27, 2002
12:30-2:30pm
701 18th St.
Room J7-044
If you are interested in attending, please e-mail Anthony Bloome at
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
no later than cob, Monday, Feb. 25, 2002
DESCRIPTION:
AIDSWEB is an ongoing project supported by the Alliance for Global
Learning -- World Links, IEARN, Schools Online,and the United Negro
College Fund -- which explores the use of ICT for HIV/AIDS education and
community awareness raising. Through sponsorship support from the US
Dept of State, eight secondary school teachers from African countries
participating in the project have been invited to come to Washington,
D.C. for two weeks (starting on the February 15th) to meet with their US
teacher counterparts and other stakeholders interested in hearing about
and sharing their experiences.
At the brown bag, teachers from eight African countries -- Botswana,
Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, So. Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe -- will
talk about their students' involvement in the project and other ongoing
HIV/AIDS educational activities in their schools. Additionally, project
organizers will present other HIV/AIDS and IT project activities
including materials development, such as the newly produced Auntie
Stella website <www.tarsc.org/auntstella/index.html>, and WBI's
Development Education Program's HIV/AIDS learning module.
The AIDSWEB project includes an online collaborative project which has
been running since 2000, facilitated by World Links with help from the
World Bank's ACTAfrica Unit. In 2001, teachers and other stakeholders
met in Cape Town, So. Africa to discuss HIV/AIDS material adaptation and
development for IT delivery. This visit to DC builds on the Cape Town
workshop.
For more information, please contact:
* Anthony Bloome, World Links Anglophone Africa
Coordinator, [EMAIL PROTECTED], x32282, or
* Ann Klofkorn Bloome, World Links HIV/AIDS
Project Consultant, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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