In the last week of August we were excited to meet again with the group of 33 Ugandan community workers and educators, who started their Health[e]Living journey with us last April. The follow-up workshop took place at the TASO Kanyanya Training Center in Kampala, which we can call our home away from home by now. There were many stories to tell and experiences to share. The workshop had inspiring presentations by local experts such as Lynda Nakalawa and Annet Nakaganda, who shared their knowledge on topics such as sex and gender, the healthy (changing) adolescent body and safe sex.
The participants themselves presented their learning process by reflecting on sessions they had facilitated with adolescents in the field, a requirement for certification of the Health[e]Living course. The participants had received the guidelines for the presentations half way through the e-learning period so they could prepare a presentation in which they were encouraged to reflectively describe how they had been “learning by doing”, the slogan of the Health[e]Living course. Although challenging, the guidelines helped the participants to reflect on their learning on a higher level.
Following the follow-up workshop, we started with a fourth group of 30 community workers and educators from several organizations in Uganda such as The Aids Support Organisation (TASO), HOCDA and Dynamic Health. The new participants received a tablet and toolkit which they will use to study the Health[e]Living modules and facilitate the corresponding activities with adolescents in their communities. For this group a new module was added to the course called Reaching out to adolescents. This module outlines behavior theories and how to effectively achieve behavioral change. The focus is on the application of this theory in daily practice and how to help young people to adopt healthy behaviors and to avoid or resist risky behaviors. Guest speakers Dr. Sabrina Bakeera Kitaka and Lynda Nakalawa introduced the participants to some of the topics with presentations on communication with and between adolescents, the (changes in the) healthy body and substance misuse and addiction among adolescents in Uganda.
More news on this training group will follow soon!
