AB Workshop

This is for you, Heather. Enjoy!

The latest thing that has been going on came to a close about two weeks ago (before I went on vacation). I held a workshop at the Parika/Salem Community High School about abstinence and being faithful in relation to HIV/AIDS.

In October of 2006 I and another health center staff (at the time) went to an AB Workshop ourselves. One of the conditions about the workshop is that we in return had to host one of our own.

Technically, we were suppose to do the workshop by March 2007, but if you know anything about developing countries things take a bit more time than originally projected. We did ours Thursday, May 31st and Friday June 1st.

The process was a long and stressful one mostly due to the fact that my community member was less than helpful. Don't get me wrong, I like her as a person and I enjoy her company. But, friends don't always make good colleagues. Luckily, her mother was there to fill in as needed. Plus, she made the snacks and drink, which were yummy.

The actual workshop went...how should I say this...it went alright. That doesn't say much now does it? There were good things and there were things that needed improvement. Let's start with the needs improvement, so that we can end on a positive note.

Needs Improvement
The biggest thing was the fact that I did this workshop mostly on my own. It was suppose to be a joint effort, not only in its planning but also in its execution. During the workshop my partner was unable to come the first day and she was late on the second day. As a result, I facilitated all the activities myself. This is the biggest challenge in Peace Corps--getting your community involved so projects will be sustainable. Not that this particular project is sustainable in itself. But, if my partner would have been more involved she would have learned valuable skills and would be able to apply those skills in the future.
The other major issue was getting the kids to talk about sex. Now I know it would probably be hard for any group of kids to talk about that particular subject with your "teacher" no matter which culture you come from, but this was like pulling teeth. Anyway, it's never that easy to just jump into such a taboo subject right off the bat.

Good Things
The good things that happened were despite my lack of a counter-part, Seeraj, the Voluntary Counselor and Tester came with me on both days. The first day he helped me talk about the technical/medical side of HIV/AIDS, and the next day he was there for moral support. Also, I do think the students really enjoyed having me there. One student wrote on her evaluation that the thing she'll remember for a long, long time are her teachers Adannaa and Seeraj. I know, so cute!
Well now it's done and over with and here are some pictures for you enjoyment.