Dick Stellway of Community Vision International discusses the problem of children made vulnerable as a result of losing family to HIV/AIDS. Mr. Stellway presents promising community partnerships to help protect vulnerable children.

1. School and Community
Partnerships:
Essential components in a strategy
to promote healthy values and behaviors
in the context of HIV and AIDS
OVC Panel Presentation
CCIH 2012 Annual Conference
June 8-10, Marymount Univ., Arlington, VA

2. HIV and AIDS: A Quick Look
UNAIDS, 2010

3. HIV & AIDS Concentration: Of the 34
million PLWHA
 2.7 million became newly infected in 2010
(UNAIDS, UNICEF, WHO 2011 estimate)
 Over 16 million children have been orphaned
by AIDS (UNAIDS, 2010)
 Youth between 15 and 24 are particularly
vulnerable
 Young people who have AIDS contracted the
disease between 5 to 7 years earlier, some as
young as 13. (Michael J. Kelly, Education: For an Africa Without
AIDS, 2008)
 Young women are highly vulnerable - In the 15-
24 age group in Kenya, women are four times more
likely to contract HIV. (UNGASS 2010 Country Report –
Kenya)

4. Up to a third of children have
been orphaned by AIDS in some
areas

5. Young girls are especially
vulnerable
―Kenyan women between 15 and 24 experience high rates of violent
sexual contact, which is thought to contribute to the higher prevalence
of HIV. In a 2003 nationwide survey, almost half of women reported
having experienced violence and a quarter of women aged between
12 and 24 had lost their virginity by force
(·UNGASS (2008) ‗Country report – Kenya‘
Kenya Office of the President, Ministry of Special Programmes)

6. Call for a concerted response
 UNAIDS, UNICEF and other international
organizations have called for a coordinated
response to address the AIDS pandemic.
 In highly infected areas it is vital that
schools and communities pull together to
address the pandemic.
 Far too often schools and communities
move on parallel tracks and frequently
move in opposite directions—with
disastrous consequences.

7. Mutually enabling partnerships can
occur – but will require that certain
critical issues be addressed and acted
upon.
1. Speaking with one voice: Valid and
consistent information for prevention
2. Protecting our future: Protecting our
children and youth
3. Accepting, supporting and caring for
people affected and infected by HIV and
AIDS

8. Speaking with one voice:
Some Critical Questions for Schools
 What are children and young people actually being
taught at school about the nature of HIV and AIDS and
how it is transmitted?
 Do teachers and school administrators have the support
of parents for teaching about HIV and AIDS.
 Do teachers, and school children have accurate
information about the perceptions and practices that put
students at risk of contracting the disease?
 What more do schools need to do to combat the spread
of HIV and AIDS among students.
 What more can schools do to help strengthen the fight
against HIV and AIDS in the community?
 What resources could be employed to assist schools
with this task?

9. Speaking with one voice: Some
Critical Questions for Communities
What messages concerning HIV and AIDS are
conveyed to children and youth by
parents, peers, elders and others in the community?
What messages concerning sexuality and
appropriate sexual behavior are being conveyed by
parents, peers, and other members of the
community?
Do these messages support what schools are
teaching about the disease and how it is transmitted?
Which of these various messages, in the diverse
sources, put children and youth ―at risk‖ of contacting
HIV and AIDS?
What are boys learning about what it takes to be a
―real man?‖ Are they being taught to be protectors or
sexually exploiters of women?

10. Preserving our future:
Protecting our children and youth
School-Related Violence and Sexual Abuse in South
Africa
South African girls continue to be raped, sexually
abused, sexually harassed, and assaulted at school
by male classmates and teachers.
For many South African girls, violence and abuse
are an inevitable part of the school environment.
Thirty-three percent of South African women raped
before age 15 were attacked by teachers, another 21
percent by relatives, and a similar number by
strangers or acquaintances. (George, Finberg, and
Thonden, Scared at School; Jewkes, ”Rape of Girls in South Africa,” p.
29 (cited in Kelly, 2008, p. 29)

11. Protecting our Children and Youth:
Some Critical Questions
What conditions in the school or community put
children and youth at risk of contracting HIV?
Are students or house girls and boys sexually
harassed or abused
--on the way to school?
--by teachers?
--by fellow students?
--by family members or workers?
What does (1) the school and (2) the community
have to do to remedy the problem? How can they
work together?

12. Critical Questions, cont.
Would controlling the access of young people
in the community to alcohol reduce their
vulnerability to HIV infection and, if so, how can
this best be done?
What life skills could be taught to help children
and youth deal with coercion or peer pressure
and how to deal with or avoid dangerous
situations?
Are there people who can be trusted to take
corrective action if and when children and youth
report sexual harassment? Who are these
people and what corrective action should they

13. Accepting, supporting and caring for
people affected and infected by HIV and
AIDS
Negative effects of HIV and AIDS on learners
 Numerically they become fewer -
 Financially they become less able to remain in
education
 Psychologically, less able to learn; may not even want
to be educated.
 Socially, many are orphans, some heading households
Negative effects of HIV and AIDS on educators
 Death are numerous
 Frequent and progressive and extended bouts of
sickness prevent proper functioning
 Sickness in their family
 Low morale in institution (due to death, illness and
absence)

14. Accepting, Supporting and Caring:
Critical Questions for Examination and
Action
What children in your community are impacted by
the AIDS pandemic?
What problems are they facing? (It may be
necessary to talk to the children.)
How are these problems affecting their ability to
attend school and their school performance?
In what ways can the community help these
children?
In what ways can the school help these children?
Are there school teachers and other staff members
who are infected or come from AIDS infected
families?
How can the school and community assist families
affected by HIV and AIDS?

15. A New and Promising Partnership

16. Lessons from a successful
partnership initiative
The following principles are important for initiating an effective
partnership:
1. Transforming relationships. Dealing with such a sensitive
and secretive pandemic requires a deep level of trust
2. Transforming individuals’ values and attitudes. The
Principal (catalyst) worked on either affirming positive
attitudes or building them in all the individuals concerned.
3. Increasing knowledge and eliminating ignorance and
fear. Taking part in departmental training programmes and
spreading the message around the community
4. Building structures and networks. A committee to focus on
planning and implementing the plans.
5. Sustaining the support. Constantly finding new ways of
supporting families. (A community garden, providing home based
care, etc.)
_______________
Lawrence, Lorraine. (2006). ―Transformation in a South African Township: How a local school and
community came together to address HIV and AIDS‖ in Commonwealth Youth and
Development. Vol. 4 No.1 2006, pp. 32-40.

17. The Prize: A Big Step Forward
to promote values and behaviors that
preserve and protect the health and welfare
of children, their school and their community