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TeachAIDS Founder and CEO gives Keynote at Entrepreneurship Bootcamp 2012

TeachAIDS — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 16:32:05 +0000

The Business Association of Stanford Entrepreneurial Students (BASES) and Princeton’s Business Today (BT) brought together Silicon Valley’s top VCs, CEOs, and startup teams to guide 100 of the most talented student entrepreneurs from around the world.

TeachAIDS Founder and CEO, Dr. Piya Sorcar, was invited to give a Keynote address. The other Keynote speakers included Vinod Khosla, Co-Founder of Sun Microsystems and Founder of Khosla Ventures; Guy Kawasaki, bestselling author and Silicon Valley venture capitalist; Douglas Leone, Partner at Sequoia Capital; Max Levchin, Founder and CEO of Slide; and JB Straubel, CTO and Founding Member at Tesla Motors. Aside from the keynotes, dozens of leading entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley were brought together to be judges, speakers, and business workshop leaders at the four-day conference.

The 100 most talented young entrepreneurs were selected from 67 schools and over 28 countries to attend this all-expense paid trip to Stanford University for E-Bootcamp training. The four-day event was designed to guide the entrepreneurs through a series of workshops, panels, and talks to help shape their big ideas and business plans. Considered the most selective international entrepreneurship conference, E-Bootcamp ends with the young entrepreneurs pitching their business plans to a panel of judges.

The conference was sponsored by dozens of reputable companies including Business Today, American Airlines, Yahoo!, Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners, Highland Capital Partners, You Noodle, and Goldman Sachs.

TeachAIDS materials integrated into HIV prevention education program in Lee County, Florida

TeachAIDS — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 18:48:43 +0000

Lee County Health Educator Neryda Greene first discovered TeachAIDS online and sought to utilize the materials to educate youth in the Lee County community. As Lee County moved through the process of reviewing the materials, it also coordinated with the Florida Department of Health, which approved the use of the materials in the county’s HIV/AIDS and STD classes.

Lee County is home to a diverse and rapidly growing population. Unfortunately, recent studies have shown that the area suffers from a high rate of HIV infections. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state of Florida had the second highest rate of AIDS diagnoses in 2009. A study by the Florida Department of Health showed that Lee County has a high HIV and AIDS rate among particular population groups. One in every 123 men in the state is living with HIV, and Lee County ranks eighth in the state for Black men who are HIV positive, with one in every 52 Black men in the county living with HIV.

The Lee County Health Department, whose devoted staff has been recognized as a leader in health outreach, provides HIV and AIDS prevention, testing, care, and education services throughout the county. TeachAIDS is proud to be a part of their effort to provide preventive education to the Lee County community.

As the global presence of TeachAIDS continues to expand, we are also working to ensure that our materials are easily accessible to educators and health professionals in the United States. Thanks to the Formal partnership between TeachAIDS and the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), TeachAIDS materials are available for free across all 50 states.

More than 1000 Rwandan youth learn about HIV prevention for the first time

TeachAIDS — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 18:12:38 +0000

A power outage did not deter passionate leaders from bringing the TeachAIDS software to local youth. Armed with a projector, the educators had planned to showcase the TeachAIDS special language version on the wall of a local school. However, despite the power outage, the educators were determined that the show must go on. They used a laptop on a chair to display the animations and improve knowledge among children in their communities.

Comfort My People (CMP) and Village Makeover (VMO) combined efforts to provide critical HIV prevention information to more than 1000 children using the TeachAIDS Kinyarwanda Animated Software. CMP and VMO are NGOs that work together to improve agriculture, education, economic growth, and health in Cyanika, Rwanda, a region located approximately 38 miles northwest of Kigali, close to the Ugandan border in Rwanda’s Western Province.

This was the first of many sessions to come. Over 90 churches in Cyanika will be using the TeachAIDS software through a “Training of Trainers Model” to empower health workers in their congregations. Over the next year, their target is to train and share the TeachAIDS materials with more than 20,000-25,000 church attendees.

The religious leaders in Cyanika noted that for years they have wanted to provide comprehensive HIV prevention education, however felt they lacked the appropriate tools to do so. For the first time, they feel they have found a way to provide youth with knowledge in a way that is culturally-sensitive, biologically-accurate, and optimizes comfort and learning.

"I listened three times because I wanted to make sure I had the facts before the presentation. What I like is that it is a platform that anyone can use to teach from. In the churches, if they want to emphasize remaining pure, they can do so from this video. But everyone gets a whole message.” - Willy Rumenera, President of Comfort My People

TeachAIDS is partnered with numerous other organizations in Rwanda, including CARE International, Gardens for Health, and FACE AIDS, to educate hundreds of Rwandan youth using a “Training of Trainers Model”. During the 2010 FIFA World Cup games, TeachAIDS animations were shown to thousands of Rwandan soccer fans on the jumbotron screen of the Gisenyl Stadium in between several matches.

Photo: Youth gather at a school in Cyanika to watch the TeachAIDS animations

Peace Corps Volunteers use TeachAIDS to dispel misconceptions in rural Namibia

TeachAIDS — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 18:35:11 +0000

In a small, rural farm community of approximately 500 people located in the Hardap Region, residents live several hours away from the nearest town in Namibia. In this community, secondary school volunteer teachers sought TeachAIDS materials after recognizing that the link between awareness and knowledge gains were broken. While students were aware of basic HIV and AIDS related facts, many misconceptions and rumors were rampant.

“In my community, the learners are generally aware and educated about HIV/AIDS, but there are many myths about the disease that the school curriculum does not address. These range from things like ‘HIV was brought to Africa by Americans’ to really damaging myths like ‘sex with a virgin can cure HIV’. The challenge then is providing very clear information to help dispel rumors.” – Caitlin Roake, Peace Corps Volunteer

In order to provide culturally-acceptable, medically-accurate, and interactive HIV and AIDS education, volunteers have integrated the TeachAIDS tutorials into the life skills and life sciences curriculum.

Within several workshops, dozens of sixth through ninth standard students received HIV education from a TeachAIDS tutorial projected onto a screen in the center of the classroom. Due to these successes, Peace Corps Volunteers sought to expand the use of TeachAIDS materials in Namibia. In the coming months, Teach AIDS materials will be distributed to approximately 115 volunteers working in rural and urban sites in all 13 regions of Namibia. These volunteers will work towards implementing TeachAIDS education materials into after-school HIV and AIDS workshops and community programs. In addition, Peace Corps Volunteers will provide Namibian counterparts with TeachAIDS materials and help them to integrate the materials into their own classroom teaching efforts.

The United States Peace Corps currently serves 68 countries around the world and has provided over 1200 volunteers to serve Namibia since the program’s inception in 1990. With support from the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), HIV and AIDS extension volunteers in Namibia educate individuals about prevention in health clinics, community centers, and in the classroom. These outreach efforts are particularly important in a nation such as Namibia, which maintains one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world, with approximately 15% of the population infected.

Over the past two years, TeachAIDS and Peace Corps Volunteers have collaborated to deliver HIV prevention education to nations around the world, including Belize, Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Lesotho, Republic of Georgia, Ukraine, and Zambia. In Guyana, volunteers incorporated techniques for working with special needs children. In Guatemala, volunteers are collaborating with the Ministry of Health to distribute hundreds of copies of the TeachAIDS animations to train health professionals across communities.

We look forward to continuing to support the United States Peace Corps and other grassroots organizations in Namibia and throughout Sub-Saharan Africa as we work towards educating individuals about HIV prevention.

Photo: Students gather in small classroom to receive prevention education through the TeachAIDS software

TeachAIDS used to educate school children in Cameroon

TeachAIDS — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:38:26 +0000

The Rural Women Development Center (RUWDEC) combined efforts with local schools to educate dozens of students about HIV prevention in Buea, Cameroon. RUWDEC is local non-governmental organization that operates in the Southwest region of Cameroon. RUWDEC seeks to promote and enhance economic growth through social organization, project development, community health management, natural resource management, information technology, training and appropriate land use. In addition, the NGO provides critical HIV and AIDS information through education sessions for young people in schools and communities.

Nelly Shella, an educator with RUWDEC, implemented an HIV education workshop attended by dozens of students between the ages of 9 and 15. Students gathered during their club period to learn this critical prevention information. The instructors played the TeachAIDS software on a classroom computer screen, as students crowded on chairs and on the floor to learn together. As the animations progressed, youth in attendance expressed their enthusiasm for the materials. The educators then facilitated an extended discussion with their learners, as they engaged in discourse around how to protect themselves and their communities from further infection.

“The TeachAIDS animative program has been a great tool to facilitate discussions on HIV/AIDS. It was highly appreciated by youths, as they got engaged in discussions and expressed their feeling of how this program has helped them to better understand HIV/AIDS,” said Nelly Shella, an educator with RUWDEC. “The blend of this material with other training materials gives a perfect outreach package. [The students] were particularly impressed by the use of the triangle test to illustrate the various modes of transmission.”

As a result of the workshop’s success, the Rural Women Development Center (RUWDEC) will implement TeachAIDS materials into future educational campaigns, including World AIDS Day programming and their Youth4AIDS program.

TeachAIDS commends the efforts of these passionate educators for arming local youth with the much needed tools to improve human health.

Photo: The Rural Women Development Center (RUWDEC) brings TeachAIDS to students in Buea, Cameroon.

Larsen & Toubro uses TeachAIDS to educate their employees in India

TeachAIDS — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:22:37 +0000

Larsen & Toubro has recently incorporated the TeachAIDS English and Hindi software into their regular Voluntary Counseling & Testing Center (VCTC), which was set up as part of their Social Corporate Responsibility efforts. After receiving HIV and AIDS health education, employees are given the option to receive a free HIV test, available through their Occupational Health Center. After learning about HIV prevention through the TeachAIDS animated tutorials, 100% of the 112 beneficiaries requested an HIV test to learn more about their status.

In addition to their continued excellence in the fields of technology, engineering, construction, and manufacturing, Larsen & Toubro remains dedicated to providing HIV education, testing, and counselors to its affiliates. The company instituted the Volunteer Counseling & Testing Center in 2004 with the objective of educating workmen, trainees, and contractors about HIV prevention and to provide free HIV testing and counseling. Larsen & Toubro relies on a team of medical doctors and trained health counselors in order to conduct their sessions on HIV prevention. Every Wednesday, counselors organize voluntary counseling sessions where they provide multi-faceted education about the impact of HIV, focusing on social impact, mechanisms of transmission, and tools for prevention.

As one of India’s multi-billion dollar technology-driven companies, Larsen & Toubro provides products and initiatives focusing on engineering, construction, manufacturing, and technology. The company’s seven decades of customer-focused approaches and advanced solutions have garnered numerous awards. They were named Business Leader of the Year in The Economic Times, Top 100 Most Trusted Brands of India in The Brand Trust Report, and received the Green Business Leadership Award from Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. With subsidiaries and associates from over 25 countries, their co-founder, Henning Holck-Larsen, received the Padma Bhushan from K.R. Narayanan, former President of India.

TeachAIDS is pleased to support Larsen & Toubro in their ongoing efforts to educate, test, and counsel individuals about HIV and AIDS. We look forward to our continued collaboration to provide creative solutions to promote HIV prevention education in India.

Photo: Dr. Amit Rana leads a TeachAIDS education session at Hazira Manufacturing Complex

Peace Corps uses TeachAIDS to educate special needs children in Guyana

TeachAIDS — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:55:11 +0000

United States Peace Corps Volunteers in Guyana used TeachAIDS to expose educators to pedagogical techniques and promote learning among children with special needs, including those who are blind, deaf, physically handicapped, and have behavioral issues.

Peace Corps volunteers used the TeachAIDS software as part of their three-day training program. To date, Guyana maintains its own cultural barriers to providing individuals with medically accurate HIV education. TeachAIDS tutorials help overcome these cultural barriers, which enable teachers to learn and present the information in a more comfortable way in their classroom settings.

“The TeachAIDS presentation was a huge success and the teachers gave positive feedback when I presented it to them. They found the material to be simple and clear with the visual and audio accompaniment appropriate for their older children with disabilities.”
- Jocelyn Friedman, Peace Corps Response Volunteer, Guyana

Established in 1966, the United States Peace Corps Guyana program has provided 581 volunteers in the areas of education, health, and HIV awareness. The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) particularly supports the efforts of Peace Corps volunteers working in HIV prevention, which includes a wide range of programs. As a leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults in Guyana, the Peace Corps’ HIV and AIDS awareness campaign targets populations within the 15-44 age range.

TeachAIDS has partnered with Peace Corps volunteers around the world in order to further their HIV prevention campaign efforts. In Guatemala, TeachAIDS, PEPFAR, the Ministry of Health, and Peace Corps volunteers have collaborated to build capacity and help strengthen prevention programs within the country.

Photo: Peace Corps uses TeachAIDS to educate special needs teachers about HIV prevention in Guyana.

Passionate educator brings HIV education to learners with hearing disabilities, despite barriers

TeachAIDS — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:06:50 +0000

Agatha Borbor has had to overcome many challenges to bring HIV and AIDS education to those with hearing disabilities in her community, Liberia, West Africa. When a close friend of hers died from AIDS, Agatha became increasingly passionate about encouraging young people to go to volunteer testing and counseling facilities and work toward overcoming issues concerning stigma and discrimination. Despite the lack of funding to support proper educational efforts, and the shortage of sign-language interpreters, she used her limited vacation days to bring together children and young adults to provide comprehensive AIDS education. Using the TeachAIDS Educator Handbook, she conducted a several hour session for children and young adults, ranging from 14 to 25 years old, at the Free Pentencost School.

“There is a lot of interest in the deaf community in Liberia West Africa on the subject of HIV but capacity building and funding are lacking in order to develop this interest…I would like to say thanks a lot to your program Teachaids for assisting me assist the deaf in the educations on HIV/AIDS” – Mrs. Agatha Borbor, Sign-Language Interpreter

The TeachAIDS materials served to prompt a discussion about the importance of drug adherence, the prevention of mother-to-child transmission, and the process of HIV testing. Through the TeachAIDS materials, Agatha was able to expand and improve the content of her lessons. She said, “Again I would like to say thank a lot to Teachaids for increasing my knowledge on HIV/AIDS. I really desire to assist more deaf because they are always left out due to the fact that many well meaning people do not know sign language to communicate with them.“

TeachAIDS is immensely proud of the courage and conviction of Mrs. Agatha Borbor, who worked tirelessly to overcome the communication barrier, and many other challenges, to bring HIV and AIDS education to her community.

Photo: Agatha Borbor uses the TeachAIDS Educator Handbook to teach deaf students at Free Pentecost School, Liberia

Tibetan Health Minister promotes TeachAIDS tutorials on television

TeachAIDS — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:51:27 +0000

Upon request from Dr. Tsering Wangchuk, the Minister of Health for the Central Tibetan Administration (Tibetan Government in Exile, located in India), the English and Hindi TeachAIDS tutorials were aired twice on a popular Tibetan cable television station, and posted on TibetOnlineTV. The Tibetan Department of Health initiates and implements public health and education campaigns that advocate for healthier lifestyles, improve primary healthcare services, and promote a cleaner environment. Through their efforts, over 120,000 Tibetans living in India, Nepal, and Bhutan have gained improved access to healthcare services, including hospitals, health centers, clinics, and education campaigns.

Over the past two years, as a Medical Officer at Tsojhe Khangsar Hospital and intimately involved with the Tibetan Tsojhe Khangsra Charity Hospital, Dr. Tsering Wangchuk conducted health education sessions using TeachAIDS tutorials within Tibetan refugee settlements across numerous states India. Through his efforts, thousands of Tibetan refugees, young and old, learned about HIV and AIDS – many for the first time. The educational sessions were so successful that, upon his appointment as Minister to the Department of Health, Dr. Wangchuk sought to use TeachAIDS in a widespread community effort.

TeachAIDS applauds the continued dedication of Dr. Tsering Wangchuk and the Central Tibetan Administration Department of Health for promoting HIV and AIDS knowledge among learners of all ages.

TeachAIDS shown as part of “Getting to Zero” campaign in Lagos, Nigeria

TeachAIDS — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:53:16 +0000

Aligned with the United Nation’s 2011 World AIDS Day campaign, HACEY’s Health Initiative organized an advocacy program on the theme “Getting to zero – The role we play”. The goal behind the campaign is to have zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination, and zero AIDS-related deaths by 2015. As part of the campaign efforts, HACEY showcased the TeachAIDS software to more than 250 high school students and community stakeholders.

Held at the Arts Theatre at the University of Lagos, Akoka, the goal of using the TeachAIDS tutorials were two-fold. First, HACEY used them as an effort to arm young people with critical HIV prevention information, particularly around modes of HIV transmission. And, second, they were used as a springboard to prompt open discussion among young people. An expert panel consisting of representatives from the Commissioner of Health Lagos and the Nigerian Academy of Science, among others organizations, entertained questions on HIV prevalence, leadership, and prevention-related efforts, and discussed creative, collaborative strategies for the future.

Health Action Concerning the Environment and You (HACEY) is a non-governmental, non-religious, and non-political organization which is dedicated to informing and empowering youth on health-related issues. They make a special effort to reach orphans, vulnerable children, and school-going youth and young adults to promote knowledge around critical health issues. Through seminars, conferences, and publications via journals and magazines, they are able to create learning opportunities and reach their target populations.

TeachAIDS applauds the efforts of our partners in Nigeria to help prevent new infections among the world’s youth. We are happy to provide support to HACEY’s outreach efforts as it continues to work to educate Nigeria’s youth about HIV prevention.

Photo: Youth and young adults at the Arts Theatre at the University of Lagos participate in the “Getting to Zero” campaign.