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.

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

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.