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