ACTIVITY HAS BEEN MODIFIED IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS:

Scripture Union (SU) has completely revised its curriculum to comprise 10 modules. The curriculum has

been well received. SU will channel resources into strengthening training, improving staff and volunteer

skills, improving data quality, sharing best practices with other youth NGOs, refining materials, and moving

from tools that measure attitude change to ones that measure behavior change.

SU conducts several HIV prevention activities, but focuses on running small groups in schools. Priorities in

FY 2009 will be cross-generational sex through the 'sugar daddy' module, and one devoted to teenage

pregnancy. SU plans to integrate HIV drivers such as substance abuse, violence, gang warfare,

discrimination and abuse into the program. SU will also expand geographically to schools in rural areas,

where talk of sex and sexuality is often taboo. Expansion is based on SU's needs assessments and the

high transmission areas identified by the South African government.

SU's methodology is participatory, based on respect for young people's views, and the realization that they

learn more easily from their peers. Many young people confide problems to SU's leaders, however,

confirming that they are approachable. SU treats behavior change as a process. SU's age-appropriate

courses are tailored to different groups; ideally, a youth will attend SU courses at ages 10, 14 and finally at

age 18. Each course will guide the youth's behavior and their life choices. SU also conducts workshops to

train staff on writing and reviewing SU materials.

A major enhancement will be integration of life skills with a sports program. The linking of soft skills with

hard skills is a powerful experiential learning tool. SU is linking with organizations like Sport for Christ Action

South Africa and uBabalo eAfrika to harness the momentum of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Soccer teaches

skills like shielding (protecting the ball from your opponent) a skill linked to realities confronted by youth

(e.g., protecting themselves from HIV). This also builds on SU's model of staff and volunteers being

available on the township sports fields and recreation areas to respond to youth.

A second new activity is breakaway workshops or camps, including gender specific camps, according to the

Family Matters! model. SU ran father and son events in FY 2008, and in FY 2009 will explore a mother and

daughter initiative to tackle cultural and social norms, traditional roles, and to enhance family discussions of

sexuality. This initiative will also improve parental participation in the program. SU's out-of-school camps are

run throughout the year.

SU will promote voluntary counseling and testing (through linkages with partners) in all youth development

programs and holiday clubs.

SU will address pertinent local drivers of the epidemic. Youth often get bored during the holidays, which

may lead to risky behaviors resulting in HIV infection. Where drugs and gang warfare are endemic, SU will

tailor the approach accordingly. Activites outside the classroom include watching a relevant DVD and

discussing it; or inviting a speaker to introduce certain subjects followed by discussions. SU staff and

volunteers provide feedback on each activity, thereby increasing SU's knowledge of the audience and the

local context and allowing SU to tailor training material to the particular community.

SU will continue to involve people living with HIV (PLHIV) in programs. PLHIV may address SU staff, and

participate in educating church leaders and volunteers.

SU draws volunteers from local communities and is able to enrich their lives through formal and on-the-job

training. SU aims to improve the quality of the volunteer experience by providing, for example, branded

promotional materials and events recognizing their work that may contribute to a spirit of camaraderie. In FY

2009, SU will conduct a needs survey to determine the training needs of volunteers. SU will ensure that

marketable skills are imparted to SU's volunteers and that they emerge from the experience better equipped

for tertiary education and the formal job market. SU's volunteers may work with the organization for six

months to several years. There is a comparatively low turnover, primarily due to the strong faith beliefs held

by the organization. Volunteers often report on the positive impact of the program; how the training and

skills building has opened doors to employment. Volunteers are encouraged to participate in the program

after gaining full-time work. Often volunteers become part of SU's staff.

SU also recruits influential adults within the community to serve as role models. These adults (peer group -

just out of school- and upwards) contribute significantly to creating an environment conducive to the

adoption of safer behavior among youth. SU will establish a base line and record of all volunteers, to track

trained people and to document their progress.

SU will continue to refine SU's monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system. Currently SU measures the

attitude change in learners but needs technical assistance to measure behavior change successfully.

Currently each participant completes an anonymous pre-evaluation questionnaire, followed by a post-

evaluation questionnaire at the end of each activity. The questionnaires are identical and thus help us to

gauge whether the participants have had any change in their thinking towards their behavior as a result of

what they have learnt. SU will work with experts, including teachers and Life Orientation teachers, to ensure

that questionnaires are effective in measuring attitudes rather than behavior change. SU aims to measure

lasting change and plans to evaluate this three or six months after an activity, and then again two to three

years later. In FY 2009, follow up evaluation questionnaires will be given to targeted learners who went

through the course in FY 2008. SU will run several training workshops on M&E for Community Lifeskills

Workers. In addition, the M&E specialist will work alongside CLWs to assess whether SU's program meets

the needs of specific communities. An online data program that will collect data more consistently and

systematically, will be fully functional by early 2009. Archived data will be easily accessible and the

database will be an invaluable source of information about young people that have participated in SU's

programs. Evaluation sheets for the presenters and volunteers of each activity have been introduced. SU

believes that the organization is due for another major evaluation and requires supplementary funding to do

this. Independent evaluators, Nell & Shapiro, undertook the evaluation in 2001. They concluded that SU's

Activity Narrative: courses are effective.

SU will continue to strengthen the strategic alliances with the Departments of Health at national and

provincial levels. SU has partnered with the Western Cape Department of Health and other NGOs and

FBOs to develop activities for the 2010 World Soccer Cup, and to combine forces on existing initiatives.

Other NGOs in this alliance include Youth Commission, Youth for Christ, Muslim AIDS Program,

Department of Health, Department of Community Safety, and Planned Parenthood Association of South

Africa. The coalition will combine forces for major events like World AIDS Day, School AIDS Week, World

TB Day, etc. The initiatives begin in September 2008 with School AIDS Week. Each organization will focus

on their area of expertise. SU will conduct in-schools youth programs to mark Schools AIDS Week and will

partner with government departments who do not close during holidays to implement holiday programs.

SU's Mthatha office, has led the pack in initiating activities with the Departments of Social Services and

Health. SU works closely with national network of churches (e.g., HisNet, a network of Christian youth

organizations working in the AIDS arena) and this contributes to a more sustainable national response. As a

faith-based organization, SU is able to source many volunteers through churches.

SU targets community leaders and church leaders as role models. They are key multipliers and reinforcers

of prevention messages. SU will review its methods to ensure that youth receive consistent messages at

home, in school, at church, and at social gatherings.

SUMMARY:

The Scripture Union (SU) Life Skills Program implements education and training activities focusing on

abstinence and being faithful (AB) HIV prevention for both in- and out-of-school youth. It is values-based,

volunteer driven and aims to assist in the development of sexual and life decision-making skills by youth in

order to prevent HIV exposure and infection. Community church members are trained to deliver prevention

messages to local youth and provide small group discussions around prevention issues. The emphasis will

be on gender through discouraging violence, coercion and abuse against women and the girl child as well

as respect shown for one another, regardless of gender, and human capacity building. The target

populations are children, youth teachers and religious leaders. SU targets youth and children in school aged

10 - 18 years drawn from disadvantaged communities.

BACKGROUND:

SU has worked with youth in South Africa since 1924. The Sakhulutsha, SU's HIV and AIDS Life Skills

Program, started in 1992 and is ongoing. The South African National Department of Health (NDOH) and

Department of Education have funded SU's program for the past ten years, and since 2005, PEPFAR co -

funded SU through a NDOH cooperative agreement. In FY 2007 SU became a prime PEPFAR partner.

Using PEPFAR funding SU has established youth programs in five South African provinces (Gauteng,

Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Western Cape). In FY 2008, SU will expand

geographically to the Northern Cape Province to fill a need in one of South Africa's underserved areas.

ACTIVITIES AND EXPECTED RESULTS:

ACTIVITY 1: Small Groups in School

SU will implement a peer education program to target youth in their formative years and equip them with

skills to help them learn more about each other and discuss issues of love, respect and equality. These

skills will help youth to make informed decisions about sexual activity and avoid HIV infection. The HIV

prevention programs are run with in- and out-of-school youth, and consist of 12 modules presented over 12

weeks. The program uses a small group model, and trained volunteers from the community will run these

programs. The ratio of 10:1, the ideal small group model, is maintained.

ACTIVITY 2: Breakaway Workshops

SU believes that societal norms and behavior change must be examined in order to address the challenges

of HIV and AIDS in a proper way. SU uses single gender camps and discussions in classrooms (through the

participation of school principals) to help young people to view each other as equals and to develop respect

for one another, regardless of gender. Life skills training and a holistic learning experience which enhances

HIV and AIDS education programs will also be implemented. Topics to be covered will include male norms

and behaviors as well as gender roles and equity to discourage discrimination, violence, coercion and

abuse against women and the girl child. SU will also run activities at eight camp-sites using the same small

group model, but the full course in these programs will be completed over a period of three to five days.

Trust is built up between group leaders and participants and this ensures open and effective dialogue. The

single sex approach allows SU staff to focus on gender specific issues -- particularly those relating to girls -

and topics include abstinence skills and the power to say no. Participants will be encouraged to access

voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) sites so that they can know their status and plan for their future.

ACTIVITY 3: Youth Development Programs

SU Youth Development Programs (holiday clubs) are run during school holidays when youth are most likely

to be bored, and this may lead to vulnerability and engagement in unsafe sexual behavior. The holiday

clubs will be run in community centers and in church and school halls. Life skills activities will be presented

to youth to facilitate sustained HIV prevention and to encourage youth to learn their HIV status by getting

tested so that they can plan for their future. SU encourages youth to be compassionate and also to

volunteer in their communities and be involved in the response to the HIV epidemic. Programs will be run by

trained community members who are familiar with local customs and social norms, and so will be ideally

placed to gain the trust of the members of the community.

ACTIVITY 4: HIV Prevention Programs

Activity Narrative: SU will conduct and expand leadership training for community leaders, and in particular, for pastors, so that

they can support and lead HIV prevention programs for both in- and out-of-school youth. Volunteers will be

trained using an HIV and AIDS education program that has been tested for effectiveness by SU using

qualitative methods. Using the 12-module life skills program, volunteers will be equipped to lead small group

discussions with youth about AB-based prevention of HIV which includes abstinence for 10-14 year olds,

encourage delayed sexual debut and secondary abstinence for those who have started sexual activity and

reduction of sexual partners and CT for youth at risk. This project will establish sustained relationships

between the community leaders/pastors and the youth because the leaders and volunteers are community-

based. Community workers will also focus on empowering and training female leaders to run youth

development programs, and development of more female leaders will ensure that the needs of girls within

the community are met.

ACTIVITY 5: Course/Camp Combination Intervention

In FY 2008, SU will introduce a new type of activity, namely a course/camp combination. This will allow the

benefits of both types of venues to be combined for excellent synergy. SU will be running l 78 course/camps

to maximize the impact of prevention messages and reinforce healthy behavior. The course/camp combo is

a hybrid of six modules run over six weeks at schools with the balance of the modules run over two days at

a camp site. Sustainability is achieved through development of well-trained youth leaders and peer

educators. Scripture Union will continue to develop their funding base to expand AB prevention programs to

disadvantaged communities in South Africa.

SU will reach a significant number of youth and children with behavior changing messages. The results will

contribute towards PEPFAR goal of preventing seven million infections by 2010. These results will also

contribute to the South African response to preventing HIV infection among young people especially young

girls.

New/Continuing Activity: Continuing Activity

Continuing Activity: 13807

Continued Associated Activity Information

Activity Activity ID USG Agency Prime Partner Mechanism Mechanism ID Mechanism Planned Funds

System ID System ID

13807 7930.08 HHS/Centers for Scripture Union 6617 4630.08 $1,300,000

Disease Control &

Prevention

7930 7930.07 HHS/Centers for Scripture Union 4630 4630.07 New APS 2006 $950,000

Disease Control &

Prevention

Emphasis Areas

Gender

* Addressing male norms and behaviors

* Increasing gender equity in HIV/AIDS programs

Human Capacity Development

Estimated amount of funding that is planned for Human Capacity Development $42,847

Public Health Evaluation

Food and Nutrition: Policy, Tools, and Service Delivery

Food and Nutrition: Commodities

Economic Strengthening

Education

Water

Table 3.3.02: