SUMMARY: Youth for Christ South Africa (YFC) will promote HIV risk reduction through abstinence and being faithful (AB) activities among youth 10 to 18 years of age. The activities will take place in at least 100 schools in five provinces, namely Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, North West and the Western Cape. The organization has recruited and trained Youth Workers as facilitators of the prevention program for a period of a year. An itinerant Creative Arts Team, consisting of 20 youths, shall also be recruited and trained to deliver messages using dance and drama. Emphasis areas for this program will be families, gender, human capacity building and training. The target population will include children and youth, adult, teachers and religious leaders. BACKGROUND: YFC is a youth development organization that directly addresses problems and needs of youth. YFC South Africa has established several training centers and local offices in six provinces of South Africa. YFC runs a number of programs aimed at preparing youth for the future. The organization has in the past been funded by the National Department of Health (NDOH) since 1995. YfC receives PEPFAR funds through a CDC cooperative agreement with the NDOH starting in 2005. As of FY 2007, YFC then became a PEPFAR prime partner directly receiving PEPFAR funds from CDC through a cooperative agreement that is in place. Youth for Christ has worked in various communities amongst sexually active older youths through risk reduction programs and messages. In South African communities, there is also a high ratio of unemployment amongst out of school youth of 18-25 years of age, which has been seen as a further contributing factor to their risk status. Primarily, programs for this target group have sought to develop skills and norms to promote abstinence or delay of sexual initiation, secondary abstinence, fidelity, and partner reduction. The risks of serial monogamy and concurrent partnerships should also be highlighted. Those youths who were not practicing abstinence were then presented with risk reduction information and skills building in correct and consistent condom use and encouraged to access and use condom supplies. Approach to risk reduction education for this group is consistent with values based on concern and care for the lives of young people that seeks to help them remain uninfected. Reaching out to this group, at community level, has expanded access to prevention programs, including peer outreach, and training that

has empowered them to make better and informed choices in their relationships. Recent evidence that has come out from the Human Sciences Research Council's Survey of Prevalence, Incidence and Behavior Communication (HSRC 2008), partly funded by PEPFAR/CDC funds, there has is reported very encouraging outcomes and data: That HIV prevalence has decreased among youth aged 15-24 years, with especially a substantial drop in the age groups of 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 year olds, in 2008, compared to previous surveys. There also has been a reported increase in exposure to one or more HIV and AIDS communication programs, with 90.2% of youth aged 15-24 years of age reached. The report asserts that, it is commendable that there is such evidence coming out of South Africa against a number of indicators vital for an effective response to the epidemic (HSRC 2008). ACTIVITY 1: Capacity Building YfC intends to have a one week national training event for all personnel and staff that are involved in the prevention program, in training in Facilitation and Training; Basic HIV and AIDS; Communication of AB; Team Building; Peer Education; Reporting; etc. YfC's Prevention Programme recruits unemployed Christian youth who are active in local churches and organizations, that are then placed in schools at the various YfC sites/offices. The purpose of the year-long internship is to p+B13rovide the interns with on- the-job training in a program or project linked to the organization. Examples of activities that interns participated in include: life skills programs; leadership training; training camps; HIV and AIDS workshops. The Internship Program is based on the great emphasis on training and capacity development by YfC South Africa. ACTIVITY 2: Lifeskills Education Youth for Christ trains and places in schools, Youth Workers who facilitate Lifeskills sessions in, conjunction with the Life Orientation curriculum that the Department of Education uses. Youth for Christ cooperated with other Christian Youth Organizations and developed a Lifeskills Manual, Imbizo Bangani, that is meant for this age group, both junior and senior high school. Youth Workers visit schools and do facilitation in classes for a minimum of one day per school, whereupon a schedule from the LO Educator is provided for them to visit classes. The Imbizo Bangani Manuals (Grade 7-9; and Grade 10-12) focus on the areas of Health; Personal Growth; Emotional Intelligence and HIV and AIDS. Under these Lifeskills areas, relevant sessions presented cover the four areas, thereby effectively reaching and impacting the learners. The sessions addressed in the manual primarily focus on: challenging young people to sustain a healthy value system regarding their sexual behavior; support and develop peer education systems; activate positive community support and participation; arrange media events which expose communities to healthy value systems about sexuality and HIV/Aids (including the challenge for pro-abstinence; teach life-skills to young people; provide confidential voluntary counseling and HIV testing; training of young leaders in the schools and discussions on sex and sexuality norms to promote AB.

ACTIVITY 3: Peer Education Building on the activities and experiences of the previous two years, Youth for Christ will continue

implementing Peer Education in some of the same schools since FY 2007. In the last two years it has been a challenge to implement Peer Education in the schools as the Department of Education has become more reluctant to give permission to organizations to operate in schools. Schools have been as well not very willing to have learners deliver sessions, thereby loosing class time. On the other hand the Department of Education has been in the process of developing their own Peer Education model that shall be released in 2010. YfC has been working with the Centre for the Support of Peer Education (CSPE) since FY 08 to implement an evidence based model of Peer Education they developed called Rutanang. This model has been endorsed by the National Department of Health and is being adopted by various provincial Departments of Education. The Rutanang model of Peer Education trains and equips groups of learners in a school to deliver a series of sessions of AB message dosages using a HIV prevention curriculum. ACTIVITY 3: Creative Arts For our 2010/11 COP YfC envisages the recruitment, selection and training of an HIV Aids Specialist Production Team consisting of 20 people. The number of participants/team members relates to the high standard of professionalism and excellence that is envisaged for this team. This group of young people will be professionally trained in the arts, i.e. music, dance and drama and their productions will address the following key topical areas relevant topics and issues such as Sexuality; Peer Pressure; Self Image; Gender Oppression; Father and Mother Relationships; Substance; Abuse; Decision Making, i.e. learning to make informed decisions and choices). The training of this Production Team will equip them to not only work in schools, but also in community settings with the OSP Program such as community halls, churches, shopping centers and open venues. The team members will be trained to delivers and present mini productions that will cater for all age groups, i.e. school learners, out of school youth, parents and other. In addition to their training and equipping in the creative arts, team members will also be trained as Lifeskills Facilitators and equipped to divide into 5 smaller teams of 4 people each enabling them to maximize their influence in class rooms and small group settings. The main aim of this team is to have high impact and high visibility in all the key areas/communities and schools YfC works in. As a key Combination Intervention Strategy all our other activities will compliment the 'thrust' of this production team. The Creative Arts Team will be used nationally, in every district and community where Youth for Christ has a program. The Team shall have an itinerary of up to two weeks in an area giving presentations and productions that are supporting existing prevention programs and activities in the area. A Creative Arts Production Team will be used as a stimulus ('hook') in the community for the prevention program like the Family Matters Program, creating an interest among parents and their children. ACTIVITY 3: AB Prevention/Awareness Camps In FY 2010 YfC aims to use camps to further reach groups this group. Awareness camps shall be organized over weekends and school holidays, based on a series of workshops that follow a Lifeskills and

HIV Prevention curriculum that promotes AB messages, a delay in sexual debut and secondary abstinence for this group.

None

SUMMARY: Youth for Christ South Africa (YFC) will promote HIV risk reduction through abstinence and being faithful (AB) activities among youth 10 to 18 years of age. The activities will take place in at least 100 schools in five provinces, namely Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, North West and the Western Cape. The organization has recruited and trained Youth Workers as facilitators of the prevention program for a period of a year. An itinerant Creative Arts Team, consisting of 20 youths, shall also be recruited and trained to deliver messages using dance and drama. Emphasis areas for this program will be families, gender, human capacity building and training. The target population will include children and youth, adult,

teachers and religious leaders. BACKGROUND: YFC is a youth development organization that directly addresses problems and needs of youth. YFC South Africa has established several training centers and local offices in six provinces of South Africa. YFC runs a number of programs aimed at preparing youth for the future. The organization has in the past been funded by the National Department of Health (NDOH) since 1995. YfC receives PEPFAR funds through a CDC cooperative agreement with the NDOH starting in 2005. As of FY 2007, YFC then became a PEPFAR prime partner directly receiving PEPFAR funds from CDC through a cooperative agreement that is in place. Youth for Christ has worked in various communities amongst sexually active older youths through risk reduction programs and messages. In South African communities, there is also a high ratio of unemployment amongst out of school youth of 18-25 years of age, which has been seen as a further contributing factor to their risk status. Primarily, programs for this target group have sought to develop skills and norms to promote abstinence or delay of sexual initiation, secondary abstinence, fidelity, and partner reduction. The risks of serial monogamy and concurrent partnerships should also be highlighted. Those youths who were not practicing abstinence were then presented with risk reduction information and skills building in correct and consistent condom use and encouraged to access and use condom supplies. Approach to risk reduction education for this group is consistent with values based on concern and care for the lives of young people that seeks to help them remain uninfected. Reaching out to this group, at community level, has expanded access to prevention programs, including peer outreach, and training that has empowered them to make better and informed choices in their relationships. Recent evidence has also come out in commendation of the efforts and endeavors towards Other Sexual Prevention Programs. The Human Sciences Research Council has made findings in the South African National HIV Prevalence, Incidence, Behavior and Communication Survey (HSRC 2008), partly funded by PEPFAR/CDC funds, that the HIV prevalence has seemingly stabilized at around 11%. Whilst much more has to be done still, seen in the greater context, it is also very positive and encouraging that as an outcome of all efforts there has been a general increase of awareness in HIV status and also increase in exposure to HIV and AIDS Communication. This we see as having a resultant effect in that there also is a reported increase in condom use and awareness sexual reproductive health amongst this age group, who are a most at risk population. ACTIVITIES AND EXPECTED RESULTS: Many YFC activities promote behavior change through promotion of AB messages and activities. YFC will continue to empower young women through counseling and education, in an effort to improve general life and sexual decision-making skills. The abstinence-focused messages are geared towards children ages 10-14 in primary schools; messages to high school students ages 14-19, out-of-school youth and young adults focus on abstinence, delayed sexual debut and faithfulness and secondary abstinence. Full information on correct and consistent condom use is provided and referral to relevant service sites for access of condoms.

ACTIVITY 1: Family Matters! Program YfC recognizes the vital importance and value of healthy families producing healthy young people and communities. This necessarily is a key component in the strategic vision of YfC SA. For healthy relationships to exist between parents and their children YfC also recognizes the need for an Intervention that will train and equip people to communicate effectively, i.e. learning to be open and honest. Many South African culture groups do not intentionally foster a strong parent/child relationship. The absence of such relationships is often further frustrated and compounded by the effects of poverty and disposition, (parents who work long hours and return home tired and fatigued do not easily recognize the need or importance to 'connect' with their children). In many impoverished communities children will often try to escape difficult circumstances by spending significant time on streets, outside the uncomfortable reality of an often over-crowded and cramped home. Parent/child communication easily gets sacrificed in these contexts. Observation shows that children who grow up without a strong parental influence and/or relationship more readily gives in, typically, to peer pressures and influences, and the negative consequences of choices based thereof. The Family Matters! Program will equip YfC with the necessary tools to strategically and effectively encourage and enhance parent-child communication. Through this program healthy relationships between parents and their children will be fostered, enabling parents to more easily and openly discuss sexual issues. A vital part of the program will be the equipping and training of the parents to foster healthy attitudes toward sex early on the lives of their children. The objectives of YfC's Family Matters Program will be: Teaching positive parenting skills; Equipping parents with the necessary skills, confidence and information to become sex educators for their children; Reducing the risk of children and young people being influenced by peers who have little knowledge and wisdom regarding myths and facts about HIV and Aids; and Establishing healthy parent/child Role Models in our communities, and thereby reducing the risk of irresponsible and dangerous sexual behavior (through peer pressure) ACTIVITY 2: Options/Young Mothers Program A major challenge that we see, currently, in South Africa regarding the HIV prevalence is the contribution made by the fact that out of school youth and especially young women, continue to be especially vulnerable. In most communities that are steeped in culture and traditions in South Africa, women experience systematic oppression that makes it conducive for gender based violence as an acceptable practice and norm. It therefore is not uncommon to find that increasing numbers of young women are coerced into sexual relationships, and held there in fear for violence against them as a consequence. On the other hand, crisis teenage pregnancy is very high and common in most communities where we work. Teenage pregnancy has to be also seen in the context of socio-economic challenges as well that often is not without the stereotypes that feed gender based violence that women generally face. In response to these observed challenges, YfC South Africa therefore established the Options/Young Mothers Program, in the 1990's as an intervention strategy for young women and girls who find themselves in crisis

situations and circumstances such as: an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy; STI and/or HIV infected; trapped/caught up in a crisis situation/relationship that renders them helpless because of their status as women and Sexual and/or other forms of abuse (gender based violence). The Options Centres and Program offer the following services: Pregnancy and HIV testing and counselling; Crisis Counselling and support; Crisis Support Groups Network; Teen Mom's Club Support Groups; Lifeskills and Parenting Skills Workshops; Sexual Integrity Workshops (Voices and Choices Program); etc. The Options/Young Mothers Program also has a skills training and income generation project whereby young mothers are trained in an arts and crafts skill (like jewellery and sandal making; making of greeting cards, etc). Products are marketed and sold whereby the Young Mother receives the profit. Though Options is takes a pro-life stance, we are cognisant of the Choice of Termination of Pregnancy right that pregnant individuals have. Clients of Options are encouraged to consider various options (such as adoption; support structures with raising up the baby, including support by extended family), in counseling sessions, with regards to unwanted pregnancy. Options counselling is highly professional and respects the choices of its clients to choose and make their own decision. It is the philosophy of Options to support the client (young woman/girl), whether she makes the choice to terminate her pregnancy or not, where Options staff are trained to provide support to extent of accompanying a client to clinic (facility) for termination of pregnancy. The Options provides post abortion (trauma) counselling. The Options/Young Mothers Program has also begun to reach out to the men (boyfriends, partners or common law husbands) involved with the young women clients of the Options/Young Mothers Program. A recent Human Sciences Research Council publication and study, that engaged in dialogue with Teenage Fathers in South Africa (Teenage Tata: Voices of young fathers in South Africa: 2009) assertion is made that services and programs have tended to focus on girls and young women and have neglected boys and young men. The Options/Young Mothers Program therefore aims to reach men and boys to equip and sensitize/educated them on gender issues, to primarily help them understand the need and importance of gender empowerment, giving women a Voice and a Choice regarding their sexuality. ACTIVITY 3: Creative Arts This activity is the same as under AB ACTIVITY 4: Community Based Training and Awareness Program The Community Based Training and Awareness Program reach the older echelon of out of school youth, mainly of 24-29 years of age. This age group, like all others, has its unique set of needs in that most of them are either in part time employment or are seeking for jobs. They are either in relationships that are sexual or have long term partners that they may be living with. The young women in this category mostly have had a child or two. On the other hand, this group is in a "transition mode" to make decisions to get married. Therefore these workshops, over 3-5 days, appropriately address the needs of this group. The workshops cover such topics as: Sexual Violence; Voluntary Counseling and Testing; the risks of Multiple Concurrent Partnerships; Personal Profiles and Job Seeking Skills; etc. This activity aims at fostering culturally appropriate social norms, attitudes, and beliefs and develops skills to reduce the

number of partners, especially overlapping or concurrent sexual partnerships that create an efficient transmission network for the virus to spread rapidly through a community. ACTIVITY 5: OSY Prevention/Awareness Camps Out of School Youth (OSY) are also reached through a 3 day Prevention and Awareness Camp whose focus is to ddevelop skills and norms to promote abstinence or delay of sexual initiation, secondary- abstinence fidelity, and partner reduction. Those who do not practice abstinence are provided with risk reduction information and skills, and encouraging correct and consistent condom use and accessing local points of condom supplies. Values and norms are addressed at these camps to address the risks of serial monogamy and concurrent sexual partnerships that is prevalent amongst this group. The prevention camps also aim at reducing and addressing the high incidence of gender based violence stereotypes and tendencies, including substance abuse and negative peer influence among this group of young people. Both young men and women are challenged and empowered to challenge and deal with stigmatization and gender stereotyping. Over the 3 days of the camp a number of workshops are organized and conducted that participants have to attend on a rotational basis. These workshops cover such topics as: Communications; Assertiveness; Gender based violence; Positive Personal Identity; Stress Management; Sexual Transmitted Infections and HIV and AIDS.