Life Skills Education Toolkit for Orphans & Vulnerable Children

415 Pages·2007·4.63 MB·English

Life Skills
Education

Toolkit
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Family Health International (FHI)
India Country Office
In Collaboration with the
National AIDS Control
Organisation (NACO)
With Funding from the
United States Agency for
International Development
(USAID)
In July 2011, FHI became FHI 360.
FHI 360 is a nonprofit human development organization dedicated to improving lives in lasting ways by
advancing integrated, locally driven solutions. Our staff includes experts in health, education, nutrition,
environment, economic development, civil society, gender, youth, research and technology – creating a
unique mix of capabilities to address today’s interrelated development challenges. FHI 360 serves more
than 60 countries, all 50 U.S. states and all U.S. territories.
Visit us at www.fhi360.org.
Acknowledgments
Dr. Sonal Zaveri, FHI consultant led the process of putting together the Life Skills Education Toolkit.
Anita Khemka took the photographs during visits to USAID/FHI projects. The National OVC Task
Force including the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD), National AIDS Control
Organisation (NACO), UNICEF and the India HIV/AIDS Alliance, reviewed the LSE Toolkit and gave
valuable comments. The staff and children of 30 USAID/FHI projects contributed their ideas and
time in the initial development and then pre-testing of the LSE toolkit.
Suggested Citation
Life Skills Education Toolkit for Orphans & Vulnerable Children in India, India – (October 2007)
ISBN 1-933702-19-2
Any parts of this toolkit may be photocopied or adapted to meet local needs without permission from
USAID/FHI or IMPACT, provided that the source is acknowledged, the parts copied are distributed free of
cost and credit is given to USAID/FHI/IMPACT. USAID/FHI/IMPACT would appreciate receiving a copy of any
materials in which parts of this toolkit are used.
“This resource is funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through the U. S. Agency for
International Development (USAID), under the terms Cooperative Agreement # HRN-A00-97-00017-00 to
Family Health International. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily
reflect the views of Family Health International or the U.S. Agency for International Development.”
India Country Office
16, Sunder Nagar
New Delhi 110 003, India
Tel: [phone]/7555
Fax: [phone]
www.fhi.org
PREFACE
This Life Skills Education (LSE) Toolkit takes a child participatory approach and deals with
the “whole child” - feelings, beliefs, development needs - and equips children with life skills
required to make safe choices and lead healthy lifestyles. This toolkit is unique in aiming to
develop essential life skills to manage and cope with risk situations in HIV/AIDS and to cope
with difficult circumstances related to care and support including loss. The child-friendly
participatory approach uses active learning methods including games, role plays, debates,
brainstorming, drama, story telling, group learning, case studies and poster making.
An extensive consultation process was undertaken across India with participation of children
infected, affected and vulnerable to HIV, parents and guardians, communities, NGOs, NACO,
SACS, counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists, and Departments of Health and Family
Welfare in the central government and six states of Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra,
Manipur, Nagaland and Tamil Nadu, and one union territory of Pondicherry.
With funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under
the IMPACT and YouthNet projects, Family Health International (FHI) has partnered with 37
local NGOs to reach out to 50,000 orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in India with
HIV/AIDS prevention and care and support activities. All the partners were involved in
different stages of the toolkit development and field-tested the LSE kit before finalization.
The children and NGO partners have provided important insights on inclusion of the most
appropriate activities, the process of making the toolkit more user-friendly, and feedback on
the positive responses seen in children undergoing LSE.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) through the National AIDS Control
Organization (NACO) and State AIDS Control Societies (SACS) has participated in various
consultation workshops on the LSE toolkit. The participation has facilitated the effort to
follow the national priorities in addressing the HIV/AIDS prevention and care and support
needs of OVC. FHI is thankful to the Ministry and NACO for providing the valuable
direction. The support of the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) has
been essential to ensure that the LSE toolkit is line with national policies and we are thankful
to the Ministry for their endorsement and to all members of the National OVC Taskforce
including UNICEF and the India HIV/AIDS Alliance for their review.
FHI appreciates the funding support from USAID for the LSE development process through
to finalization, the support of NACO, SACS and MoWCD, and the tremendous input of
energy, time and commitment from the NGO partners to the development of the LSE toolkit.
Finally and especially, we wish to thank and acknowledge the thousands of children whose
priorities, needs and aspirations are reflected in the LSE Toolkit.
Kathleen Kay
Country Director
Family Health International

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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT
SHASTRI BHAWAN, NEW DELHI-110 001
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Website : http://www.wcd.nic.in
DEEPA JAIN SINGH
SECRETARY
Tel. : [phone], Telefax : 23381495
E-mail : [email protected]
February 23, 2007
MESSAGE
HIV/AIDS is one of the major public health problems in India. The HIV
epidemic has spread to all sections of society including men, women and children.
Children living with HIV/AIDS often find themselves in circumstances where they
have to care for their elders and siblings. These children need support at all stages
of their lives.
Life Skills Education (LSE) is an important activity which enables children to
identify the problems in their lives, think of probable solutions and practice them.
The LSE toolkit developed by USAID/FHI discusses the various situations related to
HIV risk through child partcipatory activites. It also discusses the situation of
children living with HIV/AIDS and affected families.
I think this would be a useful tool for the Ministry in its HIV/AIDS programme.
I commend the efforts of USAID/FHI in developing this document.
(DEEPA JAIN SINGH)

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K. Sujatha Rao
Additional Secretary & Director General
National AIDS Control Organisation, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India
11th May, 2007
MESSAGE
The various stakeholders involved in the formulation of National AIDS Control
Programme (NACP) Phase III have highlighted an urgent need to strategize and develop
relevant tools for addressing HIV prevention, care and support needs of children
infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in the country. The Life skills Education (LSE)
toolkit developed by Family Health International fills an important gap in providing
various dimensions of appropriate communication skill for peer educators, teachers and
counselors working with children.
This toolkit has been developed with the aim of reaching out to children and
adolescents with essential life skills to enable them to off-set the risk of acquiring
Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV, as well as coping with HIV infection of self
and their family members. I am told the toolkit has been used in the USAID-supported
IMPACT projects in six States, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra, Manipur,
Nagaland and Tamil Nadu, with encouraging results. The evidence from their areas is a
testimony to the need for developing such learning material for the disadvantaged
children.
This toolkit will be useful for NGOs and caregivers in their field areas for
undertaking child-freindly learning sessions and orienting children to core skills for
leading healthy and safe lives. This innovative and practical resource material would
make learning an enjoyable experience for the children coming from disadvantaged
backgrounds. Teachers and care givers who work in such settings would find the toolkit
a more meaningful way of creatively engaging the children and working constructively
with them in dealing with their situation.
I am confident this toolkit will be used by a variety of stakeholders in the
country (health and related Government agencies and local, national and international
NGOs) in effectively reaching out to orphans, vulnerable, infected and affected children
by HIV/AIDS.
(K. Sujatha Rao)
9th Floor Chandralok Building, 36 Janpath, New Delhi - 110001 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]
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Know yor HIV status; go to the nearest Government Hospital for free Voluntary Counselling and Testing

INDIA
FOREWORD
Life Skills Education is an important component of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment
interventions with children and adolescents. Family Health International (FHI) has developed a
Life Skills Education (LSE) toolkit under the IMPACT project and supported by the United
State Agency for International Development (USAID). The toolkit aims to address the growing
need for strengthening delivery of HIV prevention messages to adolescent learners and teachers.
The toolkit is informed by rich experiences from 30 pilot projects that were initiated under the
IMPACT project in six states and one union territory in India. Teaching children infected or
affected by HIV/AIDS requires innovative approaches for critical skills such as coping and
caring skills. Through the toolkit, teachers, school administrators and parents will get the
neccessary skills in facilitating a learning environment that will help prepare children and
adolescents strengthen their response to the various challenges in life.
FHI has taken the initiative of developing this toolkit with contributions made by various
national and international agencies at different stages of development. I would like to thank the
National OVC Task Force including UNICEF, Minstry of Women and Child Development,
NACO and India HIV/AIDS Alliance for reviewing the toolkit.
The third phase of the National AIDS Control Program (2006-2011) envisages a scale-up of
interventions addressing children and adolescents in India. I hope the toolkit would find wide
acceptance as a support to the national program and to build a stronger future of the children in
India.
Robert Clay
Director
Office of Population, Health and Nutrition
USAID/India
U.S. Agency for International Development
Amercian Embassy Tel : [phone]
Chanakyapuri Fax : [phone]
New Delhi 110 021 www.usaid.gov/in