LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION TOOLKIT FOR ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN INDIA 5•How was the Toolkit Developed?
The development of the toolkit, which took a year
to complete, included an assessment of the needs
for life skills in OVC programs in India.
Organizations^2 that were working on HIV/AIDS in
different states in India participated through
questionnaires and workshops that assessed why
life skills were needed, how children could be
involved in the learning process and what
behavioral changes in children were expected from
the Life Skills Education Program. Results were
used to help define the goals and objectives of the
Life Skills Education Program. The contents of the
toolkit were developed after an exhaustive review
of literature that included children’s participation,
child rights, reproductive health, the psychosocial
development of children and Life skills education
manuals from India and other countries. Selected
activities from these manuals were adapted and
new ones were developed and integrated to address
the goals of the Life Skills Education Program.
Field-based organizations working on OVC issues
from different parts of India participated in
conceptualizing, pilot testing, reviewing and
adapting the toolkit. The toolkit has undergone
several revisions with feedback from the field,
and will continue to be enriched and revised with
experience.
A skill-building workshop in child participatory
methodologies and life skills was held for all
participating organizations in the development
of the Toolkit. On-site support during pilot
testing was provided to six organizations and an
exhaustive activity-by-activity feedback and review
was given to all organizations. Contents of the Life
skills education toolkit working draft were shared
at skill building workshops. Feedback was received
through various channels: e-group shared
experiences, onsite visits were made, and partner
NGOs contributed by participating in the field
testing. After six months of pilot testing, a national
level workshop was held to synthesize the learning
and incorporate feedback and experiences. This
edition of the Life Skills Education Toolkit
incorporates these experiences.(^2) CCDT and Prerana in Mumbai: SARD, YWCA, PCI, Salaam Baalak Trust in Delhi, CHES, Positive living project (Namakkal) in
Tamil Nadu, SFDRT in pondicherry; SEEDS, WINS and World Vision in Andhra Pradesh and DSSS (CRS Manipur).