LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION TOOLKIT FOR ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN INDIA• 21
ACTIVITY TWO
Fleet of Hope
Group Check In- Gather the children in a circle and tell them that the story is about a terrible flood that came to
a village and what the people in the village did. Tell the children that they are expected to help
develop the story. The facilitator can name the village and the characters in the story to set the
context for the exercise. There is a natural progression to the story and facilitators are advised
to follow the steps. If local translations of terms are used, ensure that the words do not confuse
the understanding of the issue. Proper materials and props must be used for this exercise and
facilitators are urged to practice the story to make the flow and the pace of the story
appropriate for the audience. - The village gets flooded every year and each year the flood waters are higher. It began to flood
so much that houses were flooded in villages and towns nearby. But the flood would not stop.
(lay the sheet on the ground) This is the flood and in the flood there were many dangers
(put a crocodile on the sheet) This is a dangerous flood. It is the flood of HIV. At first, people did
not know what was happening. They thought it would go away. They thought that it would not
come to their village. But the flood waters kept rising year after year. To escape the flood the
people moved to higher ground, climbed trees and roofs of houses. But the flood would not
stop. What should you do to escape the flood? (A boat should be the answer)
There are three different boats available for the people to escape the HIV/AIDS flood.
They are called:
i. Abstinence;
ii. Mutual Faithfulness; and
iii. Condom (only for children above 14). - Discuss what each of the terms means. Label each of the three boats (two boats for children
under 14) with these words or local words that children use.
The Story Continues
Each person in the village can choose which boat they want to get on, depending on their
culture, religion, character or way of life. Different people climb onto each of the three boats.
The boats stay close together so that it is possible to change safely to another boat.
If you look into the water, there are some people who are swimming in the water. They have
missed the boats because some could not change their way of life and some did not see the
flood coming. Some are trying to climb back.