16 • PART TWO: FACILITATOR’S GUIDE
Planning a Life Skills Education Program
UNDERSTANDING THE NEEDS OF CHILDREN
To effectively plan a program, the needs of the
children involved must be clearly understood so
they can be accurately addressed. The plan can be
thought of as a road map. If we know which road
to follow, we will reach our destination. However, if
we do not have a road map, we will not know
where we are going.
We can involve different people to help us
understand the needs of children, like experts,
program staff and community members. Gathering
information to plan HIV/AIDS programs is
different from other programs because of the
sensitive nature of the information needed. It is very
important to explore various and indirect ways of
collecting data, such as observing children, being
good listeners and talking to key informants. We
can also accumulate our baseline information by
the careful recording of children’s responses during
the implementation of the Life Skills Education
Program. For example, the P matrix activity can be
used throughout the program as a way to compare
current information with that collected previously.
(See page 42-43 for a description of the P Matrix).
An understanding of the children’s needs is essential
not only for planning and implementation but also
for evaluation, which will be conducted later in the
program. We cannot evaluate a program if we do
not know what we have to evaluate. When we
understand the needs of the children in a
systematic way, we are able to identify priorities for
the Life Skills Education Program and choose
relevant objectives and indicators.
Many practitioners may not want to collect data
regarding children’s needs and want to start
implementing the program immediately because of
the following concerns:(a)We do not have time: A plan to understand
the needs of children can be rapid and
action oriented and can provide quick and
practical feedback to programs;
(b)We are not researchers and do not have
the skills for research: When simple tools
are used and chosen carefully, collecting
data about children’s needs can be easily
conducted by field workers; and
(c)If I start the process now, it will delay the
start of my program: It is better to invest a
little time and effort now in the study of
children’s needs than changing and
modifying the implementation or after an
evaluation is conducted, which is too
late anyway.WHAT INFORMATION IS NEEDED?
The kind of information collected depends on the
broad aim of the programs. If we are planning to
start a health program, we need to assess health
needs. If we plan to start a community based
program, we need to assess the priority needs of the
community, such as water, sanitation, housing or
education.
If the overall aim is to start a Life Skills Education
Program, we need to understand psychosocial
needs. Because we are looking at life skills for
vulnerable children, we will have to assess their
needs by talking to key informants, program staff
and community members.- What are the priority problems and needs?
- What are the causes of these problems?
- What are the possible solutions for these
problems?