4•PART ONE: INTRODUCTION TO THE LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION TOOLKIT
NEED FOR LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION
RESOURCES THAT ADDRESS BOTH HIV
PREVENTION AND CARE AND SUPPORT ISSUES
This Life Skills Education Toolkit addresses different
groups of children in different contexts for both
HIV prevention and care and support. The Toolkit
can be used by projects that aim to:- Prevent HIV infection;
- Manage and cope with risky situations
related to HIV; and - Help cope with issues related to HIV
infection and care and support.
NEED FOR LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION
RESOURCES TO PROMOTE CHILDREN’S
PARTICIPATION
Life skills education manuals generally provide a
bag of activities to pick and choose from. Some
manuals are more instructional and didactic in
their approach rather than anchored in the
principles of children’s participation. Available
manuals do not provide a conceptual framework
for how young people participate and learn safe
behavior. For example, in many cultures family
and community are important players in decision-
making processes. Social relationships in these
cultures influence decisions. However, in Western
societies, decision-making are often linear,
individualistic and rational.^1 Programs in non-Western countries need to include ways in which
both children and the community can contribute
to the learning of life skills.
This Life Skills Education Toolkit provides a
framework and methodology for children to
participate in the learning of life skills and for adults
to facilitate this process in the context of the
societies in which they live, be it a slum community,
a village, a street or an institution.
The Life Skills Education sessions encourages
children to acquire psychosocial skills, enabling
them to acquire the following abilities:- Understand sexual issues and sexuality in
order to reduce their vulnerability to HIV; - Cope effectively with risky situations;
- Practice safe sex behavior to reduce HIV
risks; and - Learn how to help and support other children.
Children can acquire these skills only if they are
able to learn and practice them in a supportive
environment of peers and family. This toolkit
builds on many decades of program experience
that promote children’s participation and
children’s rights. The Life Skills approach
advocated in this toolkit helps children learn,
recognize and integrate lessons learned in
learning centers through real-life situations. In
this way, children are able to practice new, safe
and healthy behaviors and build confidence in
their day-to-day lives.
(^1) For an excellent discussion on emerging communication frameworks for HIV/AIDS see UNAIDS/Penn State Project,
“Communication Framework for HIV/AIDS,” 1999 and Richard Parker and Peter Aggleton, “HIV and AIDS related stigma and
discrimination: a conceptual framework and implications for action,” Social Science and Medicine 57 (2003) 13-24, http://www.elsevier.com/
locate/socscimed.