Keeping Motivators Motivated:

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Keeping Motivators Motivated  Training and
Retaining Peer Educators for RH/HIV Programs and
BeyondHarriet YowelaStudents Partnership
Worldwide Zambia
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Students Partnership Worldwide (SPW)A brief
overview of the organization I come from

• Working in 8 countries in Africa and South Asia,
  SPW recruits over 850 peer educators each year
  all aged 18-28.
• Over 80 are young Africans Asians working in
  their own countries.
• Peer educators receive 4-6 weeks comprehensive
  training and then are placed in target
  communities for 8-9 months
• Programs focus on positively changing behavior
  around sexual and reproductive health, HIV, AIDS,
  poor nutrition and water-borne disease.

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Students Partnership Worldwide (SPW)Key
activities

• Peer educators linked to schools with outreach to
  community and neighboring schools
• Classroom-based activities
• Youth-club activities
• Youth Resource Centers
• Multi-media messaging
• Community capacity-building
• Peer educator activities supported by SPW
  staff-led activities including a specific remit
  to build capacity of line Ministries

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Students Partnership Worldwide (SPW)Training for
Effective Program Delivery
Training goal is to ensure peer educators are
equipped with

• Critical life skills such as leadership and
  confidence
• Accurate knowledge about ASRH, HIV and AIDS
• Comprehensive understanding of program goals,
  objectives activities
• Technical skills in non-formal education,
  informal peer counseling, negotiation and
  consensus-building, monitoring and evaluation

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Training Challenges lessons learned

• 1. Creating role models
• Importance of value-based training to blend
  personal beliefs and values
• Training over a longer period of time to ensure
  personalization of issues
• Size of training groups large groups (over 60)
  do not allow educators to bond well
• 2. Keeping peer educators focused motivated
• Recruitment of committed individuals with a clear
  sense of program objectives
• Targets and goals for peer educators in training
• Training on life skills (planning ahead,
  organizational skills, strategic planning)
• Focus on specific program activities
• Regular top-up training to ensure themes are
  appropriate and community-specific

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Training Challenges lessons learned

• 3. Ensuring the peer educators achieve program
  goals
• Involvement of peer educators in development of
  objectives each term
• Identifying right balance of supervision
• Importance of ownership of ME systems
• Building community support and involvement
  throughout program
• 4. Lack of Infrastructural Support
• Training peer educators to identify existing
  community structures or individuals
• Training the peer educators in listening skills
  and sharing of key life skills

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Training Challenges lessons learned

• 5. Lack of knowledge and self confidence
• Length of training
• Regular top-up training to ensure themes are
  appropriate and community-specific
• Experienced former peer educators are always more
  successful as trainers than outside experts
• Training should replicate the methods to be used
  in communities interactive, based on non-formal
  education
• Training must focus on life skills and how to
  train other people in life skills

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Retaining peer educators Challenges Lessons
Learned

• 1. Lack of Compensation
• Allowances that cover all eventualities
• Clear recruitment and advertising
• Thorough training with a focus on voluntarism and
  career development
• Clarity of commitment through contracts
• 2. Conflict of personal organizational values
  and beliefs
• Thorough training on HIV and ASRH transmission
  and prevention
• Open discussions on values and beliefs
• Peer educators asked to sign code of
  organizational conduct

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Retaining peer educators Challenges Lessons
Learned

• 3. Lack of close supervision
• Pre-determined schedule of SPW staff visits
• School headmaster trained to provide guidance and
  support
• Peer educators placed in clusters to enable peer
  support
• Health clinic staff also briefed

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Career Development Retaining and training former
peer educators
Career pathways for former peer educators

• Higher education in social work, nursing or
  development studies
• Careers in education
• NGO/ Development careers
• Internships and jobs within SPW (65 of 130 staff
  are former peer educators)

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Career Development Challenges in retaining
training former educators

• 1. Few career opportunities for young people
• Empowering young people through training and
  program implementation
• Specific career development training
• Linking former volunteers with opportunities both
  internally and externally
• 2. No funding for career development or higher
  education
• Seeking small amounts of funding from donors for
  staff development
• Providing meaningful opportunities for young
  people internally
• Retaining former peer educators for program
  activities (e.g training, ME, internships)

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Career Development Challenges in retaining
training former educators

• 3. Government structures that prevent youth
  development
• Integration of program activities within
  government line-ministry (e.g MoE)
• Outreach to other ministries (e.g. Health,
  Finance, Youth Sports)
• International advocacy

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Students Partnership WorldwideProgram impact on
peer educators

• What I have gained from SPW I will always apply
  in my life and for the good of my community. I
  have learnt self-motivation and direction and
  know that I will be able to motivate and direct
  others. I must say it has widened my perspective
  of the development world by training and
  empowering me not only to become a better Ugandan
  but an active woman in a changing world.
• Lillian Ajambo, SPW Uganda Peer Educator, Mbale

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Comments or Questions?Thank You!