Out of School Workshops

Over the past four weeks we have been conducting about 3 or 4 out of school workshops each week. I think the out of school workshops have been my favourites. We have had meetings with seamstresses, hairdressers, draftsmen, taxi and trotro divers, market women, and did a series of radio shows on Kings radio which broadcasts all throughout the entire Ashanti region of Ghana.

There is something very rewarding about doing in-school workshops. The students are all in their uniforms, crammed into small classrooms (three to a desk) eager to learn and excited to see us. However, although these workshops are essential, the out of school workshops were the ones that really got me excited about our project. We met with hundreds of young adults (but normally only 5 to 10 at a time) and were able to discuss issues in regards to HIV/AIDS that many had never been given the opportunity to learn about before; either because they were not able to attend school or because they finished school before HIV/AIDS education was on the education systems radar.

In these small groups the people we met with felt comfortable to ask questions and we were able to afford them the personal attention they deserved. The questions they asked were very interesting. Questions such as “can a mosquito infect me with the virus?” or “if I kiss someone, am I at risk?”

Typically, in each presentation we discussed the modes of transmission, prevention, played a high risk / low risk game where we would give participants scenarios and ask if they were dangerous or not, do a condom demonstration, and then take questions. But it was nice that this structure was informal and a lot of the time we would go where ever the workshop took us based on what the participants needed to learn. Normally we would make appointments for only half an hour, but by the time we were ready to leave, we had spent over an hour and a half with each group.

The only area of the workshop that ever left me feeling like our work was not finished, was when it came to application. We could discuss how you get HIV and how you protect yourself, and we could discuss the criteria to evaluate risk, however when it came time for participants to apply what they had learned, they found it challenging.

I think this was the result of two things. First of all, these misconceptions are so engrained into the thought process here, that one 1 ½ hour conversation is not going to change someone’s beliefs right away. So we could explain that you can only get HIV through blood, vaginal fluid, semen or from a mother to a baby and the participant would understand, but then would find it very difficult to apply this knowledge to how he or she felt about sharing a drink with someone who is HIV positive.

The second reason why I think application is challenging for many people here is because application or logic is not emphasized. The school system is very rigid and focuses on mathematics, engineering, science, etc. There is not a lot of room for critical thinking and as a result, those skills are not developed as well as they are in a country like Canada. Also, there is a very formal social hierarchy here. In a school, you respect your teacher and repeat what he or she says. In your work place, you respect your master who tells you what to do. And in your home, you respect your father who makes your decisions for you. Questioning the logic behind things or even having to think for yourself (at times) is not really emphasized.

That said, I still feel we got through to many people and I have come to terms with the fact that someone has to take the first step. If you need to be told that you can share a cup with someone who is HIV positive 5 times before you believe it, at least we got to do it that first time. The Ghanaian peer educators, who have all learned so much in the past two months and who are ready to keep doing their work voluntarily, will have to be the ones to do it 4 more.

By Sarah Beldick