“This intervention was awesome! We had 100% attendance! I couldn't believe it. The students were punctual and participated whenever we asked anything of them. This was the best group of kids I've worked with in Abi Adi. I think part of the reason for this is that the CTE (College of Teacher Education) was supportive in providing tea and bread twice a day and choosing participants for us from their Anti-HIV club. In short, the CTE runs a tighter ship than other schools in Abi Adi; the set high precedents for punctuality and participation. We should work with them again for future interventions”
“My counterpart told me there was an issue with her getting involved with a teacher and a lot of older men. She really did not want to come to the training but my counterpart and I discussed it with her and told her it was very important that she come. At the beginning of the training, she came in late and didn't have a great attitude. By the end, she was one of the students participating the most and asking a lot of questions. she came to every practice and her post test score improved drastically. On the day of graduation, she came early and helped us set up and even prepared the coffee and snacks herself. When she was leaving, she told us both thank you and that she learned a lot and realized she needed to make some changes”
Successes!
Challenges
“The only real challenges came from going too quickly. There were no regular classes on Friday so we did 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon. Then 4 hours on Saturday. I worry that it's not sufficient time to develop meaningful relationships with students and foster a truly safe space. But as I've said before, the benefits of an efficient and fast training outweigh the challenges by far!”
“It was very difficult to get the girls to talk at first. They were shy and didn't want to say the wrong answers. After the 2nd practice and a few coach's stories, they really got more involved and participated.”
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Success Stories and Challenges From Across the Country!