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They made us who we are today: A retrospective evaluation of the 1st 5-year cohort of the iThemba Lethu HIV prevention Programme (2002-2006)

They made us who we are today: A retrospective evaluation of the 1st 5-year cohort of the iThemba Lethu HIV prevention Programme (2002-2006)

The vision of the iThemba Lethu (iTL) HIV prevention programme is “to restore the destiny to the children whose future is at risk of being negatively impacted by HIV/AIDS”. This long-term (5 year) intervention is aimed at bringing about sustained behavioral change in a group of pre-adolescent and adolescent youth. The objective of this evaluation was to explore the impact of the iTL programme on HIV risk-taking behavior among youth living in Cato Manor. This quasi-experimental retrospective evaluation used surveys and focus groups to explore the impact of the intervention on HIV risk-taking behavior and psychological resilience variables and assess the perspective of community stakeholders, including parents, teachers, learners and programme staff regarding the impact of iTL. This evaluation revealed iTL to be an intervention that is highly valued by the host community, with a range of important areas of success. Study results demonstrated success achieved by iTL in building confidence and resilience amongst learners. There was also evidence of iTL having been able to create a safe space for adolescents to explore issues around HIV and abstinence, particularly in the context of the difficult socioeconomic conditions in which they live. The iTL programme is novel in the extent to which it embraces a wide-ranging approach. The programme works not only with learners but also with their teachers and families, is committed to a child development approach, and has an explicit concern with the broader determinants of health. The study revealed that iTL was successful in creating an environment for positive communication about life skills, HIV and socio-economic challenges as indicated by the inclusive activities and engagement of youth, teachers and parents. Although the programme did not concentrate on encouraging condom use and could, therefore, be viewed as insufficiently equipping young people with one of the other popular harm reduction strategies that may reduce their risk of HIV, it nevertheless included many other harm reduction strategies. Finally, this evaluation has shown that the iTL programme has fulfilled its objectives of imbuing young people with hope and a sense of destiny. It has helped young people understand the value of sound relationships and most importantly, it has led to a significant increase in the number of young people who have chosen to delay sexual debut.

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