By- Gibao Brima

In a bid to help mitigate HIV/Aids, Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) related causes improvement on family planning, sexual gender based violence matters and corona virus cases. Women in crisis movement under the dynamic leadership of Rev. Mrs. Juliana Konteh under the new funding model (NFM3) has received support from Global Fund through the Integrated Health Project Administration Unit (IHPAU) to train up to sixty peer educators in refresher training at the Government Technical Institute, Ferry junction, Freetown

The purpose of the training is mainly focus on training peer educators as critical human resources who will interact directly with their peers with appropriate peer-led health education.

The objectives of the training are to enable participants (peer educators) be quipped to understand people, acquire “BASIC” accurate information on reproductive and sexual health including sexually transmitted infections and HIV&AIDS, understand how to provide supportive supervision to peer educators, practice a range of interactive steps in reaching peers with reproductive and sexual health, including sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS education.

Understanding the steps on linking peers to health facilities and drop in centers, practices how to document and process data on peer education activities.

In her statement the Director for women in Crisis Movement Rev. Mrs. Juliana Konteh underscores that her movement believes in faith, it is a faith based organization, adding that the participants should listen attentively since they are going to have teachings on various topics which will enable them to behave in the field as a good peer educators and this will also enable them handle their population in their various communities.

Women in crisis movement, Mrs Konteh said works with vulnerable groups, people living with HIV/AIDS single parents, rape victims and more so key population who are the primary concern of WICM operations among others.

Mrs Konteh admonished all to be careful and let no one fool them since election is around the corner, you have been taught about your basic human rights go out and vote peacefully. Election is not a do or die battle you have your right to belong to any political party, therefore try to have a peaceful co-existence with everyone rather than going out committing violence, If you do the law will fall on you heavily.

In his contribution Mr. David Vandy, head of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) at the WICM said that peer education is the concept of training persons to educate and also trained up people who share the same properties and characteristics.

The concept rest on the basic that, the message goes down well when people who have similar or the same pre-occupations sit to discuss issues bothering them. Adding that peer educator is a person identified as a leader in a specific group with the same characteristics to influence change in the group.

Mr. Vandy further advanced teaching on various topics: Overview of peer educator initiative, Criteria for selecting a peer Educator, Roles and Responsibilities of a good peer Educator,

What peer educator should know and master communication skills in peer education among others.

In her teaching Mrs. Evelyn Carew from National Aids Control Programme taught on the various programmes including Understanding the  differences between working with key population and general population, Understand the characteristics of female sex workers (FSWs), Understand the need for privacy, confidentiality and human rights, Behavioral change, Reproductive health, Family planning methods, Types of family planning methods, Pillars of family planning, Basic facts on HIV/AIDS, Differences between HIV/AIDS (situation of HIV in Sierra Leone and among female sex workers), Myths and misconception about HIV/AIDS, What does HIV/AIDS do in the body, HIV infection transmission and prevention, Rationale for HIV counseling and testing, Communication and counseling skills, Understanding the definition of the acronym STIs, Describing the common types of STIs in the community, Common signs and systems of STIs, Prevention and control of STIs and Corona virus among others.

Group works by participants climaxed the training followed by transportation refund in the tune of one million and fifty thousand old Leones to all sixty participants through the Rokel Sim Kopo mobile transaction.