By Gibao Brima

In a bid to help mitigate HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted Infections (STIs) related cases, improvement on family planning, human rights issues, sexual and gender based violence matters and Covid-19 cases, a nongovernmental organization called Women In Crisis Movement under the dynamic leadership of Rev. Mrs. Juliana Konteh has received support from Global Fund under the New Funding Model (NFM3) project through Integrated Health Project Administration Unit (IHPAU) in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation for refreshers training for sixty (60) Peer Educators in Quarter (7) for peer educators.

The training took place at the Government technical Institute Hall now Eastern Polytechnic, Ferry Junction, Freetown.

The purpose of the training focuses on training of peer educators as a critical human right resource that will interact directly with their peers with appropriate peer-led heath education.

The objective of the training are to enable participants (peer educators) be equipped to understand peer-led health and working with young 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 reaching peer with reproductive and sexual health including Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV/AIDS education, understand the steps linking peers to health facilities and drop-in center, practice how to document and record data on peer education activities.

In her statement, Rev. Mrs. Julaina Konteh underscores that her Movement always stands to produce good results and therefore the participants should listen attentively since they are going to be taught on many concepts which will enable them behave well in the field as good peer educators, adding that it will also help them handle their population in their various communities.

Women In Crisis Movement Director Konteh said she has worked with vulnerable groups including people with HIV/AIDS, single parents, rape victims among others in a bid to help reduce poverty among women. She appealed to women to add value to themselves by coming to her movement skills center. Women In Crisis Director Konteh said her skills training center operational areas are in Freetown, ie. Mayenkineh in the east, and Goderich in the west, Kono, Kambia, Pujejun, Kailahun districts among others.

“Come and learn skills,” she said, “it will help you in the future.” She however advised the peer educators about their security which is very paramount, to let them be careful in the community they go and that if they find out that that community is a threat to them they should know what to do. Above all, Mrs. Konteh told the participants that election is around the corner.

Therefore, they should not allow anyone to fool them by involving in any type of violence, she warned them.

In her teaching, Mrs. Evelyn Carew from National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) taught on the various topics ranging from understanding the differences between working with key population and general population, understanding the need for privacy, confidentiality and human rights, reproductive health, family planning, types of family planning methods, pillars of family planning, differences between HIV/AIDS, situation of HIV in Sierra Leone and amongst female sex workers, myths and misconceptions about HIV/AIDS, mode of HIV infection, transmission and prevention, communication, counseling and testing techniques.

Mr. David Vandy, Head of Monitoring and Evaluation (M/E) at Women In Crisis Movement, taught on the following topics which include sexually transmitted infections (STIs), signs and symptoms of HIV, how STIs are transmitted, some complications of STIs, prevention and control of STIs and the care values of what Women In Crisis stands to portray or the vision of WICM.

Transport refunds to the tune of one million fifty thousand old leones to sixty peer educators through the Rokel Commercial Sim Kopor climaxed the training.