Adolescents life skills Manual

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2013

A participatory life skills training module for Adolescents living with HIV and affected by HIV

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A participatory training module on

Adolescent Life Skills

2013

Acknowledgements This manual could not have been possible without the foresight and commitment of many individuals.

The module has come this far, with the support from the OVC Project team members from Theni, Krishnagiri and Chennai who passionately took forward the learning they gained to children and provided suggestions for improvements in the activities of the module.

Inputs and suggestions on the content were provided by Dr. Vandana Bhatia, Health and HIV specialist, UNICEF state chapter of Tamil Nadu in further improving the module to include diversified issues and people it can be reached. We are deeply indebted to Dr. Vandana who took great interest in drawing out the outline for the module and providing constant inputs in making it more productive in the lives of adolescents and young people.

We also thank Arun Dobhal and Dr Jayashree from UNICEF, Tamilnadu who took time in reviewing the content and providing their suggestions We particularly wish to thank the team members in HCLT Foundation - Chennai, OVC Project Team members in Theni and Krishnagiri for pilot-testing the manual among the adolescents and sharing field experiences in further refining the module. (The list of the people involved in the module development is attached in the annexure.)

The team members at Buds of Christ, Ms. Geetha, Ms. Viji and Mr. Karthik for providing practical experiences into the module and also in supporting the compilation of the module.

We also thank Mr. Vinay for his artistic sketches on adolescents and issues in making the manual more appealing to the trainers.

Our special thanks to all the adolescents involved as participants and contributors in making the module a learning module for other adolescents

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Preface Adolescence is an age of opportunity for children, and a pivotal time for us (parents/facilitators) to build on their development in the first decade of life, to help them navigate risks and vulnerabilities, and to set them on the path to fulfilling their potential. Many young people are unable to cope with the stresses of changing social and cultural norms. While the traditional methods of passing on life skills, through family and role models are not sufficient, the young also lack the support required to reinforce and build on these skills.

The participatory training module on Adolescent life skills has been evolved to equip young people with life skills to cope with the challenges they face on day to day basis and effectively pursue their dreams and goals.

This module was developed with the support from UNICEF to guide projects working with young people/youth in rural and urban settings. The module has been developed with the main interest of helping young people living in extreme challenging conditions prevailing due to stigma and discrimination because of caste, economic status, gender and certain health issues especially HIV and AIDS. The module development process commenced in early July 2012 with a need assessment conducted among the field personnel working with Orphan and vulnerable children at the community level. Key issues and needs came out from the assessment are; adolescents has low self-esteem especially girls, gender stereotypes was predominant, smoking and drinking were found as acceptable behaviours and not seen as health problems, love affairs and eloping, lack of understanding on sexual and reproductive health. These findings helped to provide content areas for the module. In addition UNICEF state chapter of Tamil Nadu provided inputs for the content areas.

Existing modules on life skills, reproductive and sexual health and nutrition developed by national and international organizations were referred while developing the modules. Buds of Christ took up the initiative of compiling the modules sessions under 10 key headings to help community based trainers use the module among young people. This module was further refined after pilot testing of sessions with community based workers at Theni, Krishnagiri and Chennai. The contents were simplified keeping in consideration the literacy levels of field based workers.

This module is intended for organizations working for adolescents and young people in the community. Buds of Christ through this module endeavors to help young people live to the highest potential by overcoming the challenging circumstances around them.

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Contents No

Chapter

Session Details

Acknowledgements Preface Facilitator’s Guide

1

Getting Started

Session 1: Understanding Adolescence Activity 1: Defining Adolescence/youth Activity 2: What do I remember in my adolescence Activity 3: Nature and Sequence of change in adolescence Session 2: Why life skills for adolescents Activity 1: What is special about adolescence Activity 2: Even the strongest child can be weighed down by problems Activity 3: What is Life Skills Education?

Activity 4: Skills of a facilitator Activity 5: Ladder of Participation Session 1: Introduction to one another Activity 1: My name is.....and I like………

Activity 2: The famous me Activity 3: Fear Hat Session 2: Ground Rules and Expectations Activity 1: Developing Ground Rules Activity 2: Our Expectations Session 3: Building Trust and Support Activity 1: Human Knot Activity 2: Trust me

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3

I am Unique

Growing Up

Session 4: Adolescence and Life Skills Activity 1: Define Adolescence Activity 2: Understanding challenges of adolescence and why life skills are essential?

Activity 3: What are life skills?

Session 1: I am Special Activity 1: Who am I? Activity 2: I am beautiful Activity 3: I love myself Session 2: My Beliefs and My Wants Activity 1: My wants and needs Activity 2: Identifying what I value Activity 3: Understanding my values and it’s influence on my behaviour Session 1: My Body Changes Activity 1: Stages of Development Activity 2: Understanding puberty Session 2: Reproductive functions in male and female Activity 1: Male and Female Reproductive systems Activity 2: Reproductive System Story Activity 3: Menstrual hygiene Activity 4: Myths and facts – Quiz

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4

5

Relationships

Nutrition

Session 1: Family and Friends Activity 1: Relationship Map Activity 2: Friendship Circles Session 2: Understanding Relationships Activity 1: Types of Love Activity 2: Qualities in Ideal Mate Activity 3: Challenges in Romantic Relationships Activity 4: Understanding Infatuation and True Love Session 1: Basics of Nutrition Activity 1: Learning Good and Poor Nutrition Activity 2: Understanding balanced diet and Food Pyramid Activity 3: Understanding role of nutrients in our body Activity 4: Planning the Diet Session 2: Understanding special requirements of adolescent young girls Activity 1: Calculating Body Mass Index Activity 2: Common deficiencies that affect young adolescents Activity 3: Right and Wrong practices

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Understanding Gender

Session 1: Gender Vs Sex and Gender Stereotypes Activity 1: Understanding difference between Gender and Sex Activity 2: Gender Stereotypes Activity 3: Gender Influencers Session 2: Our Rights and Our Responsibilities Activity 1: Rights and Responsibilities Activity 2: Acts and Services available for adolescents

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Am I at risk? – Part 1

Am I at Risk? – Part 2

Session 1: Understanding risks and peer pressure Activity 1: Taking risks Activity 2: Understanding peer pressure Activity 3: Positive and Negative peer pressure Activity 4: OK or not OK Session 2: Peer pressure and Risky Behaviours Activity 1: Understanding Types of Drugs and its influences Activity 2: Quiz on Myths and Facts about Alcohol and Drugs Activity 3: Influences of Mobile Activity 4: Am I influenced by Film/Advertisements Session 3: Understanding abuse and ways to come out of it Activity 1: Good, Bad and Confusing Touches Session 4: Understanding Sex and Sexuality and risks of Sexual behaviours Activity 1: Definition of Sexuality and Sex Activity 2: Feelings and Behaviours about Sexuality Session 5: Learning STI, HIV and AIDS Activity 1: Knowing about STI – Quiz Activity 2: Understanding HIV and AIDS – Stop, Go, Think Activity 3: Preventing HIV – Bridges of Hope Activity 4: Understanding ICTC Activity 5: Supporting people living with HIV

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Making Right choices

Session 1: Self Esteem Activity 1: I am precious Activity 2: Understanding Self-Esteem Activity 3: Raising your self-esteem Activity 4: Factors that lower self-esteem

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9

Coping with emotions and stress

Session 2: Being Assertive Activity 1: Our Behaviours: Passive, Aggressive and Assertive Activity 2: I and You: Using “I Feel” statements Activity 3: Decision Making Activity 4: Two types of Decisions Activity 5: 3 Cs for Decision Making Session 1: Understanding Feelings and emotions Activity 1: Mood Meter Activity 2: Understanding fear and looking at solutions Activity 3: Managing emotions Session 2: Coping with Stress Activity 1: Understand types of stress and coping up Activity 2: Think Feel Do Activity 3: Understanding and responding to our inner voices

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Goal Setting

Session 3: Managing Fear, Anger and building a stronger me Activity 1: Managing anger Activity 2: Fear Not Activity 3: Stronger me – happy memories Session 1: Understanding Ourselves Activity 1: My place on the tree Activity 2: Understanding Short Term and Long Term Goals Activity 3: Goal Setting: Setting Short Term Goals Session 2: Setting Personal Goals Activity 1: Timeline Activity 2: Making a Contract

References

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