Choose Life - Southern Africa

The central strategy of Soul City: IHDC is providing accurate information about HIV/AIDS in a way that is sensitive to the wide range of issues that affect the sexual decisions that young people make. To that end, the booklet addresses issues of self-esteem, assertiveness, and the meaning of sex in relationships. The goal is to give teenagers information through a medium that speaks to them in a voice and language they know, with a look and feel that is vibrant.

Specifically, simply written stories deal with a range of life skills, like being a teenager, violence in relationships, standing up for oneself, and living with HIV/AIDS. Full-colour photographs are interspersed with true stories in the voices of young authors. Quizzes and interactive questions are designed to engender discussion and debate and to encourage community action. In the publication, celebrities act as role models to communicate health messages.

The distribution strategy has primarily involved promotion and delivery of the booklet in primary and secondary schools in the 4 countries. However, additional strategies were undertaken to bring attention to the booklet among out-of-school youth. For example, through an agreement with Lesco Foods, 165,000 copies of the booklet were distributed inside selected maize bags sold in rural communities in Lesotho. In exchange, Lesco Foods included a full-colour advert on the back of the booklet as well as product acknowledgement on other promotional elements such as posters. This approach enabled 400,000 young people around the country, as well as key decision-makers and teachers, to become aware of the project.

Soul City: IHDC's approach involved seeking the input of people in each country being addressed by the project. In the research phase, the organisation consulted with key people in the health and education sector and selected a local partner. Phase 2 involved developing the core publication. In addition, a second round of consultation meetings were conducted in the 4 countries with key people to request feedback on the core publication and to explain the testing process. Next, pre-testing was conducted in each country to ensure that the booklet was relevant and appropriate for local use and to inform the development of a country-specific version. This process involved administering questionnaires and conducting focus group discussions with the target audience. It also included a stakeholder workshop in each country to present the research findings. On the basis of the research findings and a mandate from stakeholders, final recommendations for the development of country-specific versions were made. In phase 4, country-specific versions of the booklet were produced. The central strategy for encouraging youth to use these booklets involved promoting and popularising the materials in the school system. A promotional campaign using radio, which included a competition among teachers, was designed to encouraged youth to access the material. These campaigns varied in content and style from country to country.

HIV/AIDS, Youth, Reproductive Health.

Over 1.3 million copies of the booklet have been produced.

International and local research indicates that effective life skills/sex education helps delay the commencement age of sexual activity and results in an increase in safer sexual practices. Furthermore, educating young people to adopt safer sexual behaviour, organisers point out, reduces HIV/AIDS risk.