1. Partnership
Eight partners in Zambia take part: HODI, Women for Change, CHEP, Catholic Diocese of Ndola, PPHZP, HIV/AIDS alliance, Planned Parenthood Association and NZP+.
And eight partners in Zimbabwe: FACT Mutare, Uzumba Orphan Care, Bekezela Home Based Care, Insiza Godlwayo Aids Council, Umzingwane Aids Network, Patsime Trust, Young Africa and African Regional Youth Initiative.

2. Priority Areas
The partners in Zambia and Zimbabwe have chosen to focus on strengthening the Life Skills programmes in the following six areas:

1. Monitoring & evaulation: measure effects on outcome level
2. Needs of HIV positive youth
3. Youth Volunteer management
4. Comprehensive programmes & integration of Livelihood into Life Skills programmes
5. Strengthening and supporting Life Skills Implementers
6. Monitoring & evaulation of Life Skills: general

For more information about these areas click here to read the summary.

3. What can we expect at the end of the project in 2011?
Partners have indicated to work towards the following products:

Zimbabwe:

• 4 Fact sheets on Volunteer management, Youth & Life Skills
• Volunteer management policies - a blueprint for organisations
• Guidelines for integrating the needs of HIV positive youth
• An advocacy plan of action to address needs of HIV positive youth
• A tool that assists organisations to measure the effects of Life Skills programmes on outcome level (together with WPF)
• A proposal for the scaling-up of activities.

Zambia:

• Best practice report: Integration of Livelihood into Life Skills programmes for youth
• Guidelines for mainstreaming livelihood into Life Skills programmes for youth
• A ‘Lessons learned’ document: How to establish and strengthen the relationship with ministries
• A checklist for successful Life Skills manuals
• Best practices on Monitoring & Evaluation in relation to Life Skills programmes.

Activities are based on the ‘Learning by Doing’ approach. Effects of the activities and of the products that are developed will be studied. The results of the efforts of the partnership will be made visible through applied research in collaboration with a local research team.

4. Applied Research - Monitoring and evaluation
In March 2010, Winny Koster and Rosalijn Both from the University of Amsterdam visited Harare and Lusaka to introduce the Applied Research component of the ‘Life Skills for HIV Prevention’ project during a workshop. Read more...

5. Publication in SafAids Magazine
SafAids magazine published an article that we wrote with regards to the PLANNING & SUPPORT TOOL. All partners received a workshop about this tool in November 2009 and experiences of FACT are described in the interesting article on page 8: ‘How to increase the effect of your sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) youth programme’.

6. Virtual Office training
Partners within the project have received a training to use our new Online Virtual office. Through this online system, partners can share and work on documents, post agendas and minutes, have online discussions, use the events calendar and much more. The Online Virtual office is user-friendly and facilitates the success of your project. Interested to learn more? Please contact Esther van der Zweep.

1. Volunteer management: Development of four factsheets (recruitment, training, supervision and motivation). Development guidelines for Youth Volunteer Management Policy.
2. Measure on Outcome level track: Preparation phase and development & testing of guidelines for organisations (with WPF).
3. Address need of HIV positive youth: Development and testing of guidelines to meet needs of HIV positive youth. Apply guidelines to own organisation.
4. Integration of Livelihood track: Partners within this track will meet and discuss baseline outcomes and related Best Practices on integration of Livelihood into Life Skills programmes.
5. Strengthening Implementation of Life Skills: Learning visits to Life Skills implementers. Development and testing of a checklist for effective Life Skills training manuals.
6. Monitoring and evaluation: Gather best practices on M&E and development of a standard for M&E and Life Skills programmes.

• Happy, healthy and hot, a young person’s guide to their rights, sexuality and living with HIV (IPPF)
• International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education, volume 1 – the rationale for sexuality education. An evidence-informed approach for schools, teachers and health educators (UNESCO)
• International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education, volume 2 – Topics and learning objectives. An evidence-informed approach for schools, teachers and health educators (UNESCO)
• FEEL! THINK! ACT! A guide to interactive drama for sexual and reproductive health with young people. This toolkit aims to: Encourage practitioners in drama and in SRH to share their knowledge and skills and work together to bring the power of interactive drama to change lives for the better. (International HIV/AIDS Alliance)

Interesting products of other STOP AIDS NOW! projects

• Involving Parents and caregivers, a manual for educators and practitioners
• 4Life Facilitators, a fact sheet on working with peer educators
• Setting up a network of care: “The Journey of Hope”
• Manual on meaningful participation: “Hear our Voices”