About Vhutshilo

From 2000-2005, with the help of the South Africa Department of Health, the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) led a national consultative process to develop rigorous standards and a comprehensive training and support strategy for South African peer education programmes in multiple sectors and audiences.

In 2006, PEPFAR/USAID asked HSPH to develop an intervention for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) to deliver prevention education and psychosocial support that would be more user-friendly and affordable than existing models.

Out of this process a South African NGO called Health Education Training and Technical Services (HETTAS) was established. They began to develop and test a structured curriculum-based programme called Vhutshilo (Venda for “Life”).

Training materials and M&E tools were designed to support both curricula, and the experiences and recommendations of partners fed into a continuous improvement process.

These curricula were extensively re-worked during 2015 and 2016 and Vhutshilo 3 was developed during this time as well.

In 2020, the curricula were reduced to 10 sessions each and were designed for online training which was implemented in 2021.

Vhutshilo 1

Vhutshilo 2

Vhutshilo 3

For youth aged 10-13.
10 sessions
Covers areas like finding support, making good decisions, adolescent changes and how to cope with them.

Click here to go to Vhutshilo 1

For youth aged 14-18.
10 sessions
Covers areas like gender and gender violence, having healthy relationships, learning about contraceptive methods and how to negotiate

Click here to go to Vhutshilo 2

For HIV positive youth aged 14-18.
10 sessions
Covers areas like dealing with grief and loss, the importance of having a support group, dealing with stigma and discrimination and the importance off living according to one's values.

Click here to go to Vhutshilo 3