About Vhutshilo

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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 2015-2016 and Vhutshilo 3 was developed during this time as well. The sessions have again been edited during 2020, to trim them and make them more appropriate for moving the curricula onto an online Learning Management Service platform.

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