Grenada Red Cross holds TWC workshop for teachers

The Grenada Red Cross Society recently held a two day workshop on HIV/AIDS as part of a Drug Prevention and Abuse programme. The workshop was facilitated by the HIV/AIDS facilitators of the Grenada Red Cross including Cindy Lewis, Samantha Dickson and director general, Terry Charles.

Ten teachers from schools across the country were trained to conduct HIV/AIDS Peer Education Programmes with youth in Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique. The teachers who were trained now bring the total number of “Together We Can” Instructor Trainers in the country to just over 40. Grenada also has approximately 400 Peer Educators.

The workshop was held in the Grenada Youth Development Centre, Morne Rouge, St George’s and was part of the “Youth Centred Drug Abuse and HIV/AIDS Prevention Programme,” which is funded by the United Nations Office of Drug Control (UNODC) and implemented jointly by the Ministry of Health and the Drug Control Secretariat.

The training which was held on February 10 and 11, 2004 was a continuation of the previous weeks’ training where the Grenada Red Cross received training in Drug Control Prevention and Education. So the Grenada Red Cross took the opportunity to train members of the National Drug Avoidance Council in HIV/AIDS.

The workshop included sessions on HIV/AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). Topics such as “Sexuality: The Grenada Situation” and “When Your Hormones Act Up” were also discussed.

During the workshop the teachers were taught how to use both the TWC manuals and activity kits effectively and how to make learning about HIV/AIDS fun.

Within the next six months, approximately 140 youth ( 20 per parish will receive training in HIV/AIDS Behaviour Modification Programme and Drug Abuse Prevention from the Grenada Red Cross.

Apart from the TWC training, during that week the Grenada Red Cross also held three First Aid Lectures – two at the TA Marryshow High School and one at the Spice Hotel. They also rendered First Aid Services to two major sports events on that island.