Fight against HIV/AIDS gets boost in Cayman Islands

The fight against HIV/AIDS in the Cayman Islands received quite a boost this week.  While undertaking a massive training of thirty-one John Gray High School Students as Peer Educators for the 2006-2007 school year, the Red Cross HIV/AIDS programme has also been training National Trainers and Instructor Trainers to ensure the continuity of the Together We Can HIV/AIDS Peer Education Programme.

“It has been a truly hectic week here at headquarters,” admits Programmes Manager Carolina Ferreira, “but I must say that it has been worth every second.”

The TWC programme, which was created by the Jamaican and American Red Cross Societies and World Health Organization in the early 1990s, has as its aim the empowerment of young people through the dissemination of the truth about HIV/AIDS: how it is spread, how it is not spread, and what can be done to protect oneself and others.  It also makes young people responsible for passing the information on to their peers.

The training structure of the programme, however, relies just as much on interested adults and older youth as it does on the young persons trained as Peer Educators.

“We have had a gap in our programme since it began,” explains Ms. Ferreira, “and we were in desperate need of filling that gap with interested persons who could also devote the time to the training as well as commit to the responsibilities that come after being trained,” she adds.  “Getting trained is just the beginning; the real work begins after you are certified.”

Ms. Ferreira, a certified Regional Trainer for the Programme, was assisted by Kimberly Carraha and Jeffrey James, Jamaican Red Cross members and also Regional Trainers for TWC.

“The programme structure requires that you are always training a level below your training and always training in pairs,” Ms. Ferreira explains. “Therefore, Regional Trainers train National Trainers, who train Instructor Trainers, who train the Peer Educators.

Having the support from the Jamaican Red Cross was indispensable as one person could not do this training by him/herself.  We are eternally grateful to both the trainers for coming, to Cayman Airways, for making their visit possible by donating their tickets, and for Sunshine Suites who so graciously donated the rooms for their stay” she adds.

National and Instructor Trainer candidates underwent an intensive five night training regimen, from Monday August 28th to Friday September 1st, from 6pm to 9pm, and a Saturday component from 9am to 3pm on September 2nd.

The participants, who were members of the National Youth Ambassador programme as well as other interested Red Cross volunteers, ranged from the ages of 17 to thirty-something.

“It was an incredible mix, and it was great to see how they all interacted with one another, and how they had to learn from each other.  The youngest of the group had all undergone the Peer Educator training last summer, and delivered the programme over the 2005-2006 school year, so it was nice to see them want to further their knowledge and skills, and to continue to carry on the fight,” Ms. Ferreira states.

The National Trainers and Instructor Trainers will not only be responsible for assisting in the expansion of the TWC programme, but they will also assist the CIRC in implementing and promoting other HIV/AIDS campaigns, such as the “Faces” campaign and the upcoming “Come Closer” campaign to fight stigma and discrimination.

“It was truly an exhausting week for the HIV programme last week,” states Mrs. Jondo Obi, Branch Director “but it had to be done in order to strengthen not only the programme, but the Branch’s response to HIV/AIDS in Cayman. 

The support from the private sector, through Cayman Airways and Sunshine Suites was just tremendous and it is also very encouraging for us to keep doing what we’re doing.  We are very happy and excited about the many wonderful things to come,” she adds.