Africa: The Department of Social Development, through its Specialist Social Services, HIV and AIDS Sub Directorate, engaged officials and NPO representatives in the Families Matter Programme. The Training Programme runs from 11 to 15 July 2022.
Training is conducted by the National Department of Social Development at the Premier Splendid Inn Hotel in Bloemfontein.
The purpose of the training is to equip all attendees with skills to be Master trainers of the Programme as well as implementers.
The Programme will therefore be rolled out in the Province by both the Department of Social Development and implementing partners (NPO).
The Department of Social Development is mandated to mitigate the impact of HIV & AIDS within the communities in the Free State through prevention Programmes. It is also expected to build the capacity of families and communities to care, as well as build the resilience of young people.
The National Department of Social Development has developed a Compendium of Social and Behaviour Change Programmes, which is intended for the prevention of new infections of HIV as well as curbing the scourge of Gender-Based Violence.
The Families Matter Programme is a community-based, group-level intervention programme for parents and caregivers of children and youth. The Programme focuses on raising parents’ awareness about the sexual risks teens face today.
Furthermore, the Programme encourages general parenting practices that increase the likelihood that children will not engage in risky sexual behaviours. The Programme also equips parents with skills for parental monitoring (knowing where one’s child is, who they are with and when they will be home), positive reinforcements and relationship building.
The implementation of this Programme will thus improve parents’ ability to effectively communicate with their children about sexuality and sexual reduction. This will assist children and youth in being armed with accurate information, which is key in curbing peer pressure toward sex-related topics.
