Since you are now familiar with some of the basic facts about HIV/AIDS in South Africa, we now should shift focus to what is been done in KwaZulu Natal (including in the education sector for K-12 learners). Are the current programs or strategies effective?  Are the effective or successful interventions reaching underprivileged students?  

 

If you were to target a specific issue or topic within HIV/AIDS, what would that topic be? Remember that HIV/AIDS is a broad topic, so you can really approach it from many angles, i.e., stigma, prevention, fear, reasonable accommodations in the classroom, etc. 

 

Imagine yourself as a psychologist conducting a workshop with teachers and administrators and/or parents. Think about the culture, the context (i.e., economics, infrastructure, expertise, resources, and of course the target population).  You are planning a workshop, which is different from a lecture or heavily structured training. A workshop is more collaborative, where participants are actively involved in the discussions. 

 

Based on the issue or topic that you select to focus on, think about a few goals that you want the workshop to focus. In an actual workshop, the goals maybe negotiated with the participants. It is important to keep the goals to a reasonable number so that you don’t end up with too broad a scope. The goals should be somewhat specific, measurable, attainable, and relevant.

 

Thinking ahead, I would recommend researching potential activities that you would want the participants to engage in, i.e., to brainstorm solutions and problem solve.  

 

Lastly, think about some potential solutions in the event that the participants are not able to brainstorm or come up with context-specific solutions. For example, imagine that one of the issues that they are facing is poor concentration among some of the children, what are some of the potential practical solutions? Whatever solution you come up with should meet the following considerations:

 

(a)   not too expensive or resource heavy

(b)   not require specialized expertise that is currently unavailable 

(c)   not easily sustainable, i.e., difficult to start or maintain 

 

So, you want to build capacity, make recommendations that are practical, feasible and sustainable. Don’t try to recommend grandiose things for the sake of it—sometimes the most basic or simple solution is the right cure!