HIV/Aids is probably the greatest challenge facing our schools and the country at large. We are a Catholic institution, and we are aware that the pandemic is among us and there is no denying it. So, as a community, we have the responsibility to:
Educate and inform the school community about the disease;
Develop a safe environment for all concerned;
Create a caring environment of justice and compassion for those infected with or affected by HIV/Aids; and
Conscientise our school communities to be involved in outreach.
The pandemic is affecting teaching and learning in many ways:
It causes a lot of pain and trauma in the lives of both learners and teachers, with many struggling to stay focused at school.
Educators feel stressed because of HIV/Aids-related problems. As a result, they cannot do their jobs effectively. This is compounded by the lack of adequate training in dealing with HIV/Aids-related issues.
Educators need to undergo counselling workshops in order to educate them and discourage stigmatisation, and to drive home the point that infection is not a death sentence if proper care is provided.
There is also the issue of disclosure. It is difficult to disclose and some shy away from learning areas where the topic of HIV/Aids comes up. In the long run, learner/s may drop out or resort to substance abuse.
Some learners become breadwinners when they are orphaned by HIV/Aids, and in such cases learners may also drop out of school prematurely to try and find jobs to support siblings. If they do not drop out, their concentration in class is limited and this affects their performance. These are heartbreaking situations for the educator to deal with without adequate know-how.
As much as there are limitations to what schools can do about HIV/Aids, we can still lead the way by participating in the following:
Setting up an Aids policy for the school: This will help the school community to operate within definite parameters as far as pastoral care of the affected and infected is concerned, and as far as prevention and risk management are concerned. This framework will also guide educators in the practical, day-to-day dealings with infected and affected children.
Awareness campaigns: Raising awareness about the HIV/Aids pandemic includes promoting abstinence as the safest option and condom use for those who are already sexually active. In addition, encourage balanced nutrition, voluntary testing and counselling – especially for the youth.
Support groups: Where we can, we visit relevant centres to offer moral and material support and start projects where schools will use whatever proceeds to help affected families. More relevant could be the setting up of counselling projects at the school itself. This would be done at the level of professional counselling or, better still, in terms of involvement of the school community at peer counselling level. The latter means the school has to have training structures for learners before this can be implemented.
Within the past six months, our learners have raised funds for two homes where HIV/Aids orphans are housed. That consciousness is educating the community at large about our duty as citizens to those who are infected with and affected by HIV/Aids. A select number of learners have been chosen to set up peer counselling and we hope that we are at the beginning of tackling some of the issues facing us in our school.
Pearl Matlou is from Holy Trinity High School, Atteridgeville, Gauteng