THE FIVE DAYS OF EDUCATION FOR LIFE (BEHAVIOUR CHANGE PROCESS) EXPERIENCE

Introduction

The experience of EFL is dependent on a number of things e.g. Time available- the most fruitful are programmes between 3-5 days. Secondly, the experience is also affected by; the number of participants, the gender of the participants, their culture, marital status, and religion.

EFL experience is a spiritual experience. It appeals to people’s value system, life principles and challenges them to the fundamental values of human life and a life of dignity. This experience is heavily anchored on the fundamental belief that God is the source of Life, the ultimate motivator of change and the one who enables people to choose and sustain life-giving choices.

The Behaviour Change Process used to design the Five days Education for Life Experience. Letter E in the middle of each circle represents the on -going Evaluation as participants experience the process.

DAY ONE OF THE EDUCATION FOR LIFE EXPERIENCE

Irrespective of the core problem the programme aims to respond to, the activities of the day are designed around stage one of the BCP. The stage is depicted down below as applied in HIV prevention:

Stage One of the BCP takes more days and can go for 2-3 days. The typical outline is illustrated below:

1. Morning Prayer—The container reflection; capacity to receive

2. Introduction

3. Objectives

4. Expectations

5. Housekeeping Details

6. Pre-Workshop Survey

7. Brief history of Education for Life in Kenya and other African countries.

8. A brief introduction to the Gerald Egan Behaviour Change Process:

· Understanding Behaviour (Various schools of thought)

· A.V.E.R-Acronym

· Why Behaviour Change is Difficult

· Fundamental beliefs of change

· The Behaviour Change Process as applied in a group.

9. Experiencing the process- Stage 1A (Telling the Story).

Behaviour never takes place in a vacuum; it is always the behaviour of a person with a unique background and environment. Therefore, it is important to explore life experiences of the persons involved in the process. There are often hidden causes that need to be identified. This occurs through a guided telling of one’s story. It is kept general at first to ensure a full picture and also to allow the gradual building of trust and feeling of safety. This Sub-stage of stage one is first explored in small groups of the same gender using these possible questions depending on the age and marital status of the participants

a. What is life like nowadays

b. What pressures are put on you and by whom?

c. How do you spend your free time and where do you get your money?

d. Why do people take drugs and what effects do drugs have?

e. What are the falsehoods and contradictions in Life today?

After each question has been deliberated on by the small group, their responses are brought to the plenary session to enable others who did not have that question to be enjoined to it and to foster further exploration with all the participants.

10. Skit- Life what is it all about! This skit summarizes the key issues of stage 1a (Telling the story). The issues highlighted include vision of life, self, others and the world.

11. This sub-stage is normally concluded with an appropriate video that narrates the key issues of the sub-stages discussion.

DAY TWO OF THE EFL EXPEREINCE

This day is dedicated to finalising on the exploration by looking at both sub-stage 1B and 1C. The outline below shows how the two sub stages are facilitated.

1. Morning Prayer: ‘Do not touch’-Habits that bind

2. Input on Human Boundaries.

3. Recap of the previous day

4. Stage 1b (Focusing on Relationships as sexual beings). The main means of transmission of HIV is sexual activity with an infected person, and because of this it is important to begin to help persons to focus or look more closely at this aspect of their behaviour. It is a sensitive subject, a sacred subject, and required a respectful approach. People often find it difficult to discuss issues regarding sexual behaviour and many lack adequate understanding of the gift of human sexuality. They need help. Some of the questions that can be used to explore the sub-stages are listed below. The questions are picked from the process dependant on age, gender, marital status and cultural sensitivities.

a. Why do some young people have sex before marriage?

b. Why do some married people have extra marital sex?

c. What do you know about your traditional sexual practices and beliefs?

d. What does your religious faith teach about sex and sexuality (Input on sexuality)

N/B: Relevant input on Human Sexuality is offered as is deemed fit.

5. Stage 1 C (Looking at Blind spots): Many people continue with unsafe behaviour despite having heard many of the facts about AIDS. There are many reasons for this. Some deny the reality or pretend it isn’t an issue for them; others have inadequate or inaccurate knowledge, and some have seen so much that they despair of being able to avoid the infection. For these reasons it is necessary to help people look more closely at the issue of AIDS as it relates to their lives.

The following questions provide are guides for insuring that HIV and AIDS are brought fully into the story of one’s life:

Blind Spots: What are you overlooking? What about AIDS?

The questions are picked from the process dependant on age, gender, marital status and cultural sensitivities. Examples of questions are listed below.

a. What are the real root causes of HIV/AIDS in your area?

b. What role does drinking and alcohol play in the spread of HIV?

c. Can HIV/AIDS be prevented? If yes, how and if no why?

d. How do think feel and act if you think you might have taken a risk of HIV infection? Risk Assessment exercise

e. What should happen if one spouse is HIV+?

6. Relevant video on HIV and AIDS as it relates to the community is shared.

DAY THREE OF THE EFL EXPEREINCE

After stage one has been adequately explored at the focussed group discussions and at the plenary session, this day is dedicated to sharing adequate and accurate information around the issues of HIV and AIDS. In addition, a number of activities are initiated such as; having people living with HIV shares their experiences. An outline of typical day three looks like this:

1. Morning Prayer; Glass Code-Choices about life

2. Recap

3. Continue with Stage 1c questions.

4. HIV/AIDS information Session approached in the following way:

Session One: Primary awareness

a. Brainstorm with the Participants: What do you know about HIV/AIDS and what would you like to know about HIV/AIDS?

b. Presentation of HIV/AIDS Situation focusing on HIV/AIDS Statistics; in the world, Africa, Kenya and with emphasis on the specific region the participants are drawn from.

c. Presentation of the Modes of HIV transmission and how the virus is not spread.

d. Focus on the scientific understanding of the Relationship between health status, Viral Load and CD4 Count.

e. Promotion of Voluntary Counselling and Testing ( VCT)

Session Two: Secondary awareness

a. Living positively with HIV/ AIDS

b. The Grieving Process

c. Nutrition and HIV/AIDS

d. The need Support Groups

e. Managing stress and Avoiding Re-infections

f. PMTCT

g. Antiretroviral therapy.

5. Projections- What will happen if people do not change?

6. Video; The way of the cross

DAY FOUR OF THE EFL EXPEREINCE

Part of this day is dedicated to helping the participants make the transmission from the old ways of being to embracing the purposeful life stage two of the EFL process portends. The day starts with a spiritual recollection moment.

1. Morning Prayer: Remembering our loved ones who have died of AIDS.

2. Recap.

3. Moment of Spiritual Recollection

The Recollection Programme.

· Talk One: God’s Love

· Talk Two: Sin, rift and Redemption

· Talk Three: Forgiveness and reconciliation

· An Exercise on unburdening of Self

Sacrament of Reconciliation with personal reflection time particularly if a priest, Pastor or Imam is available to listen to confession for Catholics. Non Catholics can approach a pastor or Imam to be prayed over for depending on their faith.

Stage 2a: New Picture or the Preferred Scenario. Is About Calling Forth Alternative Goals.

Many people fail to change behaviour because they do not consider alternatives. They are stuck. Even when they, or someone else, makes a suggestion, the first reaction is to say “….but it wouldn’t work for me.” This Stage 2 a) challenges people to come up with a variety of alternatives without making any judgments about whether or not it is possible. That will be done later. To judge at this point is to limit ones options. The task of Stage 2 a) is to open up as many options as one can.

The following questions guide one in this open-ended approach. By answering them in a concrete way, as if they were already a reality, the person begins to sense that there is an alternative future. Possible questions participants are given to enable generate alternatives include:

New or ideal picture: What do you want your life to be like?

General Questions	Questions which may be more suitable for youth
What is your life really like?	What is the most important thing in your life now?
How are you getting your extra money?	How are boys and girls lasting?
How are you spending your free time?	What values are influencing you?
What is the most important part of your relationships?	Are you having fun and leisure time? How? Where?
What is your relationship with your wife/ husband/ children like?	Where are you getting your knowledge on sex?
What challenges do you have?	What part is sexual experience playing in your life?
What attitudes have changed?
What importance does faith and religion have in your life? Where is God for you?

Once the groups have presented their alternatives, facilitator using critique questions of stage 2B and other relevant inputs, helps the participants to concretely start thinking of their choices. Every alternative generated in stage 2 a) will not be possible in the person’s concrete situation. To simply try to choose and initiate a goal without looking at whether or not it is possible only results in the failure and discouragement. In this stage, 2 b), the person or group is helped to look at the implications of each alternative before making a choice.

DAY FIVE OF THE EFL EXPERIENCE

Day five of the process is dedicated to enabling participants make personal choices that reflects the change desired. Furthermore, focus activities of the day explore how to make the choices made into concrete actions that can be evaluated and verified. Typical outline of the day is depicted below:

1. Morning Prayer: Role Play on Our Father with an input on Spiritual Growth.

2. Recap of the four days

3 Stage 2c. Choice and commitment-Ritualized: It is now time to decide just what “New Picture” or new behaviour is most suitable for a particular individual or group. It will be one which is not only possible but, one which the person or persons themselves feel they can stand behind. Once the choice is made, the person is helped to make a commitment to it. It is important that this stage of commitment be formalized; speaking it aloud, writing it, or ritualizing it in any other way is helpful.

The following questions from stage 2C can be used to help the individuals think through their choices in a more concrete way.

General Questions	Questions which may be more suitable for youth
What is the best and safest choice for you?	What choice will give you the kind of adult life you want?
What will you say “yes” or “no” to?
What choice is in the best interest of your partner?
What choice is in the best interest of your family/ children?
What choice will bring you the most happiness?
How will you express your choice? Who will you tell about it?

Participants are used with certificates of Commitment to help them spell out the choices they want to commit to.

4. Stage 3a: Asking what can be done.

Many people reach the stage of committing themselves to a new behaviour but the decision is kept in a very vague, idealistic, or theoretical form. There is a need for a more concrete approach. In Stage 3 a) people are helped to express in concrete terms what it is they actually intend to do. They need constantly to be challenged to be sure that they want to do is actually an ACTION.

The following questions help keep this stage concrete and action orientated.

What actually will you do? Questions for Stage 3 a

General Questions	Questions which may be more suitable for youth
How will you tell your partner, children and friends about your choices?	What can you do as a group to challenge, support, and sustain the proposed change of behaviour?
How are you going to put this challenge into practice? How will you sustain it?	As a group, how can you cope or overcome the difficulties?
What will be the concrete signs of your change?	How can you make your group one of the popular ones?
Who will be affected by your change?	How was a group can you earn extra money and support your members?
How will you respond to any criticism, ridicule?	As a group, how can you have fun/ leisure together?
When will you start?
Who will help you start?
How can you tell close friends about your plan?
What relationships will you have to change?
How do you plan to avoid or respond to pressure?
What will replace the unhealthy behaviours you are giving up?

5. Stage 3b: Action Planning

It is not enough to know what one wants to do; people need to know how to do it. This stage 3b) helps people to become aware of the resources and approached available to them. It is at this time that they devise practical steps which they will use to bring about the action they have chosen.

The following questions guide the person and the group in passing through this stage concretely and practically.

How will you do it?

Questions for Stage 3 b

All questions are general: