| Home > What we do > CtC courses
____________________________________________________________________
CHILD-TO-CHILD APPROACHES TO CHILDREN’S PARTICPATION IN HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT: A COURSE FOR PROGRAMMERS AND FACILITATORS
Aim: To introduce Child-to-Child approaches to course participants and assist them to develop their planning, training, monitoring and evaluation skills using the Child-to-Child approach.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, as a group we will have:
Examined key concepts of health and health education and the implications of their interpretation for quality of education and quality of life.
Assessed the role of children as partners in providing better health and enhancing health knowledge and practice for otherchildren, their families and communities.
Understood the, nature, role and potential of the Child-to-Child movement as expressed in the principles and characteristics of the approach.
Reviewed the extent, nature and potential use of the material resources produced by the Child-to-Child Trust U.K.
Reviewed the importance of skills-based health education within the concept of health promotion and the contribution of Child-to-Child approaches towards it.
Discussed and practiced the methodologies used in programmes using the Child-to-Child approach and especially the step by step approach designed to link learning directly to health action in home and community. Emphasis will be on examples with respect to child protection and in conflict situations.
Considered the role of the Child-to-Child approach towards enhancing the concept and effectiveness of the Health Promoting [or Health Action] Child Friendly School.
Considered the approaches and skills necessary to organise launch and run a locally based course to initiate or improve Child-to-Child approaches.
Considered the approaches towards participatory evaluation necessary in both programmes and courses to enable steady improvement to take place over time
The Child-to-Child Trust Team travelled to Nairobi, Kenya at the beginning of February 2009 to deliver a course on ‘Child-centred approaches to HIV/AIDS: A Child-to-Child approach ’. Led by Course Director Christiana Brown the six-day course explored the impact of HIV/AIDS on children and families and how child participatory methodologies could be integrated into HIV programming.
As with all Child-to-Child (CtC) courses it was highly interactive, fun and contained very practical elements. Participants came from a range of development organisations both large and small; the countries represented were Ethiopia, Japan, Kenya and Sudan.
 The course objectives were extensive and the timetable was challenging, however the programme was lightened by the active involvement participants took in owning and managing the week’s activities. Participants concluded that while the Child-to-Child approaches were very flexible in their nature and that educating children on health issues could be easy, Child-to-Child takes time to take effect. Participants concluded that more teachers needed to be trained in CtC approaches in order to mainstream participatory methodologies into teaching and that there is a greater need for networking among CtC practitioners, around the globe.
 A highlight of the course was a visit to a primary school in Nairobi where the participants had the opportunity to put their learning into practice by working directly with children. These field visits form an important part of all Child-to-Child courses. The CtC Club led by William and Anna* (to the right) was formed in 2005. With their membership at 60 children, the club has successfully educated its members about HIV/AIDS and developed strong leadership skills amongst its governing board. This was clearly evident from the fantastic presentation given to the course participants. It was here that we really saw the benefits of Child-to-Child and how it can develop skills for life. The confidence and self-esteem shown by the children was very inspiring.
* Names have been changed to protect children's identity
|
