There was a celebratory mood among the Grade 8 students from the School of St Yared today as they had just finished national exams for the year! Katie and I met them at the Hope For Children Office at 9am, ready for a Sexual Health and First Aid session. We started the session by inviting two students to role play a doctor revealing a patient’s positive HIV test result. This was followed by a discussion about the modes of transmission, methods of diagnosis and signs and symptoms of HIV and AIDS. Students then in groups, presented a poster to the class on different sexually transmitted diseases, such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea.
After, two local women took the Grade 8 girls aside for the next two hours, providing them with reusable sanitary pads and instructing them on how to use them. This meant Katie and I were stuck with the boys until lunchtime! We decided that if the girls were learning about periods, the boys will too. We had chopped a poster about the menstrual cycle into various parts and got the students to piece them together. We emphasised the importance of consent by getting two students to do a role play (which involved a lot of giggling) and discussed contraceptives.
Moving on to first aid, we taught the students basic life support – using the acronym DRS ABCD. We went through when and how to put someone in the recovery position and how to use splints and slings. We simulated a car accident, and made the first aiders practice DRS ABCD as they rushed to save the victims. This marked our final session; Katie and I were exhausted by a week of teaching Compass’ programs, but also sad to say goodbye to the students we had grown fond of.
