The fruits of AHAPPY training of trainers are realized when the newly trained individuals successfully pass on their knowledge, skills, and expertise to others. The transfer of knowledge by recently trained peer educators TONTEPAMBO Roger, COMPAORE Ghislain, and ZONGO Diane from the AHAPPY team at Association les Bénévoles de l’Espérance (ABE) Burkina Faso, mirrors the program’s positive influence in magnifying its impact and addressing challenges within their specific contexts. The AJAN team derives the greatest satisfaction when the training results in favorable outcomes, empowers individuals, and generates a ripple effect that reaches beyond the initial group of trainees.

Have a read of the AHAPPY training activity by the Peer Educator Group of ABE in Burkina Faso as documented by TONTEPAMBO Roger.

As part of the implementation of its activities, the Peer Educator Group of ABE Burkina held an awareness and training session for the benefit of young people in sectors 32 and 33 of the city of Ouagadougou. The training took place on Sunday, April 7, 2024 in the meeting room of the presbytery of the parish of St. Monica of Sondogo-Boassa. The activity took place thanks to the help of Sisters Adeline Loukouri, who works in the youth ministry of the parish.

The session began at 08:45 GMT with the customary greetings, prayer, a 10-minute meditation on the Gospel of the day and the introduction of the Peer Educators. There were 3 of us, and we started the presentation of the themes around 09:00 GMT. The session lasted 2 hours and 30 minutes.

The young people who have benefited from this formation are 19 in number, aged between 18 and 27 years, in addition to Sister Adeline Loukouri who thanked us at the end for the initiative and the very enriching content of the presentation.

The objective of this activity was to share with the young people what we received as knowledge during the trainings of trainers held in October-November 2023 thanks to AJAN and ABE. Through this initiative, we would like young people to become aware of their potential, to become aware of who they are “beloved creatures, created in the image of God”, to become aware of the gifts that God gives us and and to cultivate the ability to navigate various life contexts (family, school, circle of friends, work, etc.) with intelligence, discernment and responsibility. Through this activity, we also wanted to deconstruct prejudices about STIs and HIV/AIDS, drug and alcohol consumption in order to raise awareness of these evils, the need to fight them and above all to adopt a responsible behaviour towards oneself and to be able to help those who suffer from them, without any discrimination.

The topics covered during this training and awareness session are:

• The Awakening of Conscience: through this theme, we made the young people understand that they are God’s beloved creatures, that the work of creation is a fruit of God’s love, creating the earth and man and entrusting the earth to man so that he may master it through his work and enjoy its fruits. It is therefore fitting for man to take good care of this beautiful gift that God has given us and to do only that which contributes to the life, joy and happiness that lasts.
• The World and Evil: In this module, we had young people work in small groups on current issues, wars, diseases, the evils that undermine our society; They had to identify, analyze and identify the causes, manifestations and repercussions of these ills on our society and propose possible solutions. Then we met again to share the different answers. Then we talked about HIV and AIDS, the modes of transmission, the factors necessary for the transmission of HIV, the ways of non-transmission to deconstruct any amalgam, the methods of prevention while specifying the rate of ineffectiveness of condoms and recommending abstinence. We also talked about the use of drugs and alcohol, scourges that plague our youth. There we saw the factors that can lead to drug or alcohol abuse, the consequences, the modes of treatment and prevention. We reviewed the risk and vulnerability factors of young people and how to prevent them.
• Principles and values: the aim of this theme was to equip young people with adequate means to base a responsible life on moral, ethical, human, religious, etc. values. in order to live their full potential with intelligence and responsibility, to love, love and protect others.

We concluded the activity at approximately 11:30 a.m. and then participated in a Mass led by Father Martin de Pores Ouedraogo, the parish vicar, which we thoroughly enjoyed.

This passage of the training received from AJAN has left a deep impression on us and is the driving force behind our activities; “BUILD the person from WITHIN so that with the force from within, no force or pressure from outside can destroy, influence and disorient him. Let the person be LIBERATED from all OUTSIDE INFLUENCE and be able to make DECISIONS that give and promote LIFE in himself and in others. Bring to life”

To facilitate this training, we chose a participatory approach, dividing participants into sub-groups of five individuals to collaborate on questions pertaining to various themes. Additionally, we incorporated breaks featuring games and songs to create a more relaxed atmosphere.

Following the conclusion, participants posed questions to enhance their comprehension and delve deeper into the topics discussed, to which we provided responses. In closing, the young individuals expressed gratitude for the efforts invested and conveyed their happiness regarding the subjects explored and the knowledge gained.

Published by,

Dennis Owuoche,

AJAN Communications Officer.