THE Ministry of Education and Peace Corps HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Programme, Youth Educators Safeguarding our Work Force (YES) will begin on Monday, January 28, in primary and secondary schools countrywide.

This was disclosed yesterday by the Ministry of Education’s HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Coordinator, Janelle Sweatnam.
She told the Guyana Chronicle, in a telephone interview, that they are currently doing the final streamlining of the placement of the youth educators, based on requests by them and according to the areas in which they live and work.
Ms. Sweatnam noted that this is a volunteer programme and, as such, they are trying to organise it at the convenience of the educators.
She said 41 youth educators will spend one hour per week at the school to which they are assigned and the majority of them have volunteered to go to both a primary and a secondary school.
They underwent one week training last November and some of the sessions included the basics of HIV/AIDS; who is a youth educator; how to be an effective and proficient one and hands-on experience in both primary and secondary schools.
These young men and women also received a package which includes secondary and primary school manuals and guide books, which will take them through various lessons that cover a broad range of topics, including information about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
The educators will take the manuals and all the other materials, which include teaching aids and go into grades five, six and nine classrooms to hold sessions with students.
The programme was launched last November and these youth educators have made a commitment to give one academic year of voluntary service.