Students educated on drugs, HIV/AIDS, reproduction

Students educated on drugs, HIV/AIDS, reproduction

Leony Aurora , The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It is hard being a teenager. Not only do teenagers face the
mindboggling effects of raging hormones, but the push to be part
of the "in crowd" is something they must contend with daily.

These initiations into adulthood produce alarming levels of
stress and confusion. But, at the time when they need it most,
health education is often in text-book format, and rarely hits
home.

In Indonesia, almost 50 percent of the 1,016 people living
with AIDS, aged between 15 and 29 years, possibly contracted HIV
in their adolescence, considering that the virus needs five to
ten years to develop into AIDS.

A program was designed by the Center for Indonesian Medical
Students' Activities (CISMA) together with Harapan Permata Hati
Foundation (Yakita) and United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef)
to educate junior high school students on reproduction, drugs and
HIV/AIDS.

Medical students use "street" language, punctuated with slang
in their presentations to ten junior high schools in Jakarta,
which have shown interest in the program since December. "The
power of peer education is that we can speak their language,"
said third-semester student Edwina Frisdiantiny of CISMA at a
discussion between journalists and people involved in the fight
against HIV/AIDS on Monday.

Joyce Djaelani Gordon from the addiction treatment center and
recovery community Yakita said that many drug addicts started
using drugs to appear "cool" to their friends, they considered
their social groups to be safe environments.

Most people who shared needles had known their fellow addicts
since junior high school, said Edwina. "Fifty percent to 70
percent of new HIV transmission comes from sharing needles," she
added.

The CISMA presentations also include advice on how to stand up
against peer pressure, they promote abstinence from extra-marital
sex and students are given the opportunity to ask questions.

"We have answered thousands of questions from students about
things -- mostly on reproductive organs and condoms -- they would
never dare ask their parents, let alone their teachers," Edwina
said.

As sex education and information on HIV/AIDS are not embedded
in high school's curricula, Nona Pooroe Utomo of Unicef Indonesia
said the organization would implement programs to promote life-
skill education, like training teachers to provide such
information through school subjects.