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.