KidzAlive is a comprehensive psychosocial care package for HIV-infected and affected children and their caregivers offered by Zoë-Life. Designed as a journey of learning for both adults and children, the KidzAlive programme is a holistically structured model offering psychosocial care and support to children and their caregivers. It enables caregivers and healthcare workers to give informed, and age-appropriate support to children in ways that celebrate their individual personalities.
The tools and materials are available in self-contained resource-kits that provide access to easy-to-use, transportable and re-useable resources. Materials have been developed for use in NGOs, schools, clinics, paediatric hospital wards, churches and other focal points in communities.
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To bring rest, peace and comfort, and to free children from the stigma and fear of HIV.
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To provide a psychosocial system and user-friendly tools that enable people working with children to guide them through HIV testing, disclosure and wellness using counselling and educational play.
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Aimed at children between 4 to 11 years of age, KidzAlive offers a system of 5 integrated psychosocial interventions which include:
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Foundations of Working with Children
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KidzWhoTest
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KidzLiteracy
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Caregiver Support Intervention
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KidzWellness
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Early one morning, I saw a primary school child at the traffic light. She looked very ill as she struggled to bear the weight of her schoolbag. She was exhausted, even though it was just the start of her day. Her frame was so thin, and she struggled to draw breath as she tried to cross the road before the light changed. At that moment, I was concerned that she might be infected with HIV, and that she had no idea what was making her feel so sick.
This was a pivotal moment for me - I knew that Zoë-Life needed to create an intervention to help children discover their HIV status in a safe way, so that they could get all the help they needed and start to lead a normal life with friends and family.
Nicole Potgieter: Paediatric Psychosocial Programme Manager
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Healthcare workers and counsellors express fear and apprehension when asked to counsel children. They feel intimidated, not knowing how to relate to a child. This training course build confidence and skills to work with, engage and counsel children in their own language, using play and art techniques. It provides ideas and tools for creating child-friendly spaces. Participants will learn to make children feel safe and comfortable whilst dealing with sensitive issues.
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Topics:
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Foundations of Working with Children
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Creating Self-Awareness
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Characteristics of a Child Friendly Counsellor
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How Children Respond to Stressful Events
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Engaging with Children
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Using Play in Communicating with Children
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Principles in Counselling Children
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Disclosure and the Child
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Working with Children - Challenges and Solutions
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Components:
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5 day training
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1 x participants manual
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HIV testing of children has been an adult-focused event between the caregiver and healthcare worker, with the child as an uninformed spectator who becomes afraid and confused. For children to experience this process calmly and without fear, they need to be included in the counselling and testing conversation. Healthcare workers lack confidence or tools to know how to engage with children. The KidzWhoTest model uses a fun-filled , non-threatening "Talk Tool" for healthcare workers to confidently guide a child through the process to test for HIV, in an environment that is age-appropriate, safe and fun.
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Topics:
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Legal Aspects of Testing Children
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KidzWhoTest Model
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Establishing a Relationship with the Child
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Preparation, Education and Disclosure Safety
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The Testing Process
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Sharing the Results
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Next Steps - Engaging with Health Care
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Components:
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3 day training
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1 x participants manual
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1 x talk tool
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HIV-infected children and their caregivers have not had access to practical guidance of patient literacy for children. Children and caregivers therefore, have many questions about how to best manage their illness. KidzLiteracy answers these questions using play and story-based curriculum that covers general HIV education, wellness, nutrition, quality living strategies and treatment adherence. This intervention can be conducted with groups or as one-on-one sessions.
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Topics:
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What is in my Blood?
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Me and my Medicine
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Me and my Clinic
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Components:
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2 day training
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1 x participants manual
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Many children have not been tested for HIV because their caregivers are too afraid of the process and results. The Caregiver Support Intervention addresses the fears and unresolved issues of caregivers relating to HIV stigma, disclosure, guilt, shame and anger. It consists of psycho-educational sessions that lead participants on a facilitated journey of reflective, outcome-focused activities. These activities are designed to address barriers that prevent caregivers from engaging with their children in testing and disclosure. Caregivers who complete this intervention have reduced anxiety, increased emotional resilience and resolve to journey with their children through the processes of HIV testing, disclosure and management.
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Topics:
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Facilitating a Caregiver Support Intervention
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Dealing with Group Emotion
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Understanding the Caregiver Intervention Tools
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Dealing with Guilt, Blame and Shame
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Building Hope
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Refreshing HIV Information
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Testing our Children
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Components:
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5 day training
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1 x participants manual
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The KidzWellness intervention builds capacity in all children to help them manage their health and make healthy life choices form a young age. KidzWellness inspires children to have ambition for their own wellness and thus decreases the burden of disease. The intervention consists of interchangeable sessions that aid the health and well-being of all children, by combining teaching and psychosocial support through fun activities , play and craft. Areas of wellness relevant to all children cover from basic nutrition and health management through to psychosocial aspects of grief, trauma and emotional resilience. The specific sessions can be handpicked according to the needs of the group of children.
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Topics:
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Healthy Eating
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My Medicine
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I am Special
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I have a Hope and a Future
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Coping with Illness
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Dealing with Grief
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At the Clinic
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Stigma
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Trauma
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Coping Skills
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Components:
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10 day training
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3 x posters
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10 x storyboards & activity templates
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Snap cards
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Bingo boards
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Flashcards
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The above information can be found in the Areté training brochure, which you can download from the Zoë-Life downloads block.
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The KidzAlive programme is offered to organisations and people who have desire to, or are currently working with children. Zoë-Life offers training and post-training support through preceptorship and mentorship to implement the KidzAlive programme. KidzAlive resource-kits, manuals and tools are available as part of the training offered.
For more information about the training support and tools, please email: kidzalive@zoe-life.co.za or visit our contact us page for more contact information.
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