Workshop On Peer Group Education On HIV/AIDS Ends

A week-long, Peer Group Public Education workshop to sensitise 20 participants on the deadly HIV/AIDS pandemic, has taken place in Bole, in the Northern Region.  Ghana Institute of Linguistics Literacy and Bible Translation (GILLBT) sponsored it with funding from Orkonomos Foundation of the Netherlands.
    
The workshop, was part of a one-year pilot project involving six language groups, including Gonja, Kasem, Kussal, Dagbani, Bimoba and Konkonba, which have comparatively high incidence of the HIV/AIDS in their areas.
    
Speaking at the end of the workshop, the Assistant Literacy Manager for GILLBT, Mr Peter Wangara Amoah explained that HIV/AIDS was now a developmental issue and not a mere health problem.
    
GILLBT as a development-oriented organisation therefore, saw the need to assist the fight against the pandemic, hence the pilot programme to sensitise rural communities on the disease with a view of transforming their lives.
    
Mr Wangara explained that, three booklets, including the Youth and Sexuality, Holy Marriage and the HIV/AIDS Pandemic and others such as Family Life and Religious Bodies, have been translated into the six languages to facilitate peer group education at workshops and discussions in the communities.
    
He remarked that the unique feature of approach was the use of the word of God as its standard measurement.    This he said promotes values, good behaviour and attitude building, that were in conformity to Biblical principle as well as encouraging the group as positive practices of the people's culture and tradition.
    
Each of the participants at the end of the workshop was presented with one Phoenix Bicycle valued at 700,000 cedis to facilitate work within their rural communities.

Source: GNA