A week-long ‘train the trainer’ session got off to an uncertain start on Monday 25th October when we heard that our expert trainer who was to have flown in from Rwanda, had been arrested at Kigali Airport.
Fortunately for us, Partners in Health whose training programme we were to follow, have produced an excellent trainers manual, with step-by-step instructions on how to proceed. Our training event picked up steam during the week and by all their reports our participants had a most informative and entertaining experience.
The purpose of the week’s programme was to familiarise future Xhosa-speaking trainers with the Village Health Worker’s Handbook, adapted from Partners in Health’s Accompagnateur handbook and with PIH-designed training methods. The Handbook was well received by course participants. It is written in comfortable English and a number of participants on the course felt that it would be most useful to VHWs in the field.
The train the trainer course covered recognition of HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted infections; management of HIV and TB; psycho-social support skills and duties and responsibilities of Village Health Workers.
The PIH training manual is full of engaging and interesting activities. The highlight was probably our Thursday afternoon ‘radio show’ when participants ‘phoned in’ questions to a panel of expert Village Health Workers, for their responses to various challenges that would be presented to VHWs at work.
We are happy to report that our expert trainer has been released by the Rwandan police and that the charges brought against him were proven to have been false.
Post by Dr. Paul Roux
