STDs and HIV/AIDS
Of the learners completing the evaluation, 85% agreed or agreed strongly that the pioneer had told them about AIDS and STDs. A very large number also mentioned this in their open-ended comments, although it was rarely expanded upon.
It could be that the topic is experienced as too vast to be further elaborated on in the limited space available, or that learners were not particularly struck by any specific facts about these conditions. One learner mentioned that HIV/AIDS cannot be transmitted by casual contact, an issue that had been raised elsewhere in the questionnaire:
c34g "If someone have HIV or AIDS she/he can’t infect us by touching, shaking hands with us"
A large number of learners also requested more information on STDs and HIV/AIDS, although again without much specificity. Some specific concerns included:
| c29b "I want to know how to tolerate people who are infected" |
| f11b "I want to learn how to avoid this virus" |
| f18g "I want to learn about what is different between HIV and AIDS" |
| h30g "How the world would do to stop HIV/AIDS" |
|
g3b "I want to know how can Aids be cured from the new baby born" |
| m34b "the issue of AZT" |
| m6g "About AIDS and how eventually it get to you and what are the symptoms" |
Some of the questions suggest that the crucial fact that STDs and HIV/AIDS can be invisible has not yet been fully assimilated by all learners:
h25b "How prostitutes don’t have AIDS"
g6b "How to identify people with diseases, especially girls"
| Recommendation
Sapler should use learner’s practical concerns about wanting to know whether potential sexual partners are infected to drive home the point that individuals may have HIV/AIDS or other STDs without any outward signs. |