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Country Profiles |
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Families Matter!Encouraging Parent-Child Communication
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FEBRUARY 2009 — Parents and guardians in Botswana continue to shy away from talking to young adolescents about sex, despite the fact that many are believed to be sexually active as early as age 10 and disproportionately vulnerable to HIV infection. As one parent reflected, "We were raised to believe that parents do not talk to children about sex, and I still think talking to children about sexual issues brings shame in the home." Many parents and guardians wish the situation were otherwise, according to a 2007 needs assessment and subsequent group discussions conducted by Basha Lesedi, a youth HIV-prevention project led by FHI and funded by the US Government. "We would like to talk to our children about the issues of sex and safe behaviors," lamented a parent during the group discussions. "The problem is they seem to know a lot more than we do. Some of them will tell you what they have been taught at school and make fun of you when you want to teach with the little knowledge that you get from the clinic." The parents and guardians participating in the needs assessment indicated they wished to learn skills to help them communicate with the adolescents in their care. In turn, young people facing risks of HIV infection expressed their desire for parental support and accurate information about HIV and AIDS. Families do Matter! Originally developed as Parents Matter! by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and then adapted for use in Kenya, FMP works to improve the HIV-prevention knowledge and the communication and parenting skills of parents and guardians of 10- to 13-year-olds and other influential adults. In this way, the adults become active, effective supporters of healthy sexual choices that guard against unsafe sex, intergenerational sex, and alcohol use that impairs decision-making— identified by the project needs assessment as key drivers of HIV in Botswana. Parents and guardians engaged in the FHI-led group discussions in Botswana expressed enthusiasm and support for FMP: "We like the fact that this program is for families," said one mother. Ensuring Botswana-Appropriate Materials The adaptation workshop held in June 2008 examined the FMP materials with a view to determining how they could be best adapted to the local context. Held on a weekend during the school holiday, the workshop attracted wide representation, including parents, teachers, youth, and district chiefs from the Goodhope subdistrict and North East district.
Participants also reviewed audio scripts that reflected the Botswana situation, and they reviewed proverbs and posters used in FMP materials, adding Botswana-specific proverbs and other cultural references and providing feedback on drawings and photos that would effectively illustrate their intent. Dr. Kim Miller, who designed the original intervention and participated in its adaptation to Botswana, was among the US-based CDC staff assisting FHI program coordinators. She applauded the FHI team, who she said had tackled a "difficult task, given the importance of balancing fidelity to an evidence-based curriculum and ensuring the program is culturally acceptable." Following the CDC's recommendations, FHI will be rolling out an FMP pilot to evaluate the adapted materials and implementation strategies in January 2009 in Basha Lesedi project sites. PHOTOS: (Top) Children stand outside the center of a faith-based partner of FHI in the village of Goodhope. The children's parents participated in a Families Matter! pilot program here. (Center) A mother and her daughter practice the communication skills they learned in the Families Matter! pilot program in Pitsane. (Bottom) The daughter of one of the graduates of the pilot program sports a Families Matter! t-shirt, which reads "With good parental advice, I can face anything." (D.H. Friendly) |
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The needs assessment and the group discussions both confirmed that a parent-child communication initiative called the Families Matter! Program (or FMP) was needed and wanted. The Basha Lesedi project recognized the power of this program and sought to adapt its materials for use in Botswana.
The FMP team divided workshop participants into groups by age to encourage youth and adults to speak freely, though they followed discussion guidelines developed so that each group covered similar ground. The groups were further divided to cater to variances in culture and language, and discussions were in either Setswana or Kalanga.