Supporting teenage mentors living with chronic disease
Groote Schuur Hospital was where One to One Children’s Fund started its pioneering work to deliver life-saving ART to children at the height of the AIDS epidemic in South Africa. In January 2018, we returned to Groote Schuur Hospital supporting a project working with teenagers living with HIV; as they begin to manage their own treatment and develop new relationships, while often facing stigma and isolation.
In this innovative approach, teenagers living with HIV come together in a weekly peer support group with other young people living with a range of chronic illnesses. The recognition that these young people face similar issues, irrespective of their illness, helps break down barriers and stigma for young people living with HIV and AIDS.
“Young people face similar issues, irrespective of their illness – let’s break down the barriers.”
Since January, over 90 young people aged 12-19 years have attended weekly sessions where they share their experiences, socialise with their peers, and access medical and psychosocial support.
We have also supported the training of nine Peer Mentors as ‘Youth Champions’ to help lead the groups. Our Youth Champions are mentored by the expert team of doctors and nurses. The group members also benefit from access to a social worker, which allows for a more structure debriefing after sessions and is essential in helping the Peer Mentors cope.
Youth Champions have played an important role outside of the group sessions. They form connections with other teens within the hospital and encourage them to attend the group and interact with their peers in the clinic.
Youth Champions have also formed WhatsApp groups where they encourage group members not to give up and remind each other to take their medication. Some group members have also been on a picnic together, organised entirely by the Peer Mentors.