HIV/AIDS TEE “Training the Trainer” Workshops

South Africa HIV/AIDS Project

Theological Education by Extension College of Southern Africa

The Theological Education by Extension College of Southern Africa (TEE), located in Johannesburg, South Africa, is organized to provide theological education to mainline and independent church ministers in South Africa. The school maintains an extensive network of ministers, churches, and denominations across most southern African countries and also trains many lay people. TEE currently offers a distance education course called “The Christian Response to AIDS.” The “Training the Trainer” workshop will draw on experiences and resources gathered from that class including the services of Reverend Jean Underwood who runs a hospice in Port Elizabeth. Reverend Underwood has a training facility and can provide hands-on clinical experience for participants. The workshop will empower local trainers in order for HIV/AIDS education to be replicated and provided in a more cost effective way.

The “Train the Trainer” workshop trains ten participants to plan and run HIV/AIDS workshops for TEE students in five of TEE”s regions. Two trainees will be chosen from each of five regions and, as graduates of this workshop, they will be expected to teach two HIV/AIDS workshops in their region within the next year. Then, each person attending a workshop taught by these newly trained trainers is asked to submit a report documenting what work they have commenced in their church or community as a result of the training. Thus, these workshops are a seed-planting exercise that quickly multiplies HIV/AIDS education across the country.

A gift of $3,300 will pay for leadership, food, accommodations, travel, materials, and publicity to train ten new trainers to multiply the church’s response to HIV/AIDS in South Africa.