Online Peer Counselor Training Project for HIV Positives

Duration : 5 months / September 2021 – January 2022

Budget : 7,140 USD

Sponsor : US Embassy Grant Program

Purpose and Target and Method:

Positive Education on the Internet for People Living with HIV Project aimed to increase the quality of life of HIV-positive people in our country by meeting the need for peer counselling.

With the project, it was aimed that people living with HIV first meet their own needs. As a result of the training they will receive, it was aimed to train people who are at peace with their HIV status, who can set a role models for their peers, and who can provide peer counselling and case follow-up.

It was aimed that the participants obtain information about the medical, psychological, legal and social dimensions of HIV. Thus, it was also aimed to increase their quality of life, and reduce stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV by becoming people who know and seek their rights.

They would be able to serve as a role model for their peers who were newly diagnosed or have been living with HIV for a while but are still developing the skills to live with HIV. It was also aimed to train people who are at peace with their HIV status, and who can provide peer counselling and case follow-up.

The training to be held was planned online for 2 rounds (12 sessions). It was aimed to reach 50 people living with HIV in Turkey, especially in Diyarbakır, Antalya, Eskişehir, Samsun and Kayseri, and 20 of them would be peer counsellors.

Results:

In the first round of the project, 46 people living with HIV were reached. 57 people living with HIV participated in the training in the second round.

Each session was designed as 60 minutes (12 sessions x 60 minutes = 720 minutes / 12 hours). However, some sessions lasted 90 minutes due to intense questions. Therefore, the total average duration of the training is 16 hours.

According to the feedback we received from many people, the participants stated that they watched the sessions with their spouse or partner. In this context, there were often two participants connected via a Zoom account. Therefore, the total number of participants is more than 103 people.

Project Report in English: https://www.kisa.link/QfNd