HIV/AIDS
Most people know that HIV is dangerous, but most of these people do not know what HIV and AIDS exactly are, what they cause and how to prevent an infection. A lot of organizations already give educational programs on HIV and AIDS in the entire world in order to increase the amount of people who have proper knowledge and awareness of HIV/AIDS and consequently to decrease the amount of people being infected. Despite the great work of these organizations, AIDS is still one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the world.
It is not easy to make children and young adults aware of the risks and consequences of sex. And making them aware is only the first step. Making them act accordingly to this new found knowledge is the second and probably even more difficult step. So not only do we have to provide this information to the youth, we also have to do it in such way that they will act accordingly after the information is given to them. In order to reach this goal, one of services offered by In Touch is to give this information in a way that is attractive to youth. Through building awareness, individuals and communities will be empowered to make informed decisions to protect themselves and their loved ones against the scourge of HIV/Aids. In Touch values people therefore offers programmes and training which protects the dignity, uniqueness and intrinsic worth of each person. The programmes and training offered by our instituion is mostly implemented at our training centre based in Limpopo and the content of programmes designed in such a way which works towards equality, peace, reconciliation and healing of individuals. However clients can request that the training takes place at their venue of choice.
The benefits of having us train this particular topic for you is that we create a supportive and enabling environment for HIV/Aids prevention and develop suitable preventative and behavioural change messages. We ensure that education programmes for HIV/Aids and sexual and reproductive health for young people are strengthed, both in and out of school. We also include youth friendly HIV/Aids prevention strategies into sexual and reproductive health services, like: information, education and counselling, diagnosis and management of STI’s, organizing of confidential and voluntary HIV counselling and access to male and female condoms and education to ensure consistent use. Another societal issue we are currenly passionate about is mental health.
Mental Health
Mental illness affects how a person thinks, behaves and interacts. Mental health problems can affect anyone, no matter what age, background, or walk of life they come from, and mental illness is a silent killer in modern society. Two of the most common forms of mental health issues are depression and anxiety. While these conditions can occur at the same time, they are different in the reaction they cause, therefore making mental health an extremely important issue when considering an individuals total health and wellbeing.
As mental health issues affect a large proportion of the population, especially youth, it is essential that awareness and understanding of mental health issues increase in society. In Touch aims to be involved in a greater awareness which can contribute to identifying and helping those in need, and breaking down the social stigmas and barriers to support. Ours is to assit individuals to not give up and understand that they have a purpose.
The idea behind our mental health awareness is acceptance and pride in who we are as individuals. This is important as self-esteem has a very large impact on general wellbeing. Encouraging a celebration of each person’s unique worth and supporting them will help raise general awareness and positivity around what is fundamentally a serious issue. If you suffer from a mental illness or know someone who does, it is essential that you obtain treatment or even just for support, whether it be from a licensed practitioner or one of the many support organisations available in South Africa.