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ThinkTwice is passionate about developing young children and building a foundation for a healthy sexuality. Our mission is to envision and empower children of primary school age to make responsible decisions regarding sex and relationships.

Our objectives, particularly among the previously disadvantaged, are:

to instill in children a healthy sense of self-worth
to instill in children a healthy respect for others
to equip and empower children, and those working with them, to understand and deal with issues surrounding HIV/AIDS and child sexual abuse

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

ThinkTwice began its work in 1998 as the preventive thrust of the Pregnancy Help Centre in Wynberg, where the plight of counselling clients highlighted the need to educate young people about their sexual behaviour. At that time a high schools programme was developed to offer education to learners covering various topics surrounding sex and relationships including HIV & AIDS, pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, setting boundaries, having dreams, etc.

In October 2003 it was decided that the schools team should launch a completely separate NPO, and so ThinkTwice was registered.
The work of ThinkTwice continued in high schools, with a 10-week high school programme presented by ThinkTwice staff and volunteers. The realisation that lifestyle change needed to start much earlier in children's lives plus requests from primary schools, highlighted the need for ThinkTwice to expand our prevention and equipping work to primary school learners as well.
Thus, ThinkTwice began the development of Early Childhood Development (ECD) programmes and Grade R (Jerry Giraffe), Grade 1 (Lindiwe Ladybird), Grade 2 (Mr Wiggly Worm) and Grade 3 (Hope the Hippo) programmes have been successfully completed.
These ECD programmes were conceptualised by a ThinkTwice Development team and were piloted in a number of different contexts, receiving feedback and input from educators and Education Department HIV specialists and curriculum advisors.
Along with a change of focus on primary school children the strategic change was made to reach many more children by training and supporting educators and others who already work with children in schools and community based facilities. And so ThinkTwice now focuses exclusively on primary school aged children.

OUR STRATEGY

1. Training Workshops
ThinkTwice trains educators from schools, independent crèches, other non-profit organisations and faith-based organisations to use our programmes. During 2-day training workshops, trainees are given the fundamentals of the programmes. They receive an educator's manual containing the complete programme, information on HIV/AIDs & child sexual abuse, referral lists, as well as a CD containing all songs used in the programme.

2. Follow-up strategy
Trainees also receive follow-up and support 4-6 weeks after training.

For independent crèches in under-resourced areas, ThinkTwice teams also help to implement the programmes by going to the crèche 2 to 3 times per week and, together with the teacher, facilitate the programme with the children in a class. As the weeks progress, the teacher completes most of the preparation and actual lesson in the class. At the end of the 15 lessons, teachers are able to run the programme successfully on their own with other groups of children.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

OUR STRATEGY

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