LIVE PROJECTS
Online/Offline approaches to sex and relationship education
PaLM was recently shortlisted as part of an Openideo call for solutions to the problem of providing sex and relationships education for young people. We pitched a service that provides the COTC club mobile phone number for anonymous questions during sex and relationship education sessions in Mtwara. These questions are then uploaded onto the COTC club Facebook page with answers to provide a resource that is directly relevant to those attending the sexual health outreach sessions delivered by the COTC club. We developed a pilot to test our assumptions about this project. You can view it here.
The Facebook page is called Tuongee UZAZI WA Mpango
You can see it here www.facebook.com/maswalinamajibuyauzaziwampango/
You can see our bid here.
It includes the following case study:
Mariam is a secondary school student in Mtwara. She has heard of most methods of contraception but has important questions. Does the pill make you infertile? Does the injection cause blood to build up inside you? These concerns have stopped her using contraception and pregnancy will mean she has to leave school. She finds out about the contraceptive conversations Facebook page during sex education at school. Too embarrassed to ask questions in class she asks questions by SMS that evening.
The reputation of the COTC club is growing in Mtwara
In March they were invited to deliver sessions on sexual health by an organisation that supports vulnerable young people. The organisation provided food for the students and the students paid for their transport themselves.
Experienced club members teach new volunteers how to deliver sex and relationship education in schools.
It is one of the principles of the COTC club that students in year 3 with experience of delivering sexual health education and who have had training from PaLM teach the new club members from years 1 and 2. The image shows new club members in 2017/18 planning their teaching with the guidance of more senior club members.
UK health professionals annual teaching at COTC Mtwara in collaboration with COTC graduates
November, 2017: Dr Michael Brady and Dr Paula Baraitser delivered the annual training programme for the year 3 students in collaboration with COTC graduates Innocent Grant and Yona Magaya. Michael in the picture below is using a pelvic model donated by the UK Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health Care to demonstrate speculum examination. He is teaching pelvic and speculum examination - a core practical skill for sexual health service delivery.
Graduate support network
This year’s club chairman, Olson (left) and last year’s club chairman, Innocent (right) on a sexual health outreach visit to a teacher training college in Mtwara. The COTC club has worked with both teacher training colleges over many years. Training teachers in sexual health is an effective way to pass this information onto school pupils in the area. The COTC club often teaches 300 trainee teachers at a time - working in small groups. This may require 30 COTC club members to participate at one time.
OLDER PROJECTS
Towards a Centre of Excellence and Community Links for Sexual and Reproductive Health
Sexual Health and SRE Teaching at COTC Mtwara
Research Methods Teaching at COTC Mtwara
Books for COTC Libraries at Mtwara (with BMJ4Life)
Linking to the spokes: Books, IT and evolving networks with CATC Masasi
Service based practice: Supporting improved SRH services and access for young people
The PaLM COTC Student Club: outreach around SRE and supporting peer to peer in schools (with PASHA)
Mtwara Sexual Health Network: supporting organisational links arouind SRH and SRE in Mtwara region
Engaging wider communities (with Ngome Cultural Theatre)
Health Corners: Library outreach (with RCOG)
Supporting Student Networks for next generation Global Health
Rafiki Kwa Afya: London <-> Mtwara Peer to Peer Student Project (with BMJ and Medicine Africa)
Student volunteers visit from London to Mtwara
Student volunteers visit from Mtwara to London
IT for Health: New networks for teaching and learning
Supporting improved IT systems and increased internet access for the COTC community
Evolving Distance Learning approaches with TZ partners (I-TECH, CDC, Fusion)
Supporting integration of online resources into teaching and learning
Advocacy and information sharing around development of IT capacity for the ZHRC
PaLM Organisational Development
PaLM connections in London
PaLM connections in Tanzania
PaLM connections
Building environmental best practice into projects (Reducing PaLM's carbon footprint; Envisioning the networked zero carbon health centre)
