USAID DONATES AUDIO-VISUAL EQUIPMENT TO               TEACHER TRAINING COLLEGES

World Education Ghana with USAID funding, donated audio visual equipment worth approximately US$530 to 15 teacher training colleges in Ghana on November 29, 2005. The colleges are located in communities such as Akrokeri, Atebubu, Enchi, Gbewaa, Peki, Tumu and Abetifi, covering seven of Ghana's ten regions.

The equipment, including 15 television sets and 15 video cassette recorders, will facilitate screening of films used to raise HIV/AIDS awareness among teacher trainees. The beneficiaries were selected based on the commitment of the colleges to promote HIV/AIDS education among students and tutors.

The donation is part of USAID's support to Ghana's 38 teacher training colleges to enhance skills of more than 30,000 newly trained teachers. The entire package, worth over US$1 million, will be used to develop an HIV/AIDS curriculum and education materials including video films for teaching HIV/AIDS in the colleges and training tutors to teach the curriculum.

Since 2001, World Education Ghana with USAID support has been working on preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS and reducing its effect on the education sector, in coordination with the Ministry of Education's HIV/AIDS plan.

World Education's teacher training pre-service program will equip new teachers with accurate knowledge about HIV/AIDS, improve their attitudes towards people living with the disease, and enhance their skills for self-protection against HIV infection. The program will also help to improve their ability to conduct HIV/AIDS awareness programs in schools and in the communities they serve.

Over 175 tutors have been trained under the USAID program to teach HIV/AIDS prevention in all the training colleges in Ghana, with refresher workshops to improve on the knowledge and skills of the tutors.