Around 160 students of Year 9 and Year 10 from Chung Hua Middle School (CHMS) in the Belait District, participated in the Brunei Darussalam AIDS Council (BDAIDSCouncil) HIV awareness programme for Peers and Youth (HAPPY) recently.
According to BDAIDSCouncil, HAPPY is a youth-led project that spreads HIV awareness including knowledge on teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). It is an interactive programme that combines audio and visuals as well as an interactive activity to send a message to young people including messages that have been adapted to the local settings.
Representing BDAIDSCouncil in delivering and facilitating the programme was project coordinator of HAPPY Siti Kailene Jazlan Kashfi.
She shared the latest local statistics on STIs and teenage pregnancy by highlighting the age and gender dominating the statistics.
She said the figures could be lowered by applying abstinence as a measure to keep the youth from involving themselves in risky behaviours that could lead to the contraction of STIs, getting pregnant without wedlock or early marriage.
BDAIDSCouncil hopes the programme will encourage students to treat the messages as part of their learning process and incorporate them into their daily lifestyles. – James Kon
