Around 125 students from Tutong Sixth Form Centre (PTET) took part in the Brunei Darussalam AIDS Council’s (BDAIDSCouncil) HIV Awareness Programme for Peers and Youth (HAPPY) as part of their school awareness initiatives.
HAPPY is a youth-led project that spreads awareness of HIV, 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 convey the message to young people. These messages have been adapted to local settings.
Representing the BDAIDSCouncil at PTET was HAPPY Project Coordinator Siti Kailene Jazlan Kashfi and dedicated volunteers from the HAPPY Team.
During the talk, she shared the latest local statistics on STIs and teenage pregnancy, emphasising the age and gender trends within these figures.
In addition, she mentioned that these figures can be curbed by practising abstinence as a preventative measure to safeguard young people from engaging in any risky behaviours that lead to the infection of STIs, pregnancy outside of wedlock, or early marriage.
The BDAIDSCouncil hopes that students can bring home the messages as part of their learning process and apply them to their daily lifestyles. – James Kon
