Maseru Teen Club
In 2008, BCMCF-L formed Lesotho’s first Teen Club based at the Maseru COE. Teen Club started in May 2008 with 40 members and has now expanded to almost 470 members in Maseru alone and 440 members in our SCOES, with 6 Teen club sites in total. Through peer-education and mentorship, counseling, and the development of life skills and leadership abilities, we aim to empower Lesotho’s HIV infected youth. We also teach our adolescent important lessons that help them to cope with HIV
The Teen Club meetings are monthly: a Younger Teen Club for ages 11 to 14 and an Older Teen Club for ages 14 to 18. The two age groups meet on different Saturdays of the month to allow each child to have greater involvement in the day’s activities. This is a typical Teen Club schedule:
8:00 AM: Registration and Morning Snack
9:00 AM: Teen Leader Meeting
9:30 AM: Group Aerobics
10:00 AM: Lesson of the Day in smaller Color Groups
1:00 PM: Lunch and distribution of transport money/ARV refills
2:30 PM: Closing Circle
The teens are a very enthusiastic group that is eager to learn and is committed to being in control of their condition. Although they are HIV+, we remember first and foremost that they are teens before they are patients. Like any other teen, these adolescents are struggling to find their own identity and define who they are. In addition to our lessons, we engage in other activities such as Sports Day, Career Day, and field trips to Radio TV Lesotho and Kick4Life.
SCOEs Teen Club
In addition to the first Teen Club based at the Maseru COE, we have now expanded to five additional Teen Clubs at the SCOEs in Qacha’s Nek, Leribe, Mokhotlong, Butha-Buthe and Mohale’s Hoek. The SCOE Teen Clubs also meet once a month (meeting times are specified on the calendar to the left). The SCOE Teen Clubs follow a very similar schedule and topics to the Maseru Teen Club.