Zoë-Life keeps innovation alive!
COVID-19 took the world by storm, changing the way we think, work and learn. Lockdowns, travel, gathering restrictions and social distancing became the new normal and face-to-face learning became near impossible!
Zoë-Life, whose speciality lies in capacity-building within the health sector, like many other educational health organisations had designed our curriculums and training packages around the classroom-style of learning. This meant that the education of healthcare workers could no longer continue as it once did. South Africa is already crippled by the HIV epidemic, gender-based violence, poverty and a lack of skills and resources. This was a huge blow and one we couldn't afford as a country, nor the affected children. Something needed to change and quickly.
Zoë-Life decided to do what they do best, innovate!
If the healthcare workers could not get to the training, the training would need to be brought to them. The best way to achieve this was through an online learning solution. Prestigious courses under the KidzAlive banner and the brand new YouThrive safe (tackling HIV and GBV in children and adolescents respectively) were redesigned and adapted into online courses available to any service provider with internet access.
A mixed methodology approach to the online content kept learners engaged with information, videos, quizzes, virtual 'face-to-face' instructor-led training; keeping human connection alive, and even a little gamification to keep it fun.
This new method of online training was piloted with great success and rolled out to well-known health organisations such as Health Systems Trust, with whom Zoë-Life has had a long-standing relationship.
Health Systems Trust opted for the online KidzAlive Foundations of working with Children, Disclosure, HIV Testing and Adherence course, which was managed by our experienced facilitators, but due to busy schedules and other project commitments, time was not a luxury that could be wasted. We tailored the course to suit the organisation’s timeline and schedule; despite the increased workload, learners found the course incredibly useful and informative and most were able to complete and receive their downloadable certificate.
A promising finding: post-training, showed a 14% increase in self-reported confidence growth in working with children from these valuable frontline healthcare workers! Below are some comments that were received from learners:
“Everything was on point. Well prepared and well presented. Facilitators were so skilled and knowledgeable about the content and transforming it to us. As participants was easy and well structured.”
“The course was very good I have gained too much information as from tomorrow I will start the implementation thanks again.”
“It was a good training, except virtual is fairly new to me.”
It was not just the learners that gained from this experience, but also the facilitators Lenore and Dianna:
Lenore Edwards
“A big shout-out to every learner who joined our online training! It was an absolute pleasure to watch you all grow, in the content and skills as well as navigating a brand new way of learning for most.
The discussions that took place in the instructor-led trainings allowed me a glimpse of real life challenges you face in your work. Thank you for challenging me with some very complex cases and keeping me on my toes. I, too, learnt from this experience.
I look forward to hearing your stories showing real change and creating a movement towards wholeness for children! “
Dianna Brand
"There was a real shared learning that took place, it seems like learners were more honest with themselves and us [in their written answers] compared to when they are in a room of people.
This allows the learner to have a more meaningful self-reflection and learning experience as well as giving the facilitator real-time data and a deeper understanding to adapt the training to the group needs on-the-go."
As you can imagine, giving healthcare workers the opportunity to complete their training remotely decreases their risk of getting and passing on infections, such as Covid-19. There are no travel risks or costs and the same can be said for venue hire or accommodation. Although internet access is needed, which means data might be a new cost to factor in, it still doesn’t amount to the savings and safety gained, making this a cost effective and safe option when compared to the conventional classroom-style training.
Online learning allows us to continue building skills, increasing the knowledge and confidence of frontline healthcare workers, in a time when we need most, whilst decreasing both cost and risks. Charles Darwin made a wise observation when he said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one most adaptable to change”.
It is up to us to adapt, so that we can continue to grow and thrive and help others do the same in our changing world.