Alice Welbourn - Stepping Stones and Stepping Stones Plus: A Training Package on Gender, Generation, HIV, Communication and Relationship Skills

Praise for the book

Stepping Stones is a programme that truly transforms relationships between women and men, older and younger people in communities. As no other guide, it promotes dialogues and understanding between men and women and the different generations: it shows the route to equality. If we can just get this approach fully implemented around the globe, the world would be a better place!

Doortje Braeken,
Senior Adviser Adolescents,
Gender and Rights,
International Planned Parenthood Federation

I observed the profound impact of Stepping Stones in a small village in The Gambia. The village consisted of over 30 families, and all but one woman reported spousal violence in the year before Stepping Stones began. In the nine months after the fourteen-week peer-led programme ended, there had been only one incidence of intimate partner violence. The men reported that now they were glad to understand the use of condoms and that they could use them with their wives.

Susan Paxton, Public health consultant,
author of International Community of Women living with HIV Speakers Guide

This manual has been of tremendous benefit and help to stakeholders, middle-level managers and entire health workers in the district. It has increased the knowledge and proficiency of those health workers dedicated to home-based care and counselling of HIV/AIDS patients.

Frederick Ofosu, Ministry of Health,
Odumase-Krobo, Ghana

The process was emotionally charged we were talking about very deep issues. This wouldnt have happened without the Stepping Stones methods. There were young women, widows, mothers with sick children, all taking part. People shared some deep experiences they had never told anyone before.

Rudo Chikukwa,
Network of Zimbabwean Positive Women

The girls really love doing the games and drama. Many of them are already involved in unsafe sex; now theyre gaining the confidence to say no, or lets use a condom.

Sarah Tweats, VSO teacher,
Solwesi Technical Secondary School,
Zambia

I was always scared and ashamed to talk about these things with my husband. He didnt want me to attend these meetings; he used to say that after these meetings, women would rebel against their husbands It has been different I used to live in the darknessnow I am in the light.

A woman from an indigenous community, Ecuador

For every worn, rain-splattered copy of Stepping Stones that is in circulation, there are thousands of people that have benefited from it. Communities have been mobilized, lives saved and hope restored.

Laura van Vuuren,
Medical Teams International,
Seattle, USA

UNAIDS has included this resource package among the key documents recommended for use in innovative community mobilization programmes.

Noerine Kaleeba,
Community Mobilization Adviser,
UNAIDS

Stepping Stones has helped ActionAid India to deepen and strengthen our work in the area of HIV and AIDS. ActionAid India has been using Stepping Stones to break the silence about sexuality and HIV among development workers, NGO staff and communities; to create more acceptance of vulnerable groups such as people living with HIV and AIDS, men who have sex with men, and injecting drug users. The changes started by Stepping Stones have created ripples across the country, and the demand for Stepping Stones is growing.

Christy Abraham, ActionAid India, Bangalore, India

Here in Latin America and the Caribbean, these materials are some of the most effective tools we have to link the African experience of the AIDS pandemic with the innovative work of local communities.

Mark Connolly, UNICEF,
Panama City, Panama

Practical Action Publishing Ltd

The Schumacher Centre, Bourton on Dunsmore, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV23 9QZ, UK

www.practicalactionpublishing.org

The Salamander Trust and Alice Welbourn, 2016

This is a fully revised and updated edition derived from:

Welbourn, Alice (1995) Stepping Stones, Strategies for Hope Trust, Oxford, and
Welbourn, A., Kilonzo, F., Mboya, T.J., and Liban, S.M., (2008) Stepping Stones Plus, Strategies for Hope Trust, Oxford.

The rights of the authors to be identified as author of the work have been asserted under sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without the written permission of the publishers.

Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

A catalogue record for this book has been requested from the Library of Congress.

ISBN 978-1-85339-891-9 Hardback

ISBN 978-1-85339-8926 Paperback

ISBN 978-1-78044-8916 Library Ebook

ISBN 978-1-78044-892-3 Ebook

Citation: Welbourn, A. (2016) Stepping Stones and Stepping Stones Plus: A training package on gender, generation, HIV, communication, and relationship skills, Rugby, UK: Practical Action Publishing, < http://dx.doi.org/10.3362//9781780448916 >

Since 1974, Practical Action Publishing has published and disseminated books and information in support of international development work throughout the world. Practical Action Publishing is a trading name of Practical Action Publishing Ltd (Company Reg. No. 1159018), the wholly owned publishing company of Practical Action. Practical Action Publishing trades only in support of its parent charity objectives and any profits are covenanted back to Practical Action (Charity Reg. No. 247257, Group VAT Registration No. 880 9924 76).

The views and opinions in this publication are those of the author and do not represent those of Practical Action Publishing Ltd or its parent charity Practical Action. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the authors and publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or for the consequences of their use.

Cover design: Mercer Design

Illustrations: Petra Rhr-Rouendaal

DVD Production: Jamie Hartzell, Small World Productions

Printed by Replika Pres Ltd., India

First I would like to thank the numerous people who gave us tremendous support in the making of Stepping Stones and the accompanying film. They are too numerous to mention all of them by name, but we would like to express our particular thanks to:

The people of Buwenda village, Masaka District, Uganda, where the first workshop based on this manual was organised, and where the film was shot. The Buwenda film crew: Jamie Hartzell, Chris Blokhuis, Ze Broughton, Tim Muwonge. The Buwenda workshop facilitators: Professor Rose Mbowa, Germine Sebuwufu, Baron Oron and Milton Bakebwa.

Medical Adviser, Dr Nigel Padfield. The authors of the many manuals which have inspired this one.

I am also grateful to the following people for their expert advice on the contents and presentation of the manual and film: Sheena Crawford, Anna Eden, Gill Gordon, Susanna Graham-Jones, Irene Guijt, Okello Hamisi, Vanessa Howe, Margaret Kabanda, David Kabiswa, Sam Kalibala, Emily Katarikawe, Fortunate Kekika, Judith Large, Nicta Lubaale, Sue Lucas, Mary Martin, Mutiba Masereka, Olive Mbogga, Rose Mbowa, Mary-Jane Msungu, Florence Muhangi, Roy Mwilu, John Ngugi, Pat Norrish, Klinton Nyamuryekunge, Baron Oron, Catherine Plewman, Judith Rand, Fiona Robinson, Kirsten Rohme, Germine Sebuwufu, Tina Wallace, and Tina Wiseman.