Become a World! Shaper

I spent five years teaching in a school where some of the most important conversations happened after the lesson was over.

One break time, I found myself sitting on the classroom floor with three pre-teen girls. They had questions about their first periods that they didn't feel comfortable asking in class.

The bell rang, but none of us got up. As I listened, I realised I'd seen this before.

After moving to South Africa from the UK nearly 15 years ago, I worked in community-based HIV awareness programmes and trained in HIV counselling through UNISA. Time and again, I met young people who weren't making poor decisions because they didn't care. They simply didn't have accurate information or a safe place to ask the questions that mattered.

Sitting with those girls, it became clear that the same need existed in schools too. It wasn't because teachers didn't care. I knew how hard they worked. Many schools simply lack the time and specialised training to provide safe spaces for these important conversations. Teaching Perfo...