Grade 12 peer educator

GOLD Peer Education Development Agency (GOLD) is legally established as a non profit organisation in South Africa, Botswana and Zambia. It is served by an International Head Office team based in Cape Town South Africa with supporting field office teams based in: Lusaka in Zambia; Gaborone in Botswana;  Cape Town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa; Durban in Kwa-Zulu Natal Province of South Africa and White River in Mpumalanga Province of South Africa.

GOLD’s core strategy is to mobilize influential teenage and young adult leaders to be positive role models and agents of change in their schools and communities. We do this through rolling out the GOLD Model and facilitating its multiplication and quality implementation within selected communities in South Africa, Botswana and Zambia.

GOLD carefully assesses, selects and collaborates with community-based organisations to implement GOLD aligned peer education programmes in their individual communities, in collaboration with schools and community sites. GOLD trains and mentors these organizations over 8 years to work intensively over 3-5 years with the same youth.

GOLD was founded in September 2004 to respond pro-actively to the increasing incidence of HIV infections and risk behaviour amongst youth and its negative impact on education and communities at large. This was done with a sense of urgency to do justice to the scale and rate of such infections, while still accepting the reality that sustained and positive behaviour change requires significant investment of time, resources and one-on-one mentorship and support.

The GOLD (Generation of Leaders Discovered) Peer Education model has been pioneered over the last 5 years, and drew on best practice global research together with the learnings of pioneering NGO's implementing peer education in Southern Africa.

GOLD's Mission:
To support viable community organisations across sub-Saharan Africa in the sustainable roll out of quality youth peer education programmes in alignment to the GOLD Model, thereby empowering youth peer leaders to become positive role models and agents of community change.

Values
The following GOLD values are based on a Christ-centred world view and inform the way people working for the organisation fulfil their roles:

Acceptance – non-discrimination and acceptance of people regardless of their race/ethnicity, age, culture, class, gender, health status, physical appearance, or ability.

Compassion : A high level of empathy and a non-judgmental attitude are required. Always being prepared to acknowledge that you may not understand the circumstances that dictate the attitudes and behaviour of your peers.

Ubuntu : The community is only as strong as their most vulnerable member. You can never have a thriving community if you are not concerned with the welfare of your neighbour.  

Servant Leadership : A true leader is called to serve, lead by example and not to manipulate. Foster a desire to see those who we are leading today, overtaking us tomorrow.

Purpose : We value a sense of purpose for every man, woman and child. Without clear vision and a hope for the future, a person cannot fulfil this purpose.  

Integrity : We value honesty, reliability and trustworthiness together with principled and ethical behaviour.  

Accountability : We value accountability and transparency for actions and decisions taken or made, both individually and corporately.

Principles

• Developmental and participatory partnership approach.  
• Focus on learning from the past but pioneering for the future.  
• Focus on adolescents as an important catalyst for community transformation.  
• Foster a channel for youth leadership in decision-making processes.
• Focus on role modelling for effective behaviour change.
• Focus on maintaining high standards of excellence in service delivery and work ethic.
• Focus on equipping implementing organisations as the strategy to scale out the GOLD peer education model.
• Apply a learner centred approach as a principle throughout GOLD delivery