- JUL
- 24
In 1986, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the epidemiologic / investigative arm of the US Department of Health and Human Services, reported its research on the “Effectiveness of School Health Education.” (MMWR Weekly, September 26, 1986.) Researchers found that large effects of specific program knowledge can be achieved with few classroom hours of instruction. You can influence what children learn in terms of specific facts. You can give the learners a test, and the learners will tell you things on the test they learned. What it doesn’t tell you is how that knowledge relates to their behavior.
This is of great significance to those who teach the Life at the CrossRoads curriculum, when addressing the question, “How long does it take to see behavioral change occur as a result of teaching CrossRoads?” Continue Reading »
- JUL
- 24
Posted By: admin | Posted in Glossary
Term …………..Definition
Accountable Responsible to another person about our behavior
Affirmation To declare positively, to confirm
AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
Antibiotics Specific medicines that kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria
Antibody Proteins found in blood or other bodily fluids of vertebrates that are used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects, such as bacteria and viruses.
Anti-retroviral therapy A series of drug combinations used to reduce the amount of virus in the body of persons infected with HIV; these drugs were originally called “cocktail drugs”
Attitudes Expressions of positive or negative feelings, based on beliefs
Bacteria Microscopic one-celled organisms
Beliefs The things a person considers true
Birth control Methods used to reduce risk of pregnancy
Body language Non-verbal communication through facial expressions, posture, gestures, or touch
Boundary A point or line that fixes the limit beyond which one can move only with permission
Citizenship Positively contributing to a community in which one is a member
Comfort zone Situations in which we are most comfortable and we aren’t nervous or stretched
Commercial sex worker (prostitute) A person who performs sexual acts in exchange for money
Commitment A promise to ourselves and others to be a promise-keeper
Community Group of people who are bound by shared values and beliefs
Condom A latex covering placed over the male’s penis during sexual intercourse. Designed to collect semen, an intact condom keeps semen from entering the female and impregnating her
Consequence Something that is the effect or result of an earlier occurrence or decision
Courage zone Situations in which we are uncomfortable and need to “stretch” ourselves
Cure The use of medicines to elimintate an infections agent (such as bacteria) from the body
Danger zone Situations in which our actinos bring thrill and excitement but which involve a significant chance for harm or risk to our health
Delayed gratification Putting off fulfilling an immediate need or desire in order to reach a more important goal in the future
Diagnosis Identifying a problem through analysis
Double standard When a behavior, considered to be acceptable if performed by one group, is found to be unacceptable if performed by another group
Empathy The ability to see something from antoher person’s point of view
Female condom A latex shield which is inserted into the vagina to cover the cervix and vaginal area as well as external genitalia
Forgiveness The process of releasing the pain and bitterness that often results when someone says or does something hurtful
Friend One person attached to another by affection or esteem
Golden Rule “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” - Jesus
Good character Consistently doing the right things
Gynecological examination A physical examination and a series of tests done in a physician’s office to determine the reproductive health of a female
Health The state of complete mental, physical, emotional, spiritual and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease
Hemophilia A medical condition characterized by the inability of the blood in the body to clot normally, causing prolonged bleeding from even minor injuries
HIV Human Inmmunodeficiency Virus, which causes AIDS
HIV antibody test Test used to determine presence of specific antibodies to HIV infection; Elisa and Western Blot tests
Incidence Number of new cases of a disease (occurring in a given population) over a certain period of time.
Injection drug user A person who takes drugs by injecting them into his or her body using a syringe
Mucous membranes Moist surface of tissue found in the nose, mouth, vaginal areas, anal lining, and at the opening of the penis. These membranes secrete a wet, sticky substance (mucous) that moistens and protects the lining.
Outercourse Intimate sexual activities other than vaginal penetration
Pandemic A disease or condition in epidemic proportions throughout the entire world
Peer pressure The influence on our attitudes and actions exerted by others in the same stage of life — often a classmate or someone in the same age group
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) A general infection in the pelvic region that is often caused by bacteria passed during sexual activity
Predict To tell in advance what will happen in a given situation
Prevalence Number of infections found in the population including those from previous years or the proportion of a population infected with a disease at a given time.
Proactive To anticipate situations before they occur and actively prepare for them
Rationalize To justify an action
Relationships Connection with other people
Renewed commitment to abstinence The lifestyle that results when someone who has previously been sexually active commits to abstinence
Respect Demonstrating consideration and high regard for another
Responsibility Anything for which one is accountable
Responsible To be trustworthy, reliable, dependable, and self-reliant
Risk-avoidance Message Message that encourages post pubescence individuals to completely avoid engaging in sexual activity prior to marriage; and if married, to remain faithful to only that partner
Risk-reduction message Message that encourages the use of condoms to reduce risk of STDs and the use of birth control to reduce risk of pregnancy
Role model A person who is unusually effective or inspiring in some social role, job, etc., and so serves as a model for others
Semen The fluid that comes out of the tip of the male’s penis containing the sperm necessary for fertilization
Sexual abstinence A person’s calculated decision and deliberate action to refrain from sexual activity
Sexual activity Any activity that involves intentional sexual contact for the purpose of sexual arousal
Sexual body fluids Semen in men and vaginal secretions in women
Sexual contact Any activities between any two persons that involve an exchange of sexual fluids or touching of genital areas
Sexual secretions The body’s response to sexual arousal, including vaginal secretions by the female and pre-ejaculatory fluid by the male
Sexuality Involves physically, socially, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually expressing who you are as a male or as a female
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) Contagious diseases exhibiting syptoms that are passed to others primarily by sexual activity
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) Non-damaging invasion and multiplication of disease-causing microorganisms (pathogens) transmitted by sexual activity
Standards Rules or guidelines for a person’s behavior
Sterility The inability of a person to produce children
Treatment The use of medicines to lessen the symptoms of an illness
Unconditional love Absolute, total love and acceptance that we have not earned and do not deserve
Vaccine A preparation used to produce immunity to a disease
Value That which is consided to be of greatest worth
Values Our basic desires that motivate how we actually think and act
Virus An organism that invades and lives inside other cells, multiplying and causing diseases
Window period The time period between the point of HIV infection and the point at which the infection can be detected with a test
- JUL
- 21
We’re proud to introduce our latest resource–a regular blog featuring Larry Taylor, the Deputy Director of Training and Education for CrossRoads. In this blog, Larry will offer insights on various questions relating to training of teachers and professionals in the use of the Life at the CrossRoads curriculum.
Larry Taylor received his Bachelor of Arts from Houghton College and his Masters in Social Work from Syracuse University, both in New York. He has more than 30 hours of post-graduate study in counseling and theology.
Prior to joining the team of CrossRoads, he co-founded New Hope Family Services, an agency specializing in work with pregnant teenagers and their families. He also co-founded New Life Homes, a residential treatment facility for adolescents who have broken the law.
Larry, who has been married for 39 years to his wife, Gail, has performed workshops on child and family issues, as well as in high school and college classrooms on the subjects of abstinence and AIDS. He and Gail have traveled with CrossRoads since 1997, presenting conferences on five continents and dozens of countries, including the Caribbean, Central America, the Middle East and Asia. He also has worked as a contributing editor and author for the 2000 revision of the Life at the CrossRoads curriculum, and is the editor of the 2008 edition of Life at the CrossRoads
Gail and Larry have two children and seven grandchildren, including two pairs of twins.
- JUL
- 14
HIV infection, the cause of AIDS, has reached global proportions as an epidemic since its discovery in the early 80s. According to the World Health Organization it is” the most devastating disease to have emerged in recent history,” thereby the most serious and most challenging public health issue the world has ever faced. Billions of dollars have been invested in attempts to curtail its spread, but often to no avail.
The latest UNAIDS estimates include a total of about 33 million who are currently infected with the virus. Each day about 6,800 get infected, and about 5,700 die of AIDS-related causes. A UNAIDS report claims that HIV will pose a major health problem for years to come.
HIV stands for “human immunodeficiency virus” or the infection caused by it; “human” because the virus infects only human beings; “immunodeficiency” because uncontrolled HIV infection progressively destroys the immune system, the body’s defense from infection; “virus,” because HIV is a small organism that infects human living cells and uses them to make copies of itself.
Viruses are very tiny (microscopic) organisms, much smaller than bacteria that cause tuberculosis, typhoid fever, gonorrhea, pneumonia, etc… They are so common that we all are infected with them all our lives. They cause the common cold, polio, measles, chicken pox, mumps, the flu and many others. They can be spread mainly through air particles brought by coughing and sneezing, and through touching. On the other hand, HIV is spread through intermingling of body fluids, 85% through sexual contact.
HIV is a special kind of virus called retrovirus. It stores its genetic information as RNA (ribonucleic acid). With the help of the enzyme reverse transcriptase, HIV RNA becomes HIV DNA, which will eventually integrate itself in the host cell’s DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), the staircase-like molecule, found inside a cell nucleus. HIV will then replicate itself using the host cell’s DNA.
Compared to other RNA viruses, HIV makes copies of itself in a different way. Viruses causing polio or measles do not make DNA copies but simply copy their own RNA. Antiretroviral drugs suppress HIV’s replication by inhibiting reverse transcriptase and protease, two critical enzymes necessary for the virus to multiply and cause illness.
http://www.hesperian.info/assets/HIV/HesperianHIV06_2.pdf
http://www.mercksource.com/pp/us/cns
For a more detailed analysis from Dr. Lita, read the Digging Deeper article
- JUL
- 08
We’re proud to introduce our latest resource on CrossRoadslink.org…the insights and knowledge of CrossRoads’ medical expert, Dr. Lita Kurle! Dr. Lita will be posting blog items on various medical questions, usually relating to HIV/AIDS.
Lita Kurle attended the University of the Philippines, College of Medicine in 1973 – the premiere school of medicine in that country. She completed her post-graduate internship and trained at the prestigious Philippine General Hospital, and worked in an emergency hospital for a time thereafter.
Since then Lita also helped pioneer a community-based health program focusing on whole-person care – spiritual and physical. She also trained new doctors and nurses to use this holistic approach.
She has since attended several continuing medical education seminars in the Philippines and the United States, focusing on internal medicine and most recently, topics relating to HIV/AIDS and sexual health. For the past few years, Lita has continued to educate herself on the most current research abstracts related to public health, and specifically in relation to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Lita currently works with CrossRoads and has been married to her husband, Bob, for 29 years. They have three children and one grandchild, and live in Orlando, Florida.
- MAR
- 21
Because of the perseverance of youth and medical workers in Ukraine, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has approved the CrossRoads Life at the CrossRoads curriculum as an official elective for Ukrainian secondary schools. Teachers will therefore be paid to teach CrossRoads in the classroom.
This represents a tremendous leap forward in expanding the use of the CrossRoads strategy in Ukraine. The 30-lesson program teaches students strong character and how to make life-affirming choices, thus avoiding personal, and eventually societal, consequences like HIV/AIDS, drug and alcohol addiction, teen pregnancy, and suicide.
The MOE approved the Life at the CrossRoads curriculum for use in public schools in Ukraine in 2003. However, it was not included on the list of electives that teachers would be paid to teach. Since, in the Ukrainian school system, secondary school teachers are paid for each course they teach, only a small percentage of CrossRoads-trained teachers have had the opportunity to teach the program. However, the recent decision by the MOE gives the curriculum “facultative” status, meaning teachers will now be compensated for teaching it.
“As far as we know, this decision by the Ministry of Education of Ukraine to give us facultative approval is unprecedented,” says Rich Leary, CrossRoads Coordinator for Ukraine. “Because it is such an excellent curriculum and because now teachers will be paid to teach it, we anticipate a huge increase in demand for CrossRoads training conferences in Ukraine.”
- MAR
- 04
Posted By: admin | Posted in Endorsements
CrossRoads International has developed a powerful array of tools to effect true and lasting life-change. By focusing on what matters most in life—your beliefs, your character, your dreams—the CrossRoads strategy is saving thousands of young lives from the horror that is HIV/AIDS. Children’s HopeChest has partnered with CrossRoads for many years in helping reach at-risk orphans in Russia with this incredible material.
Matthew Monberg
Chief Operating Officer
Children’s HopeChest
- MAR
- 04
Posted By: admin | Posted in Endorsements
[CrossRoads is] a tool for teachers and parents to help the youth to internalise positive values and beliefs…The skills acquired by participants through the workshop are key in bridging the communication gap between adolescents and adults, especially in the era of HIV/AIDS…It is admirable that some organisations are still determined to impart good moral values to the youth.
–Ms. Gladys Kokorwe
Kweneng South Member of Parliament
Gaborone, Botswana
(as reported by BOPA News)
- FEB
- 19
Posted By: admin | Posted in Recent News
Samantha Askey was, as her best friend Sarah Vermilyea described her, a “girly-girl.” The bouncy redhead loved to shop; one of her favorite mall stores was Claire’s, a costume jewelry boutique. That was where Samantha and Sarah, inseparable since the day they met in a Kindergarten class at church, bought a “best friends” heart necklace – the kind that comes as one piece and splits apart for both friends to wear.
Samantha was like many teenagers – she enjoyed spending time with friends, eating out and attending youth group. One of her favorite activities at church was called “Bible Drill,” where she would belt out memorized Scripture in eight seconds flat. She also loved to laugh, talk on the phone and cook.
But the 18-year-old was different from the average adolescent in the most essential of ways: Samantha lived with HIV. And on August 15, 2007, her battle finally ended when she died due to complications from the illness. Continue Reading »
In 1986, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the epidemiologic / investigative arm of the US Department of Health and Human Services, reported its research on the “Effectiveness of School Health Education.” (MMWR Weekly, September 26, 1986.) Researchers found that large effects of specific program knowledge can be achieved with few classroom hours of instruction. You can influence what children learn in terms of specific facts. You can give the learners a test, and the learners will tell you things on the test they learned. What it doesn’t tell you is how that knowledge relates to their behavior. 