HIGHER HEALTH welcomes first year students to the start of their tertiary education and urges them to safeguard their physical health and take care of their mental wellbeing – important stepping stones on the path to successful graduation.
The HIGHER HEALTH model begins to deliver results where students experience face-to-face, peer-to-peer education and activities. Peer educators facilitate this process through individual discussions, dialogue sessions, exhibitions and workshops. It is here that students:
Are challenged and encouraged to take responsibility for their health, wellbeing and development.
Access bio-metric and high-risk assessments (particularly first-year students) and links to services.
Start conversations with their friends and classmates, develop clubs, groups and forums dedicated to various issues including treatment support, GBV survivors and gender-diverse clubs.
Feel able to break the silence on matters of mental health, sexuality and gender.
Learn about available health and social services and begin to trust them more.
Peer-to-peer model is also linked to the 2nd curriculum, a term used by HIGHER HEALTH to refer to opportunities for learning and development that are offered to students outside of formal academic studies. It includes a range of campus activities – such as student clubs and societies – and, most importantly it includes a system for volunteers to become peer educators and mentors.
