Title: Educational materials
Course: Health Education, Advocacy and Community Mobilisation Part 2 - Ethiopia (Full)

Educational materials

Educational materials are crucial resources that will help you to carry out your health education activities. Some materials can help you take your message to the community, and also support your communication with all the people for whom you are responsible. You may be able to use posters, leaflets, flip charts, cards, audio cassettes, videos, and other resources (Figure 14.7). You should be able to find these materials from different sources, such as non-governmental organisations working in your area like Plan Ethiopia, Fayya Integrated Development Association, woreda Health Offices, health centres, and other local and national organisations. In addition, you can prepare your own educational materials from locally available materials. For example, you can prepare posters by working with people who are good at drawing pictures. Perhaps you can think of examples of materials that you have already been able to use in your own work.

Figure 14.7 Prepared health education resources can help you communicate health information clearly. (Photo: Carrie Teicher)

Do you know any people in your community who have special skills at writing poems and songs, or who are good at drawing pictures, or who have other abilities which could be important for creating health education materials? Are there any local materials that could be relevant for health education activities, such as audio-visual equipment or other relevant resources?

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Suitable resources may already be available in your community. These resources may include people who are able to draw pictures, write educational poems, and sing local songs that can carry health education messages. In addition, various materials could also be available in your community. For example, traditional musical instruments such as masinqo, krar, washint and kebero may be very useful for your health education sessions. Building up materials is a key part of your job. As you do this, you will be able to add to your resources, so that you do not have to start again every time.