Mission & Vision

The level of HIV and AIDS awareness in Botswana is considered to be high and, consequently, the expectation is that the awareness should have translated into desired behaviour change, which it has not. Young people continue to engage in risky behaviours such as multiple concurrent partners, unprotected sex and intergenerational sex. Other factors that make youth more vulnerable have been identified as high alcohol consumption, peer pressure and gender based violence. Young people are equally not empowered with the right life skills to cope with social challenges that face them on a daily basis.

YOHO works to mobilize youth in Botswana in order to create an increase in awareness, knowledge of HIV and AIDS and empower youth with appropriate life skills to combat the challenges related to HIV/AIDS and sexual health. Furthermore, YOHO believes that services must go beyond testing to empowering young people on what to do after testing, ie. providing youth with strategies for remaining negative and in the event they are HIV positive how they can cope by being HIV positive and embrace ‘positive living’ and continue to participate in prevention with the positives.

YOHO’s program is informed by the following vision and mission statements:

Vision Statement: YOHO is committed to healthy lifestyles for youth.

Mission Statement: YOHO strives to be a leading youth institution that promotes healthy lifestyles through Entertainment, Education for Empowerment interactive interventions (Triple E Intervention Approach) based on Youth-Adult partnerships, rights, respect and responsibility.

Strategic Goal: Through interactive, entertaining and educational activities empower 80 000 Batswana youth aged 10-29, in 15 health districts to lead healthy lifestyles through community mobilization, capacity building of individuals, CBO’s and NGO’s to promote youth SRH through advocacy and collaboration with health service organizations, government to improve organizational sustainability by 2013.

Strategic Objectives:

1. Community Mobilization: To increase comprehensive knowledge about HIV and AIDS among 80 000 Batswana youth aged 10-29 with special focus on key driver of the epidemic by 2010.


2. Capacity Building: To build the institutional capacity of 15 indigenous youth serving organizations with more than 150 facilitators to develop youth HIV prevention and effective program delivery skills by 2013.


3. Advocacy and Networking: To collaborate with international, national and local youth health service organizations to advocate for safe and supportive environment for youth by 2013.


4. Income Generating and Sustainability: To raise 30% of YOHO operational costs through organizational income generating activities by 2013.

The Triple E Strategic Model: Entertainment, Education, Empowerment

The Triple strategy is an exceptionally progressive approach to HIV/AIDS related Edutainment interventions. It is aimed at assisting youth and communities to develop healthy attitudes, skills and services to fight HIV/AIDS employing a human rights-based approach. It goes beyond information sharing to transferring motivations and critical skills related healthy behaviours. The most popular Triple E intervention teams is for program delivery, which is implemented by a standard intervention team consisting of show directors, data collectors and trained popular musicians, theatre practitioners, life skills educators and community leaders to assist people in leading healthier lives. The spin-off of this model is, empowered communities supporting issues affecting youth, women, orphans and PLWHA.