Encouraging children to learn, to care for their community's resources, and look after their own health has always fallen short because of the lack of time and capacity amongst teachers, trainers and local government. SPW's volunteers are peer educators, whose long-term youth-led intervention in communities is unique and holds the key to breaking through this impasse.

Non-formal education is at the heart of SPW's work, making learning about key issues relevant and fun for young people. Volunteers use music, drama and sport to communicate with young people about HIV/AIDS and other preventable diseases as well as using practical demonstration to build appropriate rural technologies. Volunteers receive extensive training to equip them with the skills and confidence to live and work in a rural school, where they will:

	Communicate in a youth-friendly manner health information and an understanding of how diseases spread
	Provide life-skills training which empowers young people to safeguard their own health, specifically through drama, sport, music, workshops and other forms of non-formal participatory activities, including out-of-school youth groups and clubs
	Raise awareness and provide practical solutions to environmental problems where possible
	Facilitate access to youth-friendly services and educational amenities by working with health clinics and local health and education authorities

These trained volunteers win the support of the community and the trust of the youth by living and working in the communities for the duration of each placement. They organise and run regular workshops on life skills and work with the youth to put on local and district level sports events and festivals of expressive arts highlighting key health, environmental and educational issues.

SPW's model has been refined to fit the Indian context. As well as making the government rural schools its target area, SPW India has:
	Recruited volunteers from the villages where SPW works - increasing sustainability of the projects as well as developing the life skills of young people locally
	Developed a comprehensive training package for the volunteers, which focuses on needs identified by schools and community members through pre-placement surveys
	Identified and nurtured partnerships with local NGOs to enhance their ability to reach school-aged children and to ensure the appropriateness of SPW's own work