Table 2 Peer educator attributes
Attributes of a peer educator | Participant quotations |
|---|---|
Leadership | “troop leader” (Birame, peer educator) “capacity as an ambassador” (Malik, service provider) |
Socially networked | “peer educators can quickly mobilize their peers” (Jakob, service provider) “keep a loyal audience to sensitize” (Sakou, peer educator) |
Trustful | “people have trust for peers” (Musa, peer educator) “open, modest, trustful, understanding and tolerant” (Abacar, currently injects drugs and is a peer education beneficiary) |
Tolerant | “tolerance, patience, doesn’t get upset or discouraged quickly, a good heart and helpful” (Saul, peer educator) “nice, tolerant, understanding, capable of helping others” (Fatou, a woman who uses drugs and a peer education beneficiary) |
Knowledgeable | “teacher” (Babacar, currently injects drugs and is a peer education beneficiary) “educate others” (Ibrahim, peer educator) |
Responsible | “because I tell myself I can’t save the world. I can bring my little stone, to be conscious of the dangers they [people who use drugs] are facing.” (Rose, peer educator) “tell other [drug users] what is good and what is bad” (Tito, currently uses drugs and a peer education beneficiary) |