This section is designed to help you:
- select a ‘community’ of people
with whom to work; and
- select and organize community projects
related to HIV/AIDS health promotion.
Guidelines for action with the community
When you have finished the health promotion programme with your
youth group, the group members may want to carry out an HIV/AIDS project in
their local community.
This section gives examples of different types of community
projects related to preventing the spread of HIV and other STD, and to the care
and support of people affected by HIV/AIDS.
Before deciding which project you and the youth group members
would like to initiate, think about the following points.
Choosing a community to work with
Community can mean different things to different people.
Some think of a community as a certain geographical area, such as a village, a
city, a neighbourhood, or a rural area. However, community can also be thought
of as a group of people who share common interests, values, background,
experiences or activities such as school, work, religion and recreation.
First, you can identify with your youth group the different
communities that exist in your local area. What do you already know about the
people? What are their needs in relation to HIV/AIDS information? Are there any
communities that are at special risk? You will have to do some local research to
be able to discuss this fully. If you can work with programmes that already
exist in your area, it will ensure that the work you wish to do is appropriate
and needed.
After discussion, you can decide which group of the community
you want to work with. For example, your own families, school groups, people in
the local markets, mothers’ groups, out-of-school youth, etc.
Selecting your project
The project that you and your group select should:
1. Respond to the needs of the community you
have chosen
Focus-group discussions with the community, similar to those you
had with your own youth group, can help you to clarify the needs of this group
of people.
Real action
A youth group in Zambia, after studying HIV/AIDS themselves,
decided to start a project and chose the local school as the project site. To
find out what sort of HIV/AIDS information was needed, they prepared some
questions for the school group including: What do the students already know
about HIV/AIDS? Is their information correct? What are their fears and concerns
about HIV/AIDS? Which methods would be the most effective in helping them to
reduce their chances of contracting HIV?
2. Be based on the abilities of the youth
group
Choose a project and activities that the youth group feels they
will be able to carry out. You must, therefore, consider their abilities in a
wide range of activities: talking, teaching, caring, writing, drawing,
organizing, singing, acting, etc.
If you attempt anything too difficult at first, the members will
soon lose confidence and the momentum of your programme will be lost.
3. Consider the available resources
Examples of resources are:
youth members’ time: number of hours, time
during the day/evening;
meeting place: public building, health centre, central place in
village with shade or cover;
transport: truck, car, scooter, bicycle, horse;
funds: money from your own organization, from local, regional
or national programmes, or from private companies;
light for working at night: electricity, paraffin, candles,
torches;
materials for making, for example, posters, puppets, leaflets;
and
resources from the target community.
4. Actively involve the target
community
Most of the time, we forget or underestimate the need for
involving the community. Remember that it is only when the community
participates in both defining the extent and the nature of the problem and
seeking solutions for the problem that it can be effectively addressed. So
always involve the community and carefully incorporate its material, financial
and know-how resources.
Then, think about what activities you and the youth group
would like to do. Look through the examples of community projects described
further in this section. Which do you think will respond to the needs,
interests, size and age of the community you have chosen?
Remember, the activities described in Section 5, Activities with
youth groups, can also be adapted as appropriate to your community work.
Pre-test the materials you develop for your
project
When your group develops materials to be used for their
community project (posters, leaflets, cartoons, etc.) pre-test them to make sure
they are appropriate for the target audience and that people understand the
message. Appendix III: Guidelines for pretesting health educational materials
describes how to do this.
Planning the best time
It is very important to choose the right time for starting your
community project. Think about where the people of this community generally
meet, which day of the week and at what time of the day. Places where people
often have to wait, such as in train or bus stations or outside the health
centre, can be good places to put on short plays or songs followed by
discussion. When working, for example, with a local school or with a factory,
get advice from the relevant authorities on the most appropriate time to carry
out the activities you have planned. Fairs, festivals and big sports events may
provide an excellent opportunity to reach a large audience. For such an event,
you can try to persuade a popular public figure, for example a singer or sports
champion, to come along and support your project.
Another way of ensuring that you have an audience is to take
part in a national event by organizing the local response. Every year, 1
December is World AIDS Day. On that day, UNAIDS supports national and
international events to encourage people to spread the word about how AIDS is
affecting the world. To find out more about this event and how you might get
involved you can contact UNAIDS. The address is in the Resource section (see
page 167).
How can we maintain the project’s momentum?
Young people can get easily bored if they are doing the same
thing over and over again. The enthusiasm generated at the beginning of the
programme may be lost, particularly if they can’t see major changes being
made or cease to feel included. Equally, the task may seem too big or take too
long to complete. Try to involve the youth group in all discussions about
changes to the project and ask their advice. Make sure tasks are achievable in a
reasonable timeframe. Give praise where praise is due – people get
disheartened when they feel their work is not being noticed. Make sure that
youth members don’t get overtired. They need to pace their work and get
plenty of rest.
How will we know that we have helped our community to
learn more about HIV/AIDS?
At regular intervals you will need to know whether you are
meeting the needs of the chosen community. To do this, you can repeat the
focus-group discussions you began with, or you could try out the quiz from the
activities section. By doing this you will not only find out whether people have
understood the information you have tried to put across, but you will also
identify what they want to know next.
Bring your youth group together again to discuss the findings
from their focus-group discussions. It may be necessary to make changes in the
programme. What went well and why? What were the problems? What would be fun and
interesting to try next? Make sure there is plenty of time to organize new
activities; don’t hurry your plans. Time spent in preparation saves time
later on.
Some ideas for community projects
Information-sharing projects
There are many ways to share information about HIV/AIDS and
other STD. Here we present some that have been used successfully in different
parts of the world. It is important to carefully consider the messages that you
want to convey to the community. They should be clear and simple and, whenever
possible, given in the local language.
Examples of information sharing projects include:
Drama and puppetry
You can develop the role-play situations that you tried out with
the youth group into full plays which you can then act for the local community
groups, for example, in schools, youth clubs and factories. You may also ask
local professional actors and/or community members to participate. You will get
the play’s messages across more effectively if, at the end of the play, you
discuss with the audience their reaction to the situation described in the play.
Puppets can do things that actors may find embarrassing or
difficult to express for cultural reasons – particularly in the context of
HIV/AIDS messages. Puppets can present stereotypes without causing offence and
introduce humour into a sensitive subject. The audience gets just as involved
with the characters that the puppets represent, and can also ask the puppets
questions after the puppet show.
Music, dance and poetry
Expressing health messages or emotions through music, dance or
poetry can have a powerful effect on your audience. It is easier to remember a
line that rhymes, especially if it is put to music or expressed in a dance.
Figure
Posters
Posters (large sheets of paper with words and pictures or
symbols that convey a message) can be used in many ways as part of a health
promotion campaign in the community.
A poster can present a specific health promotion
message to the community in general, for example, ‘How to prevent
AIDS’. The posters are then placed in locations where people are likely to
go, such as markets, churches, communal meeting places, health clinics, etc.
You may need permission to put up posters in some locations. Be
sure to ask first, before posting anything.
A poster can announce an event, for example, to invite people
to a puppet show you are going to present in the local market.
A poster can be used for group discussions or presentations.
Use of posters in this way is very similar to using pictures or photographs.
(See: Pictures and photographs, in Appendix I: Guidelines for educational
techniques.)
The youth group can create their own posters, or you can
organize a poster contest, for example as part of a school campaign. There are
many ways to design posters. You can cut out pictures from old magazines and
paste them on the paper, draw or paint the pictures you need, or copy or trace
designs/pictures. When you make a poster:
make sure all the words you use are in the local
language;
use as few words as possible;
use symbols that everyone can understand – those who
cannot read as well those who can; and
select just one important message. Too many ideas on one poster
can be confusing.
Comic books and cartoons
Comic books or cartoons are an attractive way to attract
people’s attention, especially young people. When the text is limited, they
are easy to read and understand, even for people with a low literate level.
Articles in the newspapers – or your own
newspaper!
If you have young people in your group with good writing skills,
they may send articles to local newspapers, or create their own newspaper!
Real action
Straight Talk and Trendsetters are both newspapers
created and written by young people in Africa. In a very entertaining style,
they address issues of relationships, safer sex and young people’s sexual
health concerns. (See: Resource list.)
Radio spots
When available, local radio stations are often very willing to
get involved in health education programmes. Designing an exciting message that
can be put out regularly by the local radio can be fun and a useful learning
experience. It is very important that the messages are given in the local
language and they fill in gaps in people’s knowledge. (Focus-group
discussions can provide this information.) The message should be short and to
the point. Put the radio spot on at a time when people are most likely to be
listening. A popular tune to introduce the spot will catch their attention.
Figure
An example:
(Music)
“Young people like us don’t have to be worried about
AIDS, if we learn how to keep safe. Find out all you need to know from your
local health centre. They provide confidential advice and information and the
staff is waiting to meet you on Fridays.”
Television is becoming more popular in many countries, but still
out of reach for many people in the developing world. As a television spot is
very expensive, you may try to get sponsorship from a commercial company.
Most of the activities described above such as drama, radio
spots, posters, etc., are very useful to reach large audiences. They are
effective in giving information, raising awareness and exploring attitudes
regarding HIV/AIDS.
However, when the aim is to change the behaviour of a target
group which is particularly vulnerable to HIV infection (for example, street
youth), person-to-person communication has proved to be more effective. For that
purpose, the youth group may organize info-corners in areas where the target
audience is likely to gather. An info-corner, equipped with educational
materials (e.g., leaflets and posters), provides an opportunity to have personal
communication with those who show interest in the materials.
There are many ways in which your youth group can assist people
affected by HIV/AIDS. What you decide to do will depend on the needs of the
people you wish to assist, the interests of your group, and the resources
available in your community. Remember that it is important to work with other
people and community agencies, such as health workers, churches, women’s
groups, traditional healers and local leaders when you plan your project.
When it is a family’s wage earner who is ill, the other
family members may be left with no other sources of income. Youth members can
assist communities to set up projects that generate income, so that the families
of people who are ill have a means to earn money. Such projects can also be run
by young people to help orphans with school fees and other basic needs.
If you want to offer help directly to people living with AIDS
and their families, it is important to work with the local health unit whenever
possible. Working with a recognized community agency will help ensure that the
help you want to offer is needed and that it will be coordinated with other
services being offered.
Local health workers can help you identify and plan which care
projects are most appropriate for the youth group members to carry out locally.
They can also help to organize the training and support needed when caring for
people living with AIDS.
Read through the ideas suggested in this section, discuss them
with the youth group and think about how you might adapt the ideas to make them
appropriate in your culture.
People living with AIDS are often weak and unable to help
themselves. Young people may help the health-care worker and the family to make
the person more comfortable, or may be able to look after a person living with
AIDS for a short time so that the family can have a rest.
People living with AIDS may be frightened, sad or depressed.
They may be afraid of dying or worried about what will happen to their family
after they are gone. Some of these things may be difficult for them to talk
about with those who are closest to them, and it may help them to have regular
visits from someone who will listen and with whom they can share their feelings.
In some communities, the lack of items such as soap, plastic and
cotton sheets, clothing and food supplements makes it difficult to care for
people living with AIDS. Lack of basic items may also be a problem for the
family, particularly the children, if the wage earner is ill. Your youth group
may be able to collect and distribute needed items such as clothing, food and
bedding.
When an adult member of the family is ill, it may be difficult
for families to carry out all their usual domestic chores. Youth members can
help with looking after children, shopping, growing or harvesting food, running
errands, or cooking a meal.
The families of people living with AIDS may not know a great
deal about HIV/AIDS and may be fearful that they will get HIV if they care for
their sick relative or friend. By befriending a person living with AIDS and
talking with the family about the ways in which HIV is and is not spread, you
may be able to reassure them.
The need for support does not stop with the death of someone
from AIDS. Youth group members should continue to befriend and support those
left behind.
