Friday I will be leaving my site to go to Sabie Backpackers where I'll meet up with a whole bunch of volunteers. We are all walking or running in the Xstrata Longtom Half & Ultra Marathon.
The race is between Sabie and Lydenberg in Mpumalanga and traverses through the mountains so it is supposed to be beautiful. Since I'm only running the half marathon it is mostly downhill so it should be fairly relaxing. The race benefits the KLM Foundation which assists in sending disadvantaged children to private secondary schools. The Peace Corps has been running the race for several years now and it has become part of the Peace Corps South Africa experience. On Saturday we run the race and then follow it up with a brai. Most of the volunteers from my training group will be there as well as some from other groups; it will be nice to see them again and hang out.
On Sunday, several volunteers and I will leave for a hike on the Giant's Cup Hiking Trail through the Drakensberg Mountains. This is one of the most popular hiking areas in South Africa. I will also have time to do a few other things but I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet.
Although I am excited about this trip I will be leaving my site for 10 days and at a time when there is so much going on. Yesterday I started my community sports club and we had a showing of about 12 people even though we had one volleyball and no net. They will meet 3 times before I get back again but I am confident that they will do fine without me. We are focusing on volleyball as the new sport this school term and I have recruited several adults and students who are passionate about volleyball that could keep it running even if I didn't return. I have been making progress with my other projects and am also developing some others.
I am planning a community resource center that will help connect people to the resources available to them from the government and other organizations. I intend to have it help people who want to take the initiative to improve themselves and the community. It will also be a place to host outside organizations who want to do work in the community. I am writing the proposal and I already have a person who is going to help me locate funding.
I have been consulting with a woman who wants to build a new facility for her old age home. She has been granted a piece of land by the tribal authority and just needs to build it. I will be helping her design the building and landscape the property then find support for the construction of it.
I've been walking up and down my road to get to the main road since September and until this past Sunday, I never noticed that there was an abandoned building that was used for a sewing project sponsored by one of the government departments. I called the number on the board outside the building and arranged to meet with the woman this morning.
She and the woman who worked on it before met me and we discussed reopening it. The reason it had closed was corruption, which causes many things to fail here. One of the women who was working there stole the sewing machines and was skimming the profits. The building needs a little bit of repair but it is in fairly good condition.
There are three rooms: one has a garage door entrance; another has a regular door; and there is a storage room in between. We are going to reopen the facility using the garage as a sewing room and place to display the dresses, curtains, and uniforms that they create; the other room with a door will be turned into a bakery. I will also be helping them get 4 sewing machines and two ovens. The women are going to help train local girls how to sew and bake which will support a girls' club that another community member is starting. I asked them to prepare a list of the things that they will make in both shops along with the costs of production and prices of each item. This will make writing a proposal easier if we can show that it will be profitable and self-supporting.
It seems like I'm doing quite a few projects but since getting responses from people often takes a long time they get put on hold. I don't see it as much different from holding an office job when you are responsible for several clients who you help with different things at different times; only this is way more fun!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Working with Religious Organizations: A different approach to development
Those of you who know me well, know that I was baptized and raised Catholic however I've never been particularly religious. Most of the principles that I live by stem by from Catholic teachings but right now I consider myself Agnostic. Even though there are many beliefs of different religions I don't agree with, I will support anyone's religious views provided they are not violating human rights.
One thing that I have struggled with in South Africa is dealing with the stranglehold that religion seems to have on the people. My purpose of coming here was not to try and drag people away from church or convince them to stop believing in God. I came here with the intention of helping them improve their lives in a way that they agree with. So despite not agreeing with it, there's no sense in trying to swim upstream; I must adapt and work with the system and use it to my advantage.
One of my most recent projects is to start a center that helps people in my community get jobs; get better jobs through job training; provides job counseling to 11th and 12th grade learners to help them determine what they want to do after matriculation; and exposes younger children to professionals (doctors, lawyers, engineers, businesspeople) who can be positive role models. This is a tall order to start from scratch so my counterpart and I decided it would be best to engage existing organizations to help us.
The Mukhanyo Community Development Centre (MCDC) operates several Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) drop-in centers in my area. These centers provide two meals a day to orphans and vulnerable children along with providing them with after-school and weekend activities that also include Christian teachings. The service that they are providing to the community is invaluable. Since they have an OVC in my village, I decided that they would probably be a good partner in this project since they already have established themselves. Religious development organizations seem to be well resourced since there are so many Christians who want to help in world development; for reasons that include it being their duty to serve others, to spreading the word of the Lord, or various other reasons.
Ebio is another organization based out of Pretoria that has a comprehensive approach to career guidance. They provided many services on a grassroots level that include assistance in bringing technology and business training to communities; guiding students in finding the career that fits them through counseling and internships even before having college training. They set up what they call Enterprise Cafes in the village which provide support for these activities.
My counterpart and I want to bring the two of these organizations together to meet our goals. MCDC is willing to provide us with high-speed internet from a satellite dish they are having installed within the next couple of months. They also have the network of people within the community to provide the on-the-ground support for the initiative. Ebio has the resources, information, technical support, and knowledge that can be contributed. My counterpart has been granted a piece of land by the Chief of my village so we can use that to build a building to house the center on.
I have quite a bit of experience in resume writing, interviewing, and other parts of professional work. Applying these skills to a South African context (Resumes are called CVs and have an extremely different information) will be beneficial in the on-the-ground teaching.
Now I just have to bring these three parties together and introduce my version of the center to them. Then we can revise it so that the vision of each of the organizations is being reached and come up with a more suitable plan. After that we can start exploring how to make it happen.
I am excited about this new project as it will be my first time working with other organizations. Ebio offers a strong program with knowledge and support. My first impressions of the MCDC is that it is a progressive development organization that includes Christianity in its message but serves all people regardless of their beliefs. This is challenging my preconceived notions that religious organizations' main focus is to spread religion; this probably stems from the American religious organizations such as Focus on Family and Campus Crusade for Christ. Those notions are starting to change and I think we will be able to synergize and provide a great service to the community.
One thing that I have struggled with in South Africa is dealing with the stranglehold that religion seems to have on the people. My purpose of coming here was not to try and drag people away from church or convince them to stop believing in God. I came here with the intention of helping them improve their lives in a way that they agree with. So despite not agreeing with it, there's no sense in trying to swim upstream; I must adapt and work with the system and use it to my advantage.
One of my most recent projects is to start a center that helps people in my community get jobs; get better jobs through job training; provides job counseling to 11th and 12th grade learners to help them determine what they want to do after matriculation; and exposes younger children to professionals (doctors, lawyers, engineers, businesspeople) who can be positive role models. This is a tall order to start from scratch so my counterpart and I decided it would be best to engage existing organizations to help us.
The Mukhanyo Community Development Centre (MCDC) operates several Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) drop-in centers in my area. These centers provide two meals a day to orphans and vulnerable children along with providing them with after-school and weekend activities that also include Christian teachings. The service that they are providing to the community is invaluable. Since they have an OVC in my village, I decided that they would probably be a good partner in this project since they already have established themselves. Religious development organizations seem to be well resourced since there are so many Christians who want to help in world development; for reasons that include it being their duty to serve others, to spreading the word of the Lord, or various other reasons.
Ebio is another organization based out of Pretoria that has a comprehensive approach to career guidance. They provided many services on a grassroots level that include assistance in bringing technology and business training to communities; guiding students in finding the career that fits them through counseling and internships even before having college training. They set up what they call Enterprise Cafes in the village which provide support for these activities.
My counterpart and I want to bring the two of these organizations together to meet our goals. MCDC is willing to provide us with high-speed internet from a satellite dish they are having installed within the next couple of months. They also have the network of people within the community to provide the on-the-ground support for the initiative. Ebio has the resources, information, technical support, and knowledge that can be contributed. My counterpart has been granted a piece of land by the Chief of my village so we can use that to build a building to house the center on.
I have quite a bit of experience in resume writing, interviewing, and other parts of professional work. Applying these skills to a South African context (Resumes are called CVs and have an extremely different information) will be beneficial in the on-the-ground teaching.
Now I just have to bring these three parties together and introduce my version of the center to them. Then we can revise it so that the vision of each of the organizations is being reached and come up with a more suitable plan. After that we can start exploring how to make it happen.
I am excited about this new project as it will be my first time working with other organizations. Ebio offers a strong program with knowledge and support. My first impressions of the MCDC is that it is a progressive development organization that includes Christianity in its message but serves all people regardless of their beliefs. This is challenging my preconceived notions that religious organizations' main focus is to spread religion; this probably stems from the American religious organizations such as Focus on Family and Campus Crusade for Christ. Those notions are starting to change and I think we will be able to synergize and provide a great service to the community.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
New Project: Community Sports League
My community counterpart and I came up with an idea to start an Adult Sports league. My original vision was a sports league for adults that would:
- be held one night a week on a weeknight
- be exclusively for people 18+
- require all of the participants to come sober
- rotate sports throughout the year so there would be seasons for each sport
- include a discussion about HIV/AIDS and community concerns
- close with an alcohol-free brai (what Americans call a barbecue)
- have participating parents go to host afterschool activities for the children at each of the school
The operation of the sports part was similar to what I've seen with recreational sports leagues in the U.S. with the addition of the discussion and leading of groups.
I held a meeting with my senior educator/sports coordinator, my community counterpart, and another community member to discuss the idea. After an hour discussion we came up with a similar plan that had a lot of their input. The new plan calls for:
- The league will be for all ages
- Teams will be formed by each school composed of their learners and parents
- Tuesdays from 3-5 there will be a practice held at each school independent of the other schools
- Wednesdays from 1:30 to 3:00 is sports day(this already exists as part of the regular school program) and parents from each school will assist in the coaching and monitoring
- Fridays 3-5 competitions will be held between schools with the teams consisting of both parents and children
- A brai will be held fortnightly (I didn't know that this meant every 2 weeks until just recently) after the Friday competitions
- During the brai, a discussion on HIV/AIDS or community concerns will be held
- Participants are required to be sober and no alcohol will be served at the event
- Regular match play will occur during each school term
- A championship tournament will take place during the first week of at the end of each term to determine the league champion. Awards will be given to the winners. This will give them a goal and an opportunity to be recognized for their achievements.
Right now we don't have the facilities or equipment to support a full out tournament which makes an even stronger argument for the Vezubuhle Schools' Sports Fields and Playground project. At the end of that project each school will have the facilities to support these types of events.
Sudden Realization: This new scope leaves out adults who don't have children in school which is another group of people I intended to reach. Maybe they can form their own teams and compete in the tournament at the end of each term.
We meet on Monday before the initial Tuesday practice so I can give them an update and bring it to their attention.
The many differences between the two plans is proof of the importance of involving community members in projects. As shown in many other communities, plans that are formed and carried out unilaterally are likely to fail and end up having to be fixed with another solution.
- be held one night a week on a weeknight
- be exclusively for people 18+
- require all of the participants to come sober
- rotate sports throughout the year so there would be seasons for each sport
- include a discussion about HIV/AIDS and community concerns
- close with an alcohol-free brai (what Americans call a barbecue)
- have participating parents go to host afterschool activities for the children at each of the school
The operation of the sports part was similar to what I've seen with recreational sports leagues in the U.S. with the addition of the discussion and leading of groups.
I held a meeting with my senior educator/sports coordinator, my community counterpart, and another community member to discuss the idea. After an hour discussion we came up with a similar plan that had a lot of their input. The new plan calls for:
- The league will be for all ages
- Teams will be formed by each school composed of their learners and parents
- Tuesdays from 3-5 there will be a practice held at each school independent of the other schools
- Wednesdays from 1:30 to 3:00 is sports day(this already exists as part of the regular school program) and parents from each school will assist in the coaching and monitoring
- Fridays 3-5 competitions will be held between schools with the teams consisting of both parents and children
- A brai will be held fortnightly (I didn't know that this meant every 2 weeks until just recently) after the Friday competitions
- During the brai, a discussion on HIV/AIDS or community concerns will be held
- Participants are required to be sober and no alcohol will be served at the event
- Regular match play will occur during each school term
- A championship tournament will take place during the first week of at the end of each term to determine the league champion. Awards will be given to the winners. This will give them a goal and an opportunity to be recognized for their achievements.
Right now we don't have the facilities or equipment to support a full out tournament which makes an even stronger argument for the Vezubuhle Schools' Sports Fields and Playground project. At the end of that project each school will have the facilities to support these types of events.
Sudden Realization: This new scope leaves out adults who don't have children in school which is another group of people I intended to reach. Maybe they can form their own teams and compete in the tournament at the end of each term.
We meet on Monday before the initial Tuesday practice so I can give them an update and bring it to their attention.
The many differences between the two plans is proof of the importance of involving community members in projects. As shown in many other communities, plans that are formed and carried out unilaterally are likely to fail and end up having to be fixed with another solution.
Monday, March 9, 2009
"Get My Water Back" at IST
One other workshop that stuck out in my mind was the "Project Citizen" group that has students at schools in South Africa identify a community problem and then come up with a solution. They hold a competition at the end of each year which requires making a three-fold poster portfolio that explains why the project is needed, gives possible solutions, and chooses a solution.
We were divided into groups of about 8-10 and our group was assigned into trying the part of giving possible solutions. That part of the project didn't take very long so our group decided to do a parody of a popular song with the theme being water. Our group was torn between Justin Timberlake's "Bringing Sexy Back" and Sir Mix-a-lot's "Baby Got Back" the group chose the first so we wrote that and performed it in front of the other volunteers and it was a big hit. Since I had lost focus and had "Baby Got Back" on my mind I decided to write a parody of it. Here is what I came up with:
Get Our Water Back
(Revised by David Culeton to the tune of "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-lot)
Oh my God Mbeki, look at their water,
It’s so little
They look like one of those rural village’s residents
I mean their water, it’s so little
I can’t believe it’s so dry, it’s just sickening
I mean it’s sad, look, it’s just so lack
I like clean water and I cannot lie
It’s my right that your pols can’t deny
When the water flows out with that crisp taste in every place
I get sprung
I wanna pump in front
Cuz you noticed the spout was duffed
Look at the lives we’re sparin,
I’m tapped and I can’t stop carin’
Ooo baby, I wanna drink witcha’
Get me that pitcha’
My friends they tried to warn me
But the situation’s getting thorny
Oooo with all your news spin
You say you want to get our votes in
Well woo me, woo me, cuz we ain’t your average groupies
I’ve seen your verbal dancin’
To hell with chancin’
We’re upset, but don’t fret,
Just get it to us like a turbo jet
I’m tired of drink machines
Saying carbonation’s the only thang
Take the average black man and ask him that
He wants his water back
So councillors, yeah! Councillors, yeah!
Should your houses have a spout?
Hell yeah!
Well pump it! Pump it! Pump it! Pump it! Pump that water up!
Get our water back
Jo’’burg face with a rural looting
I like it cold, and clear,
And when I’m needin’ a drink
I just can’t help myself
I’m acting like an animal
Now here’s my scandal
I wanna get it home
And glug, double glug, glug
I ain’t talkin’ about fanta
Cuz sugary drinks were made for Santa
I wannem real cold and icy
So find that icy double
Our people’s in trouble
Beggin’ for a swig with no bubble
So I’m looking at their jojo’s
Watching those gringos drinking droves
You can deal with those gringos
I like my water from JoJos
A word to the parched soul sistas
I wanna drink witcha,
I won’t let thirst hitcha’
But I gotta be straight when I say I wanna chug til my thirst is gone
Officials we gotta be movin’ on
A lot of mayors don’t think they’re wrong
Cuz them punks don’t like to crit it and quit it
But I’d rather spray and play
Cuz they’re wrong and we’re strong
And we’re down to turn the water on
So ladies (yeah) Ladies (yeah)
If you wanna drink my water
Then turn around
Pour it out
Even white boys got to shout
Get our water back
Jo’burg face with a rural looting
Yeah baby
When it comes to clean water
Public Works ain’t got enough to serve my population
One tap in the town center
Only if it’s you and me
So your girlfriend drinks from her Nalgene
Playing music tapes by Celine
But Celine ain’t got water inside of her Nalgene
My taste buds don’t want none if it’s got suds, hun
You can dig new wells and boreholes but please don’t close that tap
Some mayors wanna play that hard role
And tell you that you must go
They say tough shit and hit it
And I speak up quick to relieve it
Soweto gives you flack
Well I ain’t down with that
Cuz your calories are low and minerals are kickin’
And I’m thinkin’ about stickin’
To Fantas in drink machines
You don’t quench a thing
Give me a twista’ and I’ll resist her
Some knucklehead tried to dis
Cuz his drinks weren’t on my list
He had water but he chose to waste it
So I pulled up quick to take it
So if the drinks from the ground
And you want to pound it down
Dial 1-900-tap-a-lot and end those nasty droughts
Get our water back
We didn't perform it during the presentation but it was not wasted. We had a movie night in one of the lecture halls and since we didn't have any movie previews I was the opening act and along with back up from my fellow volunteers I performed this. Hope you enjoyed it!
We were divided into groups of about 8-10 and our group was assigned into trying the part of giving possible solutions. That part of the project didn't take very long so our group decided to do a parody of a popular song with the theme being water. Our group was torn between Justin Timberlake's "Bringing Sexy Back" and Sir Mix-a-lot's "Baby Got Back" the group chose the first so we wrote that and performed it in front of the other volunteers and it was a big hit. Since I had lost focus and had "Baby Got Back" on my mind I decided to write a parody of it. Here is what I came up with:
Get Our Water Back
(Revised by David Culeton to the tune of "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-lot)
Oh my God Mbeki, look at their water,
It’s so little
They look like one of those rural village’s residents
I mean their water, it’s so little
I can’t believe it’s so dry, it’s just sickening
I mean it’s sad, look, it’s just so lack
I like clean water and I cannot lie
It’s my right that your pols can’t deny
When the water flows out with that crisp taste in every place
I get sprung
I wanna pump in front
Cuz you noticed the spout was duffed
Look at the lives we’re sparin,
I’m tapped and I can’t stop carin’
Ooo baby, I wanna drink witcha’
Get me that pitcha’
My friends they tried to warn me
But the situation’s getting thorny
Oooo with all your news spin
You say you want to get our votes in
Well woo me, woo me, cuz we ain’t your average groupies
I’ve seen your verbal dancin’
To hell with chancin’
We’re upset, but don’t fret,
Just get it to us like a turbo jet
I’m tired of drink machines
Saying carbonation’s the only thang
Take the average black man and ask him that
He wants his water back
So councillors, yeah! Councillors, yeah!
Should your houses have a spout?
Hell yeah!
Well pump it! Pump it! Pump it! Pump it! Pump that water up!
Get our water back
Jo’’burg face with a rural looting
I like it cold, and clear,
And when I’m needin’ a drink
I just can’t help myself
I’m acting like an animal
Now here’s my scandal
I wanna get it home
And glug, double glug, glug
I ain’t talkin’ about fanta
Cuz sugary drinks were made for Santa
I wannem real cold and icy
So find that icy double
Our people’s in trouble
Beggin’ for a swig with no bubble
So I’m looking at their jojo’s
Watching those gringos drinking droves
You can deal with those gringos
I like my water from JoJos
A word to the parched soul sistas
I wanna drink witcha,
I won’t let thirst hitcha’
But I gotta be straight when I say I wanna chug til my thirst is gone
Officials we gotta be movin’ on
A lot of mayors don’t think they’re wrong
Cuz them punks don’t like to crit it and quit it
But I’d rather spray and play
Cuz they’re wrong and we’re strong
And we’re down to turn the water on
So ladies (yeah) Ladies (yeah)
If you wanna drink my water
Then turn around
Pour it out
Even white boys got to shout
Get our water back
Jo’burg face with a rural looting
Yeah baby
When it comes to clean water
Public Works ain’t got enough to serve my population
One tap in the town center
Only if it’s you and me
So your girlfriend drinks from her Nalgene
Playing music tapes by Celine
But Celine ain’t got water inside of her Nalgene
My taste buds don’t want none if it’s got suds, hun
You can dig new wells and boreholes but please don’t close that tap
Some mayors wanna play that hard role
And tell you that you must go
They say tough shit and hit it
And I speak up quick to relieve it
Soweto gives you flack
Well I ain’t down with that
Cuz your calories are low and minerals are kickin’
And I’m thinkin’ about stickin’
To Fantas in drink machines
You don’t quench a thing
Give me a twista’ and I’ll resist her
Some knucklehead tried to dis
Cuz his drinks weren’t on my list
He had water but he chose to waste it
So I pulled up quick to take it
So if the drinks from the ground
And you want to pound it down
Dial 1-900-tap-a-lot and end those nasty droughts
Get our water back
We didn't perform it during the presentation but it was not wasted. We had a movie night in one of the lecture halls and since we didn't have any movie previews I was the opening act and along with back up from my fellow volunteers I performed this. Hope you enjoyed it!
In-Service Training (IST)
I attended In-Service Training (IST) January 26-March 2. This was the first time that our training group had been together since September 12th when we swore in as volunteers.
We were given the opportunity to spend the night with our homestay family (the family we lived with during training) or just visit them. I elected to just spend the afternoon with them because I have kind of grown out of that situation. When I returned there I felt very awkward since my homestay father died just before the end of training and the room was in the house. The similarity between living in the house with that family and when I was living in the states with my family was chilling and made me kind of homesick. It was nice to see everyone again and give and get an update but that's all I needed.
It was very exciting and fun to reconnect with those that I had gone so long without seeing. It was also sad because we had lost over 10 of the original 44 people who we had landed in South Africa with in July.
During this training we reviewed what we had done since we went to site in September and workshopped by various organizations. I found a few of them to be very helpful and I intend on incorporating them into my service. An organization called Food and Trees for Africa presented and they offer training on planting and caring for trees and gardens in developing communities. I see them being useful in many projects I am doing including the sports field project and school renovation/expansion.
Two men, Neil Orr and David Patient, came and gave us an all-day workshop on AIDS and the work they were doing. David has been HIV positive for 26 years now and Neil was his partner. I entered the workshop thinking it was going to be boring but was pleasantly surprised. Instead of the usual presentation where someone comes with a powerpoint presentation filled with slides of HIV/AIDS statistics and stressing how important and widespread the struggle is it was an informal discussion. They gave a few statistics on HIV/AIDS in South Africa but the discussion was more on how we talk to other people about it. There have been scare campaigns to encourage people to have safe sex and get tested but it hasn't been working too well. South Africa is making a huge effort to get people to get tested and "know your status"; they have also changed the message to "live positive". Their message was that being HIV positive isn't a death sentence and you can still a long, productive life. It's not saying that it won't eventually kill you but it can be managed allowing you to live HIV positive for many years.
They also told us about the unorthodox approaches they have taken to spread the word of having safe sex. They sat down with a group of bishops in Mozambique who were against the use of condoms in sex and non-procreative sex. Together they created a list of sins and ranked them according to how severe. After a long discussion, the bishops decided they would be willing to give in on wearing condoms to prevent adultery, the spread of HIV and all of the other things that come with it. The most shocking part was the "relationship improvement" workshop they convinced the bishops to attend and then give to their congregants. It was actually about tantric sex which would theoretically improve their relationship, decrease their likelyhood of cheating on their partner, and reduce the opportunity for the spread of HIV. I do not intend to starting giving these workshops to the people in my village but it did get me to start thinking about HIV/AIDS education as more than a lecture that needs some creativity to be effective.
I left IST excited to return to site and get started again with the new information that I had gained. I hope that everytime I leave site I will have something that keeps me wanting to return to resume my work.
We were given the opportunity to spend the night with our homestay family (the family we lived with during training) or just visit them. I elected to just spend the afternoon with them because I have kind of grown out of that situation. When I returned there I felt very awkward since my homestay father died just before the end of training and the room was in the house. The similarity between living in the house with that family and when I was living in the states with my family was chilling and made me kind of homesick. It was nice to see everyone again and give and get an update but that's all I needed.
It was very exciting and fun to reconnect with those that I had gone so long without seeing. It was also sad because we had lost over 10 of the original 44 people who we had landed in South Africa with in July.
During this training we reviewed what we had done since we went to site in September and workshopped by various organizations. I found a few of them to be very helpful and I intend on incorporating them into my service. An organization called Food and Trees for Africa presented and they offer training on planting and caring for trees and gardens in developing communities. I see them being useful in many projects I am doing including the sports field project and school renovation/expansion.
Two men, Neil Orr and David Patient, came and gave us an all-day workshop on AIDS and the work they were doing. David has been HIV positive for 26 years now and Neil was his partner. I entered the workshop thinking it was going to be boring but was pleasantly surprised. Instead of the usual presentation where someone comes with a powerpoint presentation filled with slides of HIV/AIDS statistics and stressing how important and widespread the struggle is it was an informal discussion. They gave a few statistics on HIV/AIDS in South Africa but the discussion was more on how we talk to other people about it. There have been scare campaigns to encourage people to have safe sex and get tested but it hasn't been working too well. South Africa is making a huge effort to get people to get tested and "know your status"; they have also changed the message to "live positive". Their message was that being HIV positive isn't a death sentence and you can still a long, productive life. It's not saying that it won't eventually kill you but it can be managed allowing you to live HIV positive for many years.
They also told us about the unorthodox approaches they have taken to spread the word of having safe sex. They sat down with a group of bishops in Mozambique who were against the use of condoms in sex and non-procreative sex. Together they created a list of sins and ranked them according to how severe. After a long discussion, the bishops decided they would be willing to give in on wearing condoms to prevent adultery, the spread of HIV and all of the other things that come with it. The most shocking part was the "relationship improvement" workshop they convinced the bishops to attend and then give to their congregants. It was actually about tantric sex which would theoretically improve their relationship, decrease their likelyhood of cheating on their partner, and reduce the opportunity for the spread of HIV. I do not intend to starting giving these workshops to the people in my village but it did get me to start thinking about HIV/AIDS education as more than a lecture that needs some creativity to be effective.
I left IST excited to return to site and get started again with the new information that I had gained. I hope that everytime I leave site I will have something that keeps me wanting to return to resume my work.
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