World AIDS Day
December 1st was World AIDS Day. Every year, the various HIV/AIDS-oriented NGOs in Moshi host some kind of community event, and this year it was a march and an activity day. This was also the day after my older sister arrived from the States, and I threw her, jet-lagged and culture shocked, right into Tanzanian reality – the intense sun, the crowds of people, the music, the dancing, the smells, and of course, AIDS. That’s really the best way to do it, like jumping in a lake or ripping off a band-aid.
We met up with the other volunteers from White Orange Youth, sporting our WOY t-shirts and carrying signs with phrases like, “You have the power – Stop the spread of AIDS” and “HIV/AIDS does not remove humanity – let’s support our brothers and sisters!” (both in English and Kiswahili, thank you very much). Together, we headed to the gathering point for the march and were met with dancing, drumming, singing, and dancing. This is Tanzanian culture at its best. Not only the lively music and dancing that everyone participates in, unabashedly, but also the fact that this is how to get people’s attention. People will rush from blocks away to see where the music is coming from and watch what is going on, and as long as you have their attention, they will listen. This is how businesses advertise, artists promote their concerts, groups announce events, and this is becoming the most effective way of educating the public on critical issues like HIV/AIDS. It works like a charm, and there are many youth groups that travel around putting on shows to entertain and educate – they call it ‘Edu-tainment.’
The march was a blast. We carried our signs, danced, and shouted all the way to the fairgrounds. People lined the streets to watch, and many even joined in, the kids especially. We didn’t march very far, but it lasted much of the morning, since we stopped every few yards for drumming and drama groups to perform and the people holding the megaphones to talk about HIV/AIDS. It was a punishingly hot day, and my poor sister (fresh out of Idaho winter) was feeling it for sure.
We got to the fairgrounds and set up our WOY info table and signs. We had two main activities throughout the day: condom demonstrations and a risk level assessment activity (i.e. look at the scenario depicted on the card and say whether you think it is a high, low, or no-risk activity). They both seemed to go fairly well, and we had a steady crowd throughout the day participating. While I was roaming around looking at other groups’ booths – more performances, testament s from PLHAs, and even a booth where you could get tested and counseled – or helping with WOY’s activities, my sister was being smothered by children and sunburned to a crisp. I think she may have been a little overwhelmed, but she didn’t let it show.
It is hard to know just how effective an event like that is. It did draw a lot of people; many joined the march, came to listen to the speeches, watch the drumming, participate in the activities, and many people wanted to wear AIDS ribbons. But the question is, did all that make a difference? Did it actually sink in? Were people moved, inspired, angered, and informed enough to actually change their behaviors? Will all those youth so interested in learning how to put on a condom actually use them in the bedroom? Will wives that question their husbands’ fidelity decide to go get tested and stand up for themselves when their husbands refuse? Will people who fear they are infected actually take responsibility for themselves, or just continue to live in denial? That’s the most frustrating part about the situation here – people don’t seem to understand that it is only themselves, as individuals making personal choices, who can stop this disease. Many people would rather go on pretending that AIDS doesn’t exist than to simply use a condom. It’s not up to the government or the NGOs to stop AIDS – they can only provide information and prophylactics. It’s all about behavioral change, and that’s our own responsibility. But so much stands in the way of behavioral change here, culturally. It’s tradition, it’s religion, it’s the general mentality toward sex. And it’s myths; but those, at least, we can dispel more quickly with information.
It’s a start. I guess we just have to look at it that way for now. The first step is knowing the facts. It is just so frustrating to listen to people argue with, what is in my mind, reason – “If condoms are only 98% effective, why should I use them? There is still a risk. I don’t trust them.” Some just don’t seem to hear you when you explain to them that 2% risk is much better than 100%. At a testing day WOY helped put on the other day, Stefanie (a volunteer from Germany) and I did an impromptu condom demonstration on a water bottle for people waiting to be tested. It came about after a 10-minute circular argument with a young man who was refusing to accept condoms as an option. He kept asking, “If I know that, as a man and a human being, it is not possible to abstain from sex, how can I prevent getting HIV?” And we kept telling him, “You can use protection – use condoms.” But he was stuck on the fact that they are not 100% effective. He asked me, “Do you believe in them? Do you carry them with you?” And as luck would have it, I just happened to have a bag of them. I pulled them out of my backpack and handed them out. He watched the demonstration intently, but returned the condom I handed him.
Conversations like that are as infuriating to me as talking about religion – after someone already has their mind made up, there’s no getting in. They won’t hear you. That’s why we try to target youth, because they listen and they ask questions, and they are less likely to have their minds made up about these kinds of things already. As frustrating as it is, though, I have to give people credit for getting tested. That is also a step in the right direction.
I just wonder, how bad do things have to get before people admit there’s a crisis and decide to do something about it? By 2015, millions of Tanzanians will be dead.
We met up with the other volunteers from White Orange Youth, sporting our WOY t-shirts and carrying signs with phrases like, “You have the power – Stop the spread of AIDS” and “HIV/AIDS does not remove humanity – let’s support our brothers and sisters!” (both in English and Kiswahili, thank you very much). Together, we headed to the gathering point for the march and were met with dancing, drumming, singing, and dancing. This is Tanzanian culture at its best. Not only the lively music and dancing that everyone participates in, unabashedly, but also the fact that this is how to get people’s attention. People will rush from blocks away to see where the music is coming from and watch what is going on, and as long as you have their attention, they will listen. This is how businesses advertise, artists promote their concerts, groups announce events, and this is becoming the most effective way of educating the public on critical issues like HIV/AIDS. It works like a charm, and there are many youth groups that travel around putting on shows to entertain and educate – they call it ‘Edu-tainment.’
The march was a blast. We carried our signs, danced, and shouted all the way to the fairgrounds. People lined the streets to watch, and many even joined in, the kids especially. We didn’t march very far, but it lasted much of the morning, since we stopped every few yards for drumming and drama groups to perform and the people holding the megaphones to talk about HIV/AIDS. It was a punishingly hot day, and my poor sister (fresh out of Idaho winter) was feeling it for sure.
We got to the fairgrounds and set up our WOY info table and signs. We had two main activities throughout the day: condom demonstrations and a risk level assessment activity (i.e. look at the scenario depicted on the card and say whether you think it is a high, low, or no-risk activity). They both seemed to go fairly well, and we had a steady crowd throughout the day participating. While I was roaming around looking at other groups’ booths – more performances, testament s from PLHAs, and even a booth where you could get tested and counseled – or helping with WOY’s activities, my sister was being smothered by children and sunburned to a crisp. I think she may have been a little overwhelmed, but she didn’t let it show.
It is hard to know just how effective an event like that is. It did draw a lot of people; many joined the march, came to listen to the speeches, watch the drumming, participate in the activities, and many people wanted to wear AIDS ribbons. But the question is, did all that make a difference? Did it actually sink in? Were people moved, inspired, angered, and informed enough to actually change their behaviors? Will all those youth so interested in learning how to put on a condom actually use them in the bedroom? Will wives that question their husbands’ fidelity decide to go get tested and stand up for themselves when their husbands refuse? Will people who fear they are infected actually take responsibility for themselves, or just continue to live in denial? That’s the most frustrating part about the situation here – people don’t seem to understand that it is only themselves, as individuals making personal choices, who can stop this disease. Many people would rather go on pretending that AIDS doesn’t exist than to simply use a condom. It’s not up to the government or the NGOs to stop AIDS – they can only provide information and prophylactics. It’s all about behavioral change, and that’s our own responsibility. But so much stands in the way of behavioral change here, culturally. It’s tradition, it’s religion, it’s the general mentality toward sex. And it’s myths; but those, at least, we can dispel more quickly with information.
It’s a start. I guess we just have to look at it that way for now. The first step is knowing the facts. It is just so frustrating to listen to people argue with, what is in my mind, reason – “If condoms are only 98% effective, why should I use them? There is still a risk. I don’t trust them.” Some just don’t seem to hear you when you explain to them that 2% risk is much better than 100%. At a testing day WOY helped put on the other day, Stefanie (a volunteer from Germany) and I did an impromptu condom demonstration on a water bottle for people waiting to be tested. It came about after a 10-minute circular argument with a young man who was refusing to accept condoms as an option. He kept asking, “If I know that, as a man and a human being, it is not possible to abstain from sex, how can I prevent getting HIV?” And we kept telling him, “You can use protection – use condoms.” But he was stuck on the fact that they are not 100% effective. He asked me, “Do you believe in them? Do you carry them with you?” And as luck would have it, I just happened to have a bag of them. I pulled them out of my backpack and handed them out. He watched the demonstration intently, but returned the condom I handed him.
Conversations like that are as infuriating to me as talking about religion – after someone already has their mind made up, there’s no getting in. They won’t hear you. That’s why we try to target youth, because they listen and they ask questions, and they are less likely to have their minds made up about these kinds of things already. As frustrating as it is, though, I have to give people credit for getting tested. That is also a step in the right direction.
I just wonder, how bad do things have to get before people admit there’s a crisis and decide to do something about it? By 2015, millions of Tanzanians will be dead.
posted by Ashley at
12:57 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home