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A better life - two peer educators light the way
Nicola Stanley. HIVAN Networking Team.
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"I think it would be a good idea"- Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), when asked what he thought of Western civilisation.
The 23rd December 1992 was a day like no other in Ricardo's life. It was the day that he went to visit his friend at the local AIDS Training, Information and Counselling Centre (ATICC) and found out that he was HIV-positive. Eleven years later, this plucky 32-year-old still visits ATICC. Now, however, he does so daily in his capacity as one of 30 peer educators linked to the High Transmission Area (HTA) project that ATICC oversees.
Ricardo has one home in Kleinskool, and another with his mother in Bloemendal. He also resides at multiple addresses in the city centre, which fluid lifestyle he prefers to the instability of the northern areas. Ricardo is a regular pedestrian on the streets of Central. Living between homes allows Ricardo to stay in constant touch with his colleagues at ATICC, located in the centre of town at Brister House.
Although Ricardo speaks three languages, he has a primary school education, and finds it difficult to secure employment in the formal sector. For many years, Ricardo worked as a bisexual sex-worker to support himself and his partner, who eventually died of an AIDS-related illness. Having kicked his drug habit in 1999, he joined the HTA project in 2000, where he has completed a variety of training courses.
For a small stipend each month, Ricardo and his peers educate communities through story-telling, song and drama. Ricardo also supports himself through his association with an income-generating project in Kleinskool. An interesting observation is that although Ricardo has been HIV-positive for 11 years, he has remained healthy. He has yet to participate in any prophylactic or anti-retroviral treatment regime.
Like Ricardo, Honey cannot afford to pay her rent with the R400 monthly stipend offered to the HTA peer educators, who are contracted to work at least three hours each day. Unlike Ricardo, however, Honey obtained a diploma in Public Relations through Damelin recently and has dreams of establishing her own HIV/AIDS development agency.
Through her attendance of HTA-linked training workshops, Honey has established links with a variety of international funding organisations, including AIM and Tampet. As a result, her vision to establish her own non-governmental organisation is taking shape. Honey and two of her friends are planning to start the "Empowered Sex Workers' Organisation" or ESWO. The specific target population will include high-risk women and homosexuals in Central.
According to the draft business plan for ESWO, the project will have the following major focal areas:
- Training of sex workers on health issues (including HIV/AIDS and other STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections);
- Educating sexworkers with regard to their constitutional rights;
- Providing free counselling services (including counselling in cases of rape);
- Training peer educators;
- Job creation;
- Provision of home-based care to people who are HIV-positive and those with AIDS; and
- Stereotype reduction exercises to challenge the stigma attached to homosexuality.
Honey is eagerly awaiting responses to her business proposal and talks excitedly about the possibilities for expansion of the project to Lesotho once its sustainability has been demonstrated in the Nelson Mandela Bay area. In the interim, Honey will continue her work as a peer educator with the HTA project.
Note: The overall goal of ATICC is to provide an AIDS training, information-sharing and counseling service to communities in the NMMM. Specific objectives are to involve communities, to train educators and counsellors, and to support and advise people who want to be tested. In focusing on lowering the risk and spread of the virus in high-risk communities, the HTA peer education project furthers the HIV-specific prevention goals of this organisation.
For further information on the specific educational techniques employed by the peer educators, please contact Nicci Stanley on (031) 260 4653.
Useful Link:http://www.equityproject.co.za/FightingHIV.htm
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