African Forum of Faith-Based Organisations in Reproductive Heath and HIV/AIDS - Capacity-Building Workshop

A Capacity-building and Leadership Workshop was held from 16 to 18 February 2004 at the Tropicana Hotel in Durban. Co-hosted by the World Conference of Religion and Peace (WCRP) and the Islamic Medical Association (IMA), Southern African Forum Partners from Durban, Johannesburg, Port Shepstone, Namibia and Cape Town attended the workshop.

The aim of the gathering was to develop, strengthen and train Forum partners and religious leaders of the Southern African region in capacity-building in the areas of service delivery, advocacy and research, specifically in the work with sexual reproductive health and HIV/AIDS in their relevant areas.

Each day, the sessions were opened by a prayer from the different faith groups. The Bahai, the IMA (Islamic Medical Association), Positive Muslims, the WCRP and Namibia gave a situational analysis on their experiences and programmes regarding HIV/AIDS and sexual reproductive health. Suhaima Hoosen of the IMA and Paddy Meskin and Saydoon Nisa Sayed of the WCRP facilitated the workshop, during which participants formed into groups and given the opportunity to be a group leader, scribe and rapporteur. For some, this was the first time they had been assigned these roles, so their experience proved to be extremely valuable.

On the first day, concepts such as general health, sexual reproductive health and health and HIV/AIDS were explained in detail. The shift from health to the community, community analysis and community participation and how these are inter-related gave participants a clear definition of ?“a community?”. Members were able to identify problems, strengths and resources in their own communities, whether urban, rural or informal.

Suhaima Hoosen explained the ?“adoption model?” on the second day of the Workshop, and how it can be applied in communities and by organisations, outlining how people respond differently to new ideas through awareness, information, trial and evaluation, either adopting or rejecting a new idea.

Saydoon Nisa Sayed highlighted the conditions that are necessary for empowerment with regard to sexual reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. These include networking, political awareness and personal development.

Paddy Meskin?’s session on leadership skills was introduced with an interactive exercise called the ?“Blind Man?”. Participants were grouped into pairs, with one partner being blind-folded while the other had to lead, giving both partners the opportunity to experience leading and being led. They then related their experiences in each situation to the full group, and Paddy then elaborated on the concept of leadership by describing the characteristics of various leadership styles.

On the third day, Suhaima focused on monitoring and evaluation as important factors in gathering information and assessing the success or failure of a project. A presentation by Sheila Antrobus on effective proposal-writing highlighted that fundraising is not merely about money, but is also about people acting to improve the lives of those in their community.

All in all, participants thoroughly enjoyed the Workshop, and departed from it with a clearer understanding of the concepts of capacity-building, advocacy, networking and leadership.

A training manual, based on the outline and experiences of the Workshop, is being developed.