Oct
29
Loyce and Godspower with Ross in his recording studio
Yesterday we had fun in the sound studio recording an interview with Nicola around adherence challenges faced by adolescents living with HIV.This was a request from World Health Organisation and will be included in their new adolescent HIV toolkit, to be launched at the ICASA conference in South Africa in December.
Oct
23
The CATS members on your right about to address the students during assembly time
The main purpose of the trainings is to support HIV positive children to cope with stigma around them as well as educate others on how best to change their attitude to treat other people without stigma towards HIV. These workshops are being facilitated by the CATS members in support of the Africaid staff. During training the facilitators also highlight our stigma campaign theme-Bury stigma and Resurrect love. The coping effectiveness training is all about teaching in depth children but mainly focusing on those living with HIV on how they can cope with their own personal challenges in life.
Also when conducting the coping effectiveness training they give the students/pupils real life case scenarios and then the participants make presentations just to see whether they have grasped the concept on how to deal with stigma and other challenges. The use of techniques in the form of changeable and non-changeable things in life ensures that participants live a mentally healthy life without concentrating on non-changeable things (HIV status or death of a loved one) but to concentrate or put more effort on things that are changeable. Bury stigma campaign posters, bandanas and Our Story books are the main materials used when conducting the trainings. So far the facilitators have covered schools and colleges in Harare and including Early Childhood Development.
Students pay attention during the training whilst their teacher is present
Whilst the meeting is underway, the teachers will be present or even the head or teacher in charge. Some of the questions that came out of the trainings include:
• Can an HIV positive girl/woman give birth and if they can, are they allowed to
• Does kissing spread the Human Immunodeficiency Virus
• When you are circumcised is there a need to use condoms
From the schools that have been covered, most times participants knew only stigma pertaining to a flower but not the attitude hence it was a breaking ground on discerning information. The participants were very excited about the training and asked more about the activities we do at Africaid and want to be engaged more. The participation within the schools was more than average.
Oct
2
Time for remembering and sharing
We have just returned from a three day camp in the beautiful Mavhuradonha region of Zimbabwe. 45 children, 11-13 years old, had a weekend packed full of fun, games, mountain climbing and swimming in the water pools. It was the first time out of Harare for many of the children and they were certainly excited to be on such an adventure. They were looked after superbly by the Zvandiri CATS who managed the camp perfectly.
After a long, difficult climb, we made it to the falls
In addition to the fun and games, the theme of the camp was remembering the loved ones they have lost in their lives. The children were given the rare opportunity to remember and share memories of their parents, siblings, friends and relatives whom have died. Whilst this was painful and difficult, they were helped to develop ways of coping with grief and commemorating the lives of their loved ones. This was all possible due to the wonderful Carol, a grief psychologist, who generously volunteered her time for the weekend. Huge thanks too to George Seremwe who donated the wilderness camp for the weekend and to the Child Protection Fund and Maruva Trust for funding the transport and food for the children. The children did not want to come home and are already looking forward to the next camp!
