Haniff NZ, Welch L, Slywynsky VM; International Conference on AIDS (15th : 2004 : Bangkok, Thailand).
Int Conf AIDS. 2004 Jul 11-16; 15: abstract no. WePeE6784.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States
Issues: As a health activist in the Caribbean, I noticed that many HIV education efforts were inaccessible and not culturally relevant - they were mostly presented through passive avenues that require literacy - such as pamphlets, ads, or billboards. In response to this, I developed an HIV module that is designed to educate the non-literate to become teachers of HIV prevention. The process transforms individuals to find their voice, become politicized, and use the module to solve the issue of HIV prevention in their own communities, on their own terms. Description: As Director and Founder of the "Pedagogy of Action"study abroad program at the University of Michigan, I take a delegation of ten students to South Africa to teach the HIV module to community groups in the townships of Durban, Johannesburg, and Capetown. The trainees are taught to be health activists and sources of knowledge in the communities. For this program, the HIV module was translated into Khosa, Zulu, and Tswana. Since the inception of the program, we have taught over 6,000 people in South Africa, including: traditional healers, primary schoool children, township hair dressers, and others activist groups. Lessons learned: The HIV module is unique because it is completely sustainable and communities are empowered with the necessary skills so that they can be responsible for their own education and prevention. It has been successfully taught to completely illiterate individuals, as well as functionally illiterate ones as well. It has met such great success in South Africa and the Caribbean because it does not require any external tools and can be done anywhere regardless of the resource level of the community. I have learned that in order for the HIV prevention efforts to make an impact, communities must be equipped to build their own movement for they know how to best address their problems and needs. Recommendations: Continue to diffuse the HIV module across various networks and languages, especially to activists and organizations that work in resource-poor areas of the world.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Behavior
- Caribbean Region
- Child
- Educational Status
- HIV Infections
- HIV Seropositivity
- Humans
- Michigan
- Organizations
- Residence Characteristics
- South Africa
- Teaching
- education
- prevention & control
- therapy
Other ID:
UI: 102284698
From Meeting Abstracts