Anti-AIDS project targets young people
Until a cure or vaccine for AIDS is discovered, the only hope in stopping the pandemic is behaviour change through education. And that’s exactly what a group of young people were promoting this week in Belize City. Patrick Jones reports on the latest effort to keep Belizeans free of the deadly virus.
Patrick Jones, Reporting
Most of the young people in the room had never even heard of the metrosexual man, but no topic was off limits this morning as a frank and open discussion on HIV/AIDS sought to equip these teens with skills to stay safe. Kayla Arnold is one of the participants.
Kayla Arnold, Student, S.C.A.
“Well of course you can’t tell them not to have sex, it’s their decision first of all. But the key thing that we’re trying to bring over is abstaining and if not abstinence, then use a condom.”
But condom use is not the main subject being discussed at this three-day workshop. National Coordinator of the “Together We Can Project”, Sherie Murillo, says the idea is to prepare young people to help themselves.
Sherie Murillo, Coordinator, Together We Can Project
“We’re targeting youths right now in the south side area, ten to nineteen years old, to educate them on HIV and AIDS. And also, it’s basically to target their friends and have their friends being trained so that in the future, after training, their friends can go out and gather maybe five to ten of them and have their little sessions, utilizing the activity kits that has in about fourteen to sixteen activities all about HIV and AIDS.”
The activity kits, which have been used extensively in AIDS education programmes in the Caribbean, include games that the young people can play with their friends to teach vital information about AIDS. Peer Educator trainees: Michael Balderamos, Kayla Arnold, and Phillip Ramsey say they are more comfortable now to talk to their peers about HIV/AIDS.
Michael Balderamos, Student, Belize Christian Academy
“I think I’ll feel more comfortable talking to girls about HIV/AIDS, because boys, when you start to talk to them about HIV/AIDS they get turned off, because as you notice there are more women in this workshop than men or boys.”
Kayla Arnold
“Well actually when I get back to my community as a peer educator, I will use the information just to let the people be aware of what is going on presently, because as we all know, the Caribbean has one of the high ratings for HIV/AIDS. So we believe that if the community is aware of what is going on, then definitely we can try to keep the statistics lower.”
Phillip Ramsey, Student, Wesley College
“Information I gather from this workshop I’ll be using also at my school as a peer helper, helping all students at Wesley College about AIDS. In fact, they already have some information, I’ll help them to get more information and also use it on my brothers and sisters.”
Although participants for the three-day workshop come from the Cayo, Orange Walk, and Belize Districts the pilot project is targeting young people living on southside Belize City. Murillo says there are specific reason why this area was chosen.
Sherie Murillo, Coordinator, Together We Can Project
“We chose south side because of different factors, because of the population structure, the socio-economic situations, and overall the HIV/AIDS cases in that area. And we had to start somewhere, and that is why we started the pilot in southside. Southside is the biggest area of the city you know, so we had to start somewhere.”
And the young people say this latest attempt at HIV/AIDS education has a better chance of being effective because of the methodology.
Kayla Arnold
“Well I think that because I am of age with them, definitely it will be much easier, because it’s corresponding, than for someone out of the age group or age range to be explaining something to them. I take it that the message will more be sent across if its from the same age group.”
Phillip Ramsey, Student, Wesley College
“It’s not just don’t have sex. If you have sex, have it in a safer way because there is no such thing as safe sex, but a safer sex.”
Patrick Jones, for News 5.
Facilitators for the workshop include a Red Cross youth officer based in Trinidad and two trainers from the Jamaican Red Cross. Later this year, two Belizean instructors will go to Jamaica to undergo training to become Belize’s first national trainers. The local “Together We Can Project” is a collaborative effort of the Belize Red Cross, UNICEF, and the Ministry of Health.
