Video drama educates audience on AIDS

The use of entertainment to send a message is hardly a new concept … and we need look no further than our overabundant political ads for confirmation. But art forms like film and video can do more than sell candidates; they can also save lives. News Five’s Kendra Griffith reports.

Inda Wright, Advocacy Officer, Y.E.S.
“We’re dealing with students who are HIV positive and they are very young. The reality is still not hitting them that AIDS is real, that it is affecting our society, it’s getting more rampant.”

Kendra Griffith, Reporting
The Youth Enhancement Services is hoping that their short-film “Precious” will be the message that hits home with teens enough for them to start taking HIV seriously.

Inda Wright
“Precious is about a young girl who becomes a victim of HIV/AIDS, stigma and discrimination and as a result she had an untimely death.”

“The idea came about from members of our past leadership group, who thought that this was a good way in which to get the message of HIV and AIDS across to young people.”

The character of Pearline a.k.a. “Precious” is played by twenty year old Candy Martin, a member of Y.E.S.

Candy Martin, “Precious”
“After when the show mi done do, people give me some positive feedback, they mi enjoy the movie, they hope people mi learn from it and thing, but they also give some negative feedback, like “dah fi true you have AIDS” and all kinda thing, but other than that they mi give some real good feedback.”

Kendra Griffith
“What are some of the things that you are hoping people learn from this movie?”

Candy Martin
“Fi protect yourself, fi stay dah one partner, things like that.”

Inda Wright
“We do hope that people will become more educated about HIV and AIDS, about stigma and discrimination, that they would put a stop to stigma and discrimination and that more people will want to get tested.”

The thirty-seven minute film was produced last year with financing from HIVOS, along with the U.S. Embassy and Centers for Disease Control.

Today Y.E.S. screened the production for educators from across the country and donated a DVD copy and teaching guide to each of their institutions.

Teacher
“By the time the children hit first form they are already exposed, so I would strongly recommend that this be done in the upper division. It’s not only Belize district. I am hoping that the whole country get it miss. Don’t wait too long until high school.”

Inda Wright
“All the high schools throughout the country of Belize and primary schools in the Belize District alone for now. It is our hope that with funding every school in Belize can have a copy.”

“We are hoping that teachers will use the guide along with the film when they are doing their lesson and that from the session today they will know how to expound on the questions and the activities that are in the guide.”

But aside from the stigma and discrimination themes, Precious also touched on the topic of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of children.

Inda Wright
“Commercial Sexual Exploitation is the use of a boy or girl or an adolescent for sexual activity or sexual gratification with the exchange of cash or some gift.”

Kendra Griffith
“How big a problem is it in Belize?”

Inda Wright
“It’s a big problem in Belize and it continues to be on the rise since we have a lot of parents who are encouraging this type of activity.”

Y.E.S. Advocacy Officer Inda Wright is spearheading a project to deal with the social issue.

Inda Wright
“We are training the teachers as to how to identify victims in their school so that they in return can contact us so that we can help these victims of commercial sexual exploitation.”

You can purchase a copy of Precious from Y.E.S. at a cost of twenty-five dollars.

Kendra Griffith reporting for News Five.

Y.E.S. is located on the Cleopatra White compound on Princess Margaret Drive. You can also contact them by calling 203-0970.