GHEI’s three regularly held health outreach programs are each well attended. However, people don’t get excited about World Malaria Day or Global Handwashing Day in the way that they do about World AIDS Day. HIV/AIDS prevention is an important subject that people want to learn about, but many are not comfortable seeking the information on their own. When we make it openly available, we get a very positive response.
According to the 2007 UN AIDS report, the prevalence of HIV in Ghana is around 1.9%. However, due to the influx of laborers working in nearby mines, it is known to be significantly higher in our area. GHEI’s Sexual and Reproductive Health program works to address this need, and the centerpiece of the program is our annual World AIDS Day celebration. On all other days of the year, we rely on GHEI-trained pharmacists, bar owners, and other individuals throughout the community who have volunteered to confidentially sell GHEI-subsidized condoms.
World AIDS Day Humjibre
After introductions, the evening began with Bethel Health Builders organisation in partnership with HEARD and RATN's educational video “Understanding HIV Testing” (see below). After each scene, we paused the video and allowed Aggie to translate and offer an explanation in Sefwi. Next, the health team played a short, but engaging film relating to common social situations, and how they can potentially lead to risky behavior.
Afterwards, the real fun began. Francis and Mensah walked onto the stage and carefully demonstrated how to properly put a condom onto a carved wooden penis. Regardless of anybody’s maturity, watching Francis and Mensah work together on this task was hilarious. The whole crowd was laughing and cheering throughout the process. When they finished, Aggie and Abby stepped up to introduce the more foreign and apparently quite surprising, female condom.
Finally, the health team closed with the part everyone had really been waiting for. To keep people from feeling shy, staff members dispersed to dark areas in town to distribute free condoms to anybody who approached them. GHEI’s once-a-year free condom distribution is an extremely popular event in Humjibre, and people rushed to the distributors, eager to collect.
World AIDS Day Soroano
We planned to do the same program the next evening. However, it rained for two days, and we found ourselves standing in a storeroom in Soroano, plotting our next move. At that point, the total attendance at World AIDS Day Soroano was going to be eleven: GHEI staff and program support personnel.
I accompanied Abby, Aggie and Mensah to the public announcement broadcast station. If you’ve never been in a village in our area of Ghana, many have Big Brother-esque speaker and announcement systems, where anybody can pay to speak into a microphone and their voice is essentially inescapable within the village. Aggie began the program. For somebody who had had zero preparation for presenting in this setting, her performance was astounding. She was confident and self-assured as she introduced GHEI, World AIDS Day and the importance of HIV/AIDS awareness.
Meanwhile, Abby pulled her computer out and started playing the educational video from the previous night. As Aggie watched, she translated and explained the video to Soroano’s captive audience. Afterwards, emcee Mensah took the microphone and began the next segment of Soroano’s impromptu educational outreach program.
He invited audience members to come ask questions on the air and announced that GHEI would be simultaneously distributing free condoms from a few separate locations in Soroano. The rain had subsided and as Mensah encouraged people to step out of their homes, Aggie and Abby hustled back to the storeroom to send staff members and boxes of condoms to the stated locations.
They made it just in time. Groups of people began arriving ready with questions and to collect from the distribution.
While these ended up being two distinct programs, both were popular with their audiences and effective in getting our point across. In Soroano, we likely reached a different, but potentially larger group than we planned to. This occasion was an inspiring example of GHEI’s flexibility, ingenuity, dedication to our cause and ability to accommodate unforeseen events. To the health team that pulled it off, Bravo!
According to the 2007 UN AIDS report, the prevalence of HIV in Ghana is around 1.9%. However, due to the influx of laborers working in nearby mines, it is known to be significantly higher in our area. GHEI’s Sexual and Reproductive Health program works to address this need, and the centerpiece of the program is our annual World AIDS Day celebration. On all other days of the year, we rely on GHEI-trained pharmacists, bar owners, and other individuals throughout the community who have volunteered to confidentially sell GHEI-subsidized condoms.
World AIDS Day Humjibre
After introductions, the evening began with Bethel Health Builders organisation in partnership with HEARD and RATN's educational video “Understanding HIV Testing” (see below). After each scene, we paused the video and allowed Aggie to translate and offer an explanation in Sefwi. Next, the health team played a short, but engaging film relating to common social situations, and how they can potentially lead to risky behavior.
Afterwards, the real fun began. Francis and Mensah walked onto the stage and carefully demonstrated how to properly put a condom onto a carved wooden penis. Regardless of anybody’s maturity, watching Francis and Mensah work together on this task was hilarious. The whole crowd was laughing and cheering throughout the process. When they finished, Aggie and Abby stepped up to introduce the more foreign and apparently quite surprising, female condom.
Finally, the health team closed with the part everyone had really been waiting for. To keep people from feeling shy, staff members dispersed to dark areas in town to distribute free condoms to anybody who approached them. GHEI’s once-a-year free condom distribution is an extremely popular event in Humjibre, and people rushed to the distributors, eager to collect. World AIDS Day Soroano
We planned to do the same program the next evening. However, it rained for two days, and we found ourselves standing in a storeroom in Soroano, plotting our next move. At that point, the total attendance at World AIDS Day Soroano was going to be eleven: GHEI staff and program support personnel.
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| Hiding from the rain in Soroano |
Meanwhile, Abby pulled her computer out and started playing the educational video from the previous night. As Aggie watched, she translated and explained the video to Soroano’s captive audience. Afterwards, emcee Mensah took the microphone and began the next segment of Soroano’s impromptu educational outreach program.
He invited audience members to come ask questions on the air and announced that GHEI would be simultaneously distributing free condoms from a few separate locations in Soroano. The rain had subsided and as Mensah encouraged people to step out of their homes, Aggie and Abby hustled back to the storeroom to send staff members and boxes of condoms to the stated locations. They made it just in time. Groups of people began arriving ready with questions and to collect from the distribution.
***
While these ended up being two distinct programs, both were popular with their audiences and effective in getting our point across. In Soroano, we likely reached a different, but potentially larger group than we planned to. This occasion was an inspiring example of GHEI’s flexibility, ingenuity, dedication to our cause and ability to accommodate unforeseen events. To the health team that pulled it off, Bravo!
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