Educating Women About HIV/ AIDS in Uganda

Taking Action in the Community

Assess:

• Encouraging openness in group counseling, starting with church leaders, led to the formation of the group Gweeri Women Against HIV / AIDS.
• We gained members by not discriminating and avoiding stigmatization.
• We encourage voluntary work and cooperation of spouses.
• We share our own experience through group discussion and provide support at all times, even at home or after church services.
• We involve technical experts for follow-up care, involve the youths for work partnership, and involve local leaders and male spouses as resource persons.

• We keep records for future reference.
• We use the media to discuss HIV testing and experience in anti-retroviral drug intake.
• We avoid talking about HIV as the deadly incurable disease, but as a catastrophe that can befall anyone and discussing ways of avoiding it or controlling its spread, self-care, and treatment.

Plan:
First, Gweeri Women Against HIV/AIDS worked with women leaders at different levels and solicited support from experts for an update of new strategies to address community needs.  The objectives of the organization are to identify and develop a team that will work to educate and counsel on HIV/AIDS related issues; to access community members through churches, local council meetings, and the media; and to refer those in need of technical expertise. The mission of the organization is to promote group work through team building and empower the community with knowledge and skills on HIV /AIDS prevention and control.

In addition, the strategies this organization utilizes include:

1. Identify viable members and develop a team
2. Work as a team and assign roles.
3. Identify work days and hours in the week
4. Identify places to work from and activities that motivate members to join the group.
5. Accept voluntary membership and solicit for support of Resource people like church leaders and health workers.

Act:

1. Trained members in Counseling for HIV testing, prevention, and control.
2. Solicited support from community resource persons like church leaders, local leaders, and youth leaders.
3. Developed a team of 20 members.
4. Identified work places and solicited for funds from volunteers to buy markers and flip charts.
5. Held weekly interviews and discussion groups.
6. Referred members for HIV testing and anti-retroviral therapy
7. Held daily counseling sessions.
8. Created a partnership with youths so as to lay a foundation for progress in HIV Counselling
9. Kept records for future reference.
10. Paved the way forward by integrating other activities, e.g. craft work, gardening, etc.
11. Developed monitoring  and evaluation tools
12. Carried out monitoring and evaluation.

Evaluate:
We worked with the nearby referral units to determine the number of people who were accessing the services from the targeted community, and noted that there were increased numbers of people who were accessing the services and using anti-retroviral drugs. Additionally, the number of people who were accessing the Counseling services had increased. Many youths were opting for abstinence, and others were considering condom use as a method of protection. Our records show that the number of volunteers has increased and members have increased their knowledge of HIV.

Sustain:
The organization utilizes several tactics to sustain the work including:

• Solicit for funds and more support for sustainability
• Involve more members on a permanent basis as a team to meet weekly and develop income generating activities.
• Involve youths as partners
• Maintain the workplace to keep records and pave the way for future team development