If I kept it to myself - World YWCA

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If I kept it to myself I am also a member of the YWCA of Namibia. Since July 2004, I have been facilitating workshops twice a week at different high schools. In these workshops we discuss how we can prevent HIV and AIDS infection, improve communication between young people and their parents, and improve our lives. The young people who attend our workshops gain skills and knowledge to educate others, and learn how to give back to the community. At the end of the workshop, everyone develops a positive attitude towards family life education, sharing knowledge on sex, sexuality and reproductive health issues, and on HIV and AIDS issues. I also work with the Council of Churches in Namibia (CCN) to combat stigma and discrimination in our churches and to mobilise young people to use the Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) centres to know their status. With the CCN, we educate pastors on issues of HIV and AIDS and encourage them to talk openly about it with their congregation. Churches need to get involved by supporting people who are infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. In Namibia, there have been some churches that prohibit their members from starting antiretroviral treatment. We tell them that medication is needed; they have to allow people to go for treatment. People must be encouraged not to judge people who are HIV positive, instead we must give them hope. The Church has a responsibility and an important role to play in HIV and AIDS. Good morals and a change in behaviour are needed among young people in Namibia to curb the spread of HIV. Since high school I have been committed to fighting against ignorance surrounding HIV and AIDS in Namibia. I have upheld my sister’s wish for my life by becoming active in my community. To become an effective volunteer, I went through basic computer literacy, counselling and peer education at the YWCA and other centres. This training has equipped me for the activities I am currently involved in: designing the layout of Open Talk newspaper, responding to letters from young people countrywide regarding their problems, and facilitating peer counselling in schools. 30 Born: 1985 Country: Namibia Organisations: YWCA, National Youth Council, National Council of Churches of Namibia Campaigns for: an end to stigma and discrimination against PLWHA; HIV and AIDS education among young people
Young women intervene in a world with AIDS Alejandra Bustos Our main message is to make students aware that anybody can get infected if they do not take preventative measures. I am a psychologist at the Punto de encuentro office of the Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria, Valparasio, Chile. The office aims to create a better quality of life for students at the University by addressing and providing support regarding issues such as drugs, sexuality and HIV and AIDS. My university participates in the ‘Programma Alerta’, a HIV prevention programme involving the four main universities in Valparasio. The objective of this programme is to ensure that each university student has ample information on HIV prevention to make good decisions about their lives. It is an education and prevention programme. In addition to training and workshop sessions, each participating university runs a volunteer counselling and testing centre (VCT) on their campus. The test is available free of charge and on a voluntary and anonymous basis. In fact, students have to sign a form declaring that nobody obliged them to take the test and that they have received counselling. HIV tests are analysed at the University of Valparaiso’s laboratory of immunology and, if results are HIV positive they are confirmed by the ISP (Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica) in Santiago. Students must go for post test counselling after receiving their test results. The HIV positive results are shared with the National Health Service, without names, for statistical purposes. Each month approximately 25 students take the test. Many more students request testing but because of budget restrictions we do not have enough HIV test kits to perform tests on everyone who comes to the centre. Once a year, however, in preparation for World AIDS Day we offer 100 tests. Annually, about 700 students are tested. Each one of the four universities participating in the project gives a monthly contribution to support the programme. I am part of the programme as a counsellor at the VCT centre offering counselling prior to testing. I guide students through sexually transmitted infections (STI) and prevention methods, HIV testing window periods and 31
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If I kept it to myself - World YWCA

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