If I kept it to myself - World YWCA

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If I kept it to myself knowing that HIV is there, so we emphasised the use of protection to avoid getting infected with other STDs. I sometimes demonstrated how to use a condom as part of the discussion because many people were complaining that the condom would burst during intercourse. “The Test”, a 21-minute video on my work, was produced during the campaign. The film touches on my personal testimony, the audiences’ disbelief of it, and the myths that come with HIV and AIDS. My confidence in answering the audience’s questions is confirmation of how I have embraced my status and learned to live positively with HIV. Even though I was confident about telling my story before the campaign, going to new communities in Zimbabwe and talking in front of large crowds was new to me. It took me about five months to gain confidence with the audiences. The road show crew that I worked with during the campaign, especially Charity Maruta (Regional Director of International Video Fair), made this possible by providing me with the information I needed to gain that confidence. Our crew comprised young boys and girls, and I fitted in well with them. Working with fellow youth made it easier to relate to each other. I must say I am so lucky that they all love and care for my well being. At this time, I encouraged one of the crew members, Braveman Makhaza, to get tested and disclose his status. I took him through each stage telling him the advantages of knowing his status. He was negative, what a relief! After the test I gave him some counselling on how to keep his status negative. Now he is able to stand on stage and talk to his friends, relatives and the country about HIV and AIDS. Having seen “The Test” young people have approached me asking where they could go for advice. Some of them had been sexually abused a long time ago and didn’t know where to go for help. I think there are a lot more young women and girls like that out there, who don’t get the opportunity to see this kind of film that gives them hope. Some of them are even infected right now and have no idea. My main concern is to reach as many young women and girls as possible. 66 Born: 1983 Country: Zimbabwe Organisations: International Video Fair (IVF) Campaigns for: involving young people in dialogue on HIV and AIDS
Young women intervene in a world with AIDS Joya Banerjee Young people and HIV and AIDS is by nature a highly controversial subject as the majority of infections worldwide occur through sexual intercourse, which is taboo for many people... I began working on HIV and AIDS issues during my sophomore year at Barnard College, Columbia University. I attended presentations by Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute, and was inspired by his work on HIV and AIDS in Africa. At the end of one of his presentations he encouraged the audience to become active in the HIV and AIDS movement, and suggested that we begin a chapter of the Student Global AIDS Campaign. The idea was attractive to me because I had met so many dynamic student leaders championing causes such as conflict resolution in Israel and Palestine and the rights of women of colour in New York, but no student organisation existed that dealt with HIV and AIDS or sustainable development. A group of students and I came together with the mantra of “health is a human right” to found Columbia Global Justice (CGJ), a chapter of the Student Global AIDS Campaign. Through CGJ, I reached out to youth on campus, in New York City, and worldwide, to raise awareness with events every two weeks focused on issues such as international debt and HIV and AIDS, microbicides, vaccine trials and research, US funding policies, gender and HIV and AIDS, and other issues. Our membership grew to over 250 students, both undergraduate and graduate, and our events were diverse ranging from panel discussions to documentary screenings to fundraisers to letter writing and calling campaigns to government representatives. With CGJ, I organised New York City’s first Student Global AIDS Walk that raised thousands of dollars for a grassroots organisation in Zambia, a country where 16.5% of citizens are living with HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS: 2003). We collaborated with New York University’s New York City Student Initiative for AIDS to host slam poetry and hip-hop concerts, and sell hundreds of discount cards for students to use in local shops. The funds raised supplied grassroots HIV and AIDS initiatives in the developing world. That year, I also organised Columbia University’s first World AIDS Week. It was during the World AIDS Week that I met Christian Gladel of the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) HIV and AIDS Branch. He managed the Global Youth Partners Initiative (GYP), which builds the capacity of young leaders in 30 countries to encourage their governments to scale up HIV and AIDS interventions for young people. I applied to intern at UNFPA and they hired me to work on youth participation in HIV and AIDS. While working with the GYP, I was inspired by their spirit of volunteerism and leadership. I was involved in the important work of assisting young people to effectively drive grassroots change in their communities. I became aware that funding, opportunities for employment and participation, technical assistance, and collaboration exist, but that young people face many barriers in accessing these resources due to a lack of skills and the general mistrust that adult leaders have for young people. Young people also lack access to youth friendly prevention and treatment information and services. They are at the mercy of conservative government agendas that dictate programmes for them that are ineffective and unscientific, such as abstinence only education. 67
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If I kept it to myself - World YWCA

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