If I kept it to myself - World YWCA

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If I kept it to myself Introduction Kanjoo Mbaindjikua, Project Coordinator Statistics clearly show that young women and girls are highly affected by the AIDS pandemic. While the situation is serious, young women are by no means idly hoping for better days. At the YWCA, we are seeing another type of response. This response is unique and challenging, and gives the word courage a new, humbling meaning as we see young women treading upon grounds that many only dream or dare talk about. Young women are the drivers and implementers of policies and programmes, which are reaching out and touching lives and communities. The World YWCA has documented these inspiring stories to highlight how young women are working to alleviate the suffering caused by HIV and AIDS. However, this is not just story telling but a tool for empowerment. We want other young people, and the not so young, to benefit from lessons learnt by these courageous young activists. Whatever your background, age and social environment, you will be inspired to take action. In the pages that follow, you will meet young women from all over the world, who have shaken their communities as peer counsellors and educators, as care givers, and as people living openly with HIV and AIDS; giving hope to many and promoting a humanistic response to the pandemic. Other young women are simply using their professional skills to create tools and platforms for dialogue and empowerment. From Bolivia to Zambia, “If I kept it to myself” is inspired by the work that has been documented in this book. “It is our task to seek safety for our children not in quiet denial but in effective action. We must break this silence now to save our children, our nation and the world at large,” to quote Asunta Wagura, one of the pioneers recognised in this book. If these women remained silent and did nothing, many of us would not be here today. We would not be inspired to take action or admit that HIV and AIDS is something we can talk about and do something about. With our focus on young women, we are not seeking to limit leadership only to the young but rather to document the different ways in which leadership is being provided by those who are most affected. From our experiences as one of the oldest and largest women’s organisations in the world, we are bringing a non-traditional profile of leadership that comes from the heart of the community and takes many forms. In this book, leadership can be found in small gestures such as approaching national leaders to join activities to recognise HIV and AIDS work in communities and to destigmatise the disease. It can also be found in caring for a loved one, reuniting estranged families and burying friends who die of AIDS with dignity and respect. Leadership is also about spreading messages of prevention, care, support and respect for the rights of people living with HIV and AIDS, as well as women and children. The list is endless but the goal is one: to alleviate the suffering and bring an end to the shame and guilt that comes with living with HIV and AIDS. The stories are clustered according to themes, which are followed by tool boxes on what each one of us can do to bring about change in our own community. We encourage you to share this publication with your colleagues, your family and your friends. Let it be a book that you can read to your children to start a discussion and be a reference on how to engage in HIV and AIDS activities. “If I kept it to myself» is an important history of the courageous steps and hard work of young women intervening in a world with HIV and AIDS. It should motivate us all to action. 4
Young women intervene in a world with AIDS Glossary of Terms ACT AIDS Care Trust ALU AIDS Law Unit AMAG African Microbicides Advocacy Group AFFESS-OVC African Extended Family Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome APN+ Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS ARV Anti-Retroviral Treatment AYINET Africa Youth Initiative Network CCM Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanism CCN Council of Churches in Namibia CBOs Community Based Organisations CCM Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanism, Malawi. CD4 Count a measure of immune system status CGJ Columbia Global Justice CPN+ Cambodian People Living with HIV and AIDS Network CRP Community Review Panel for the Collaborative Fund CSWs Commercial Sex Workers DART Development of Anti-Retroviral Therapy GCWA Global Coalition on Women and AIDS GIPA Greater Involvement of People living with HIV and AIDS GNP+ Global Network of People living with HIV and AIDS GYCA Global Youth Coalition on HIV and AIDS GYP Global Youth Partners Initiative HBC Home Based Care HIPCs The world’s 50 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus HIVAN HIV and AIDS Networking ICW International Community of Women living with HIV and AIDS IFRC International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies INE Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas IVF International Video Fair IYP International Youth Parliament KANHNHA Kandal Provincial Plha Network KENWA Kenya Network of Women With Aids MANASO Malawi Network of AIDS Service Organisations MANET+ Malawi Network of People living with HIV and AIDS MDGs UN Millennium Development Goals MFMC My Future Is My Choice MHAPI Mtojane HIV and AIDS Prevention Initiative MTCT Mother to Child Transmission NAEC National AIDS Executive Committee NAMACOC Namibia Multi-Sectoral HIV and AIDS Coordinating Committee NANASO Namibia Network of AIDS Service Organisations NANSO Namibia National Students’ Organisation NAPWA National Association of People living with HIV and AIDS NGO Non governmental Organisation 5
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If I kept it to myself - World YWCA

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