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Risk of HIV/AIDS Transmission Success Stories |
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| Partners | News | Success Stories | Links | Updated: 8/28/2006 |
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Breaking the Silence
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Introduction
The Namib Desert extends along Namibia`s coastline. It is the world’s oldest desert and one of the most arid. For the numerous wrecked ships strewn along the shore and the fate of many of those stranded, it is known as the Skeleton Coast. In its harsh midst is a delightful oasis, Walvis Bay. There is a large, sheltered lagoon, with all manner of aquatic birds, including flamingos. There are tree lined avenues, many parks, and graceful buildings, some dating to the late 19th Century. There is economic opportunity in the form of prolific fisheries, offshore natural gas fields, a free trade zone, diamonds and uranium, tourism, and the potential of the port to become a major gateway to southern Africa. But there is also a deadly disease which threatens this potential. With a 28 percent HIV prevalence rate among pregnant women. Walvis Bay is the third most affected city in Namibia and the epidemic is worsening.This is the story of a community`s effort to break this silence and unite to prevent additional infections and care better for those already afflicted. It is also the story of a courageous woman, Moureen Katjatako, who personified the spirit of courage we all require to combat and finally accept the inevitable outcome of the disease.
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The Community Acts
The Municipality of Walvis Bay, the regional authorities (Erongo Region), and the national government (primarily through the Ministry of Health and Social Services and the Ministry of Basic Education, Sports, and Culture) recognized the necessity of bringing the entire community together to meet the epidemic`s threat. They worked together with churches, the business community, and schools to form a coalition and, with that coalition, decided to establish a Center to provide non-medical treatment and prevention services.
From the onset, it was recognized that to destigmatize the disease and people living with it, and to ensure that intended beneficiaries would not be reluctant to use the Center, it was important to deliver HIV/AIDS-related programs together with other programs of interest to the community. It was thus decided to provide space for programs such as literacy and computer classes, sports team meetings, business courses, church choir practice, and clubs of all kinds. With this vision, the Walvis Bay Multi-Purpose Center was born. The Municipality donated land and the U.S. Department of Defense funded the construction of the building. Peace Corps agreed to assign a volunteer to the Center and USAID, through its implementing partner, Family Health International (FHI), committed to supporting a range of HIV/AIDS-related activities at the Center.
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The Walvis Bay Multi-Purpose Center
The Walvis Bay Multi-Purpose Center (MPC) opened for business in May 2001 and had its formal inauguration in July 2001. It is an attractive but simple and utilitarian building. The Center`s Director, Mrs. Beverly Figaji, organizes the HIV/AIDS programs. She is a highly educated, articulate, and deeply committed professional with many years of experience in HIV/AIDS programs. Mrs. Figaji speaks passionately about the need for community-wide involvement across economic and racial lines, and feels strongly that only through realization of the scope of the disease and compassionate care for those infected can there be the will to decisively and permanently change lifestyles to prevent others from becoming victims of the disease. This is the philosophy to which the MPC is dedicated.
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Programs
The MPC`s HIV/AIDS programs have four interrelated components:
1. Information, Education, and Communication
. information about HIV/AIDS, targeted at youth
. VCT Center
. health education to the private sector and fishing companies, promoting HIV/AIDS prevention in the workplace.
. school holiday program
2. Condom Distribution
. at the center
. through the workplace program
3. Care and Support for People Living with HIV/AIDS
. counseling and support groups for those infected and their relatives
. psychological and physical support of those in need
. legal counseling
. education about and assistance with home based care
. food and other necessities
4. Care and Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC)
. soup kitchen (supported by local community)
. Catholic AIDS Action OVC program office located at the center
In the past year, with additional support from the Department of Defense, the European Union, Catholic AIDS Action and the private sector, the Center has doubled its physical size and opened the first voluntary counseling and testing center in the region. The "New Start" Voluntary Counseling and Testing Center, jointly funded by Population Services International and FHI, through EU and USAID funds, opened in September 2003. Positive clients are referred to the Ministry of Health and Social Services HAART and PMTCT programs.
The youth edutainment program, co-funded this year by the Elton John Foundation, provides outreach to all schools in the Walvis Bay District, using young trained volunteers and people living with HIV/AIDS to convey messages on prevention, care and support to learners and teachers through song, drama, and quizzes. The school holiday program, drama and cultural groups, and computer training (including newly added internet access) attract large numbers of young people to the center.
The Walvis Bay MPC workplace program has reached over 3,100 workers in Walvis Bay, which represents 82% of the workforce. The program assists public and private firms with their response to the impact of HIV/AIDS on the workplace and provides education through awareness sessions and prevention training for workplaces which already have an HIV/AIDS policy. Every awareness session has a member of the Walvis Bay MPC Positive but Confident group, a person living with HIV/AIDS who has received training in communication skills and speaks about positive living. Peer educators from each company are then selected and trained further on communication skills, the facts about HIV/AIDS, safer sex, peer counseling, and other prevention and behavior change techniques, using the Peer Educator Training Manual. These trained peer educators are then provided with a toolkit to assist them with monthly session planning, including visual materials and handouts. Peer educators are encouraged to establish condom distribution points and to borrow informational videos from the center, and they also receive refresher training workshops and monthly supervision.
Catholic AIDS Action (CAA) has its Walvis Bay office based in the Multi-Purpose Center, and is also funded by USAID to provide care and support for OVC. CAA helps OVC to stay in school through the provision of school uniforms, and provides home-based care and psychosocial support through a cadre of trained volunteers. CAA also works to educate members of the civil service in their target areas to the needs of OVC.
The MPC is working hard to ensure its sustainability. Brought to life with the support of USAID and DoD, it now has 49 public and private sector donors contributing to its costs. Whereas in 2002, donors "other than the USG" contributed 7 percent of costs, in 2003, donors "other than the USG" contributed 25 percent of costs. Income generated by the MPC through its own activities, particularly its workforce skills program, is growing as well. In FY 2003, the MPC generated revenues of approximately US$15,500.
Other municipalities in Namibia are now seeking to replicate the success of the Walvis Bay Multi-Purpose Center. The Sam Nujoma Multi-Purpose Center was opened in Ongwediva in April 2003, built by the Ongwediva Town Council with construction support from its two Belgium sister cities, and technical assistance from USAID. Planning for an MPC in Windhoek is also underway.
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In memory of Moureen Katjatako
Moureen Katjatako grew up in rural Namibia. After completing grade 10, her family could no longer afford to support and send her to school. Moureen moved to Walvis Bay to find employment. She met her first boyfriend, set up a home and established what she thought was a monogamous relationship. However, unbeknownst to her, he was unfaithful in their relationship and brought home the HIV virus, infecting her and as a result, the child they had together. At only 21 years, she and her newborn son, Seppy, both tested HIV+.
Intent on providing her son with the best possible care and arming herself with knowledge, she spent day after day at state clinics and in District AIDS Committee meetings trying to understand the disease and its progression. Despite her efforts on his behalf, Seppy died at the age of 2 years and 2 months in the year 2000.
Refusing to succumb to the bitterness and despair that might easily have befallen her, Moureen instead dedicated herself to helping others to avoid the disease or, for those already infected, to cope with "their new lives."To improve her skills, particularly regarding home care, she completed an intensive, six-month training course given by Catholic AIDS Action. At the MPC, Moureen established a support group, which continues to meet twice a week. She began with three interested individuals, which quickly grew to 15. Heartbreakingly, six have died.
Moureen was frequently requested as a guest speaker for motivational speeches, and provided HIV/AIDS awareness/education sessions to fishing company workers (an important industry in the region).
Her love and concern went beyond those stricken with or at risk from the disease, which so poignantly affected her life. Moureen worked with disabled children and provided adult literacy lessons to TB patients. Since 1987, The Africa Prize has been given in recognition of those who have exhibited exceptional leadership in improving the well being of Africa’s people. Moureen Katjatako was a nominee for the year 2001.
During April 2002, Moureen spent 3 weeks in hospital, fighting the virus which was raging in her body. When discharged, she proudly stated "I thought the virus would kill me, but I fought it off with all my might."In early May, Moureen decided to return to her rural village to spend time with her mother and family. With no access to resources or finances, her condition slowly deteriorated and on the 11th July 2002, Moureen`s strong spirit finally ebbed away. Her death seems to have given the support group which she founded even greater determination to help themselves and to initiate projects to help others at risk. Moureen`s place is sadly missed, but the MPC is left with many treasured memories and fond thoughts of her.
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A Red Ribbon Across Namibia
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Introduction
The Kunene Region in northwestern Namibia is a place of stark beauty; a place of wide vistas filled with rugged mountains and fascinating geological formations. The unique natural environment supports the world`s only population of desert dwelling elephant and black rhino. In addition to its natural splendor the region is known for its rich cultural diversity. Here is found, among other indigenous peoples, the Ovahimba, one of the last groups in Africa to practice a nomadic lifestyle. Since independence in 1990, the beauty of its people and landscape has attracted visitors from every corner of the globe seeking adventure in one of the last remaining wilderness areas.
In contrast to its beauty is the harsh reality of survival in such an arid climate where there is no surface water and little opportunity for agriculture. The people reside on communal land and are dependant upon subsistence livestock farming. The region is home to the Herero, Damara and Ovahimba people and during apartheid rule was both marginalized and inaccessible. Under democratic rule, development in these areas has increased and changes are taking place. For example, community-based natural resource management and eco-tourism are offering new development and entrepreneurial opportunities.
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The Looming Threat of HIV/AIDS
As in other areas of Namibia, inhabitants face the devastating health and social effects of HIV/AIDS. HIV prevalence in Namibia is one of the highest in the world. The 2002 antenatal statistics indicate that 22.3% of the population is HIV positive. Because Kunene has the lowest rate of infection in the country at 9%, it is an ideal region in which to work to contain the disease at lower infection levels.
Ombetja Yehinga, meaning "Red Ribbon,"is a USAID-supported HIV/AIDS awareness project which has targeted 62 schools in the Kunene and Erongo Regions in partnership with the Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture. Through a participatory process, teachers and learners are sensitized to the threat of the disease, as well as to the need for care and support of the affected. Through the program, students form clubs which devote time to writing songs, dramas and poems about HIV in order to reach other youth. From the success of their productions performed locally and in the capital city of Windhoek, the idea developed to produce short video films using students as actors.
"Love Can Cry"is one of the products. The film consists of five short clips, each addressing some aspect of HIV/AIDS in Namibia. The film highlights the choices available for young people to protect themselves, the role youth can play in raising awareness within their own communities, the tragedy of suicide and the pain of losing parents to the disease. The clips are artistically crafted - the contrast of black and white punctuated by a single red figure, warm sepia tones interspersed with words, and all filled with song. "Love Can Cry"was written and directed by Dr. Phillipe Talavera, Director of Ombetja Yehinga. Each clip was filmed at a different school by students of the HIV/AIDS awareness clubs. It was launched in Windhoek and shown on national television for World AIDS Day.
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A Message for the People
"Love Can Cry"was the only Namibian film of 20 shown at the Panafrican Film and Television Festival in Burkina Faso in February 2003. With support from USAID, Indiana Gowases, a 19-year old who acted in another film about children orphaned by AIDS, represented "Love Can Cry"at the festival along with the project director and his film assistant. Indiana completed high school last year at Outjo Secondary School and was a member of the school’s AIDS Awareness Club during the production of the film.
Indiana was thrilled to travel to Ouagadougou, a four-day journey from her home. It was her first plane flight and her first visit outside of Namibia. Upon arrival in Burkina Faso there were many new experiences awaiting her — language barriers, and a fast-paced and densely populated capital city, very different from anything in Namibia.
"Love Can Cry"was presented on two occasions and Indiana said that the audience was receptive. "The message got through to them,"she noted with pride.
The success of "Love Can Cry,"both at the film festival and in Namibia has been an inspiration to Indiana. "It is really an honor for me to tell people about this disease and actually see that they are listening to us."She is grateful for the opportunity she was given — it taught her new things, gave her more self-confidence and encouraged her to do things she never thought possible. She returned to Namibia with a continuing desire to broaden her horizons.
"Love Can Cry"was also shown at the Tokyo Africa Film Festival in Japan in September 2003 along with 100 other invited HIV/AIDS films. It is expected that the film will be distributed to schools throughout Japan along with a teaching guide for use in the classroom.
USAID funding supports the innovative and high quality work of Ombetja Yehinga. The film has given students from the Kunene region the opportunity to express their experience with HIV/AIDS in their own words, not only with other Namibian students, but with the rest of the world.
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