Report: HCC PEER EDUCATORS TRAINING WORKHOP

BACKGROUND

Mumbai District AIDS Control Society (MDACS), in collaboration with Hindustan Construction Company’s (HCC) Corporate Social Responsibility Sector, organised a two-day peer educator training program on HIV/AIDS advocacy for HCC’s blue collared employees in the Naval Base, Navy Nagar, Mumbai.

OBJECTIVES

• The key objective of the workshop was to train participants as peer educators.
• To train peer educators to be equipped to disseminate HIV related knowledge acquired at the workshop to peers and co-workers.
• To train peer educators to reach out to their co-workers when in need of assistance for HIV related queries or situations.
• To tackle and reduce stigma and discrimination towards HIV-positive people, particularly in the workplace and among co-workers.

WORKSHOP AGENDA

Day 1: 11am -5pm

• Introduction to program
• Basics of HIV/AIDS
• Card game – Q&A format game with HIV/AIDS questions
• Condom Demonstration
• Video on stigma

Day 2: 11am – 4pm 

• Short film
• Q&A about characters in the film
• Role play
• Discussion on how these peer educators are going to disseminate knowledge among their co-workers

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WORKSHOP

1. The 16 participants who attended the workshop were from different cultural and work backgrounds and this would facilitate wider dissemination of information and would break both language and status barriers. There were Maharashtrians, South Indians and North Indians who had different job profiles ranging from mechanic, driver, technician, construction, medical, watchman as well as the store worker.

2. The speaker Mrs. Shaila Gokhale was both very experienced and knowledgeable in the field and she had a very humble approach with the peer educators that enhanced the quality of the sessions.

3. The facilitator Mrs. Hemangi Patel managed the program very well, and was very thorough in her method of training, not leaving any question unanswered or wasting any time.

4. The positive speaker Meena Maraskole gave a comprehensive and touching account of her experience with AIDS and held the participants captive with her story and her zest for life. This was one of the best sessions of the day and accomplished much more than a third person account of AIDS as well as giving participants a chance to clear inhibitions and fears (touching, sharing the same space or the same cup) with a Positive person.

5. The format of the sessions were more effective when the participants worked in groups and were interspersed with both activities and interactive question answer rounds that cleared doubts and introduced complex information in a simpler way to grasp.

6. The Q&A round saw a great participation and clarification of misconceptions as well as new learning that took place. The marking system introduced a healthy spirit of competition and encouraged the participants to give their best answers

7. The role of the peer educator was greatly stressed through both the days, practical tips were given and relevant examples were used. The importance of being a peer educator, being given an opportunity to save people’s lives was reinforced at the beginning of the session that motivated participants.

8. The rapport shared among the participants was very genuine and coupled with the personal skills of both the speakers (patiently listening, encouraging responding, stimulating them to think, clear instructions) created an atmosphere conducive to learning. Logistically the room was well equipped and not too large that facilitated group cohesiveness and sharing.

9. The speaker began with a very good exercise (closing your eyes and distancing yourself from your construction site and preparing yourself for the session) that was very effective to get the participants mentally in the classroom.

10. There was time spent in clarifying doubts and questions about employment in the company if positive and the stigma associated with the knowledge of the positive status. Mrs Hemangi Patil clarified that the status would remain confidential and that there would be no negative consequences like termination or isolation from peers.

11. Video on stigma and discrimination was both effective in bringing out the message as well as acting as a guideline for how peer educators need to spread the message of sensitivity and acceptance of HIV positive people. Condom demonstration served to both disseminate information and clear doubts about condom usage as well as encourage everyone to use a condom, stressing its importance. The participants also got a chance for hands on experience that made the learning experience more real.

12. Short Film added star value to the proceedings. The audience watched film with rapt attention. Movie was very effective as many of the participants identified with the characters and the situations and learnt a lot from the movie that emphasized being faithful, going to be tested without fear and the ways to handle an HIV positive person.

13. The session on Non-verbal Communication was both important and essential for a proper dissemination of information. The participants learnt not only the message but the way it was put was very important. The final goal was to speak effectively and encourage as many people to go be tested but never to force individuals and to build strength and support in individuals who are HIV positive.

14. The confidence of the peer educators and their non-verbal skills were put to test by the role plays where they enacted out condom demonstrations in a make believe situation. The purpose of the communication skills was put to practice and students had a deeper understanding of their importance. Eg: telling the peers not to be afraid of testing when the fear is evident in their own voice.

15. There were many tips and concrete ways to disseminate information and each participant was given both the information printed for reference anytime as well as posters, pads and a kit with condoms to attach around their waist.

CONCLUSION

The workshop had excellent content with experienced trainers on board. It was obvious from the recap sessions that the audience had understand the information imparted to them. They also participated enthusiastically, in all the interaction that was made available to them. They could recall all the key messages when they were put to the test.

IMPACT

• While most of the participants already knew of HIV/AIDS, their knowledge of the disease increased during the two day training and they found all the sessions informative and liked in particular the short film and Meena Maraskole’s talk and were enthusiastic about going out and disseminating information and being peer educators.
• The session ended on a very positive note as a head of the HCC wrote a poem on HIV/AIDS and its troubles associated with it- stigma, discrimination and encouraged all to be strong and to live their lives as best as possible.
• There was a personal sharing by another HCC head who told of an experience where he was a support and friend to an HIV colleague who wanted to commit suicide and now is the Assistant VP of a company.
• The participants were happy to know of the perk of asking for a transfer to a state of their choice within HCC due to the fact that they were peer educators now.
• The peer educators were also introduced to their colleagues on the site as persons to approach for help regarding HIV/AIDS by the officials of MDACS (Mr Vijay Ajanikar) and Mrs Patil which solidified their status in the group and instilled in them a feeling of responsibility.

Report: FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS WITH RRC YOUTH

BACKGROUND

Young people aged between 10 and 24 years represent 30% of India’s total population. Over 35% of all reported AIDS cases in the country occur among those in the age group of 15-24 years indicating that young people are not only at high risk of contracting HIV infection but already constitute a significant percentage of people living with HIV/AIDS.

There is growing evidence of early onset of sexual activity among young people in India. Studies in different cities show that almost 10% of young women and 15-30% of young men indulge in premarital sex. Research suggests that young people who become sexually active during adolescence are more likely to have sex with high risk partners or multiple partners. Early sexual debut of Indian women is generally in the context of marriage while young men become sexually active by the age of 16-19 years.

A survey reports that at a national level although 86% of youth were aware of either HIV or AIDS, only two-thirds among them reported that the disease can be prevented by consistent condom use and by having one faithful uninfected sex partner. Only 28% have reported comprehensive correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS. This proportion was relatively higher for 20-24 age group (30%) compared to the 15-19 years age group (27%).

National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) in India has focused its efforts on youth over the years using multi-pronged approach like mass media; specific life skills / HIV-AIDS education programme in schools, colleges and workplace; and innovative interventions for school drop-outs. Relevant messages on safe sex, sexuality and relationships have been developed and disseminated via posters, booklets, panels, hoardings and printed material. YUVA (Youth Unite for Victory on AIDS) and Red Ribbon Club (RRC) are two such initiatives taken by NACO to provide access to youth.

Till date, Mumbai District AIDS Control Society has formed Red Ribbon Clubs in more than 200 colleges in the city of Mumbai. Being the end of another academic year, an exploratory research was conducted with youth from RRCs with an objective of understanding their experience with the RRC in the current year (2011-2012) and assessing their engagement in the host of MDACS-organized youth events in the city. The activity also aimed to identify HIV/AIDS related knowledge and attitudes of the youth before and after their involvement with the RRC.

A total of 14 participants were interviewed using focus group discussions. Participants were RRC student leaders in their respective colleges and were randomly selected during a RRC annual review meeting held at MDACS. Participants were requested for their consent after which they were asked to join a group discussion in the training hall facilitated by the moderator. All participants were members of the NSS.

KEY THEMES THAT EMERGED FROM THE DISCUSSION

1. Basic motivation of the students for joining RRC
2. Initial experience in the RRC compared to their current experience at the end of the year
3. Students knowledge levels about HIV/AIDS
4. Participation in and experience of the RRC events
5. Impact of RRC in their respective colleges

BASIC MOTIVATION OF THE STUDENTS FOR JOINING RRC

• The majority voted their faculty or an inspiring senior who was their motivation to join the Red Ribbon Club. Participants shared that in most colleges faculty played an important role in convincing them to join the club and conduct the array of HIV/AIDS related awareness activities within their college and the community.
• Most participants shared that apart from their professors and seniors, the array of interesting activities also excited them to be a part of the RRC, especially interactive modes like street plays and community events.
• A few participants also stated that they joined the RRC not out of personal interest but as it was a part of the NSS. However these youth also added that even though they may have looked at the RRC as a social involvement programme at the start, their outlook has changed over the year and they sense a feeling of achievement now.

INITIAL EXPERIENCE IN THE RRC COMPARED TO THEIR CURRENT EXPERIENCE AT THE END OF THE YEAR

• All participants shared that their personal experience with the RRC has been positive right from the start however they did talk about the initial reactions that they received from their peers (other student members/non-members). “We came across a lot of students who weren’t interested in joining the RRC. They looked at it as a purely NSS effort and would often give the RRC a ‘social work’ label. However we have seen these perspectives change over the year. Many students who have joined the RRC with disinterest at the start finished the year with a changed attitude on RRC and HIV/AIDS.”
• Most participants shared that towards the end of the year, each one of the core members (at least) gained tremendously not only in terms of being more knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS, but also with respect to their confidence, public speaking skills and overall personality development.
• Students who would initially shy away from speaking in front of a group were now able to perform fearlessly in front of a crowd and they enjoyed this process.
• Few expressed that they did face difficulties while organizing certain events. Under these circumstances, they also learned how to tackle a difficult situation and solve it.
• A program’s effectiveness becomes evident when it not only achieves its set objectives but is also able to transform its beneficiaries in a way such that the program could become sustainable. These students have not only fulfilled their roles as RRC leaders in their respective colleges but also try to spread this awareness outside their campus.

STUDENTS KNOWLEDGE LEVELS ABOUT HIV/AIDS

• All participants unanimously agreed that students in their colleges had heard about HIV/AIDS prior to the RRC activities. However most of them were only aware of the sexual transmission of the disease. Very few could list all modes of transmission.
• Apart from misconceptions, another element that continues to exist among the students is varying levels of stigma. Participants also shared that if it took them almost a year to completely understand HIV and the trauma of the inflicted, they could not expect students from college to get rid of the innate stigma by just one event or one street play. These changes in attitudes take time.
• Another student said that, “The IYD was an excellent platform for us students to interact with people from the community and spread awareness through interactive channels like street plays and competitions; however we would like to see the impact of our efforts. We would want to conduct a follow-up in these communities, as this knowledge has to be built on.”
• Overall one can infer that RRC has increased the general awareness and knowledge about HIV/AIDS among the youth but in further interventions there has to be a focus on clearing misconceptions and emphasizing on stigma reduction.

PARTICIPATION IN AND EXPERIENCE OF THE RRC EVENTS

• They spoke about events like the blood drive which tested their planning and organizational skills. Most of the students reported a successful blood drive & collected 20-30 bottles of blood at a minimum. One participant said, “Donating blood is viewed as a positive thing to do and is well appreciated by others. Hence most students do not hesitate to come and donate blood. It does not have any negative undertones.”
• All the students reported participating in the IYD events including the college (condom man game) and community (Mandal) events. Most participants felt that the condom man game was an exciting and creative way of getting across the message of protection and prevention from HIV/AIDS. They even added that a few of their professors showed their support by standing next to the condom man cut out and posing for pictures.
• Most participants wanted to share their success stories revolving around the Ganesh Mandal event. The Mandal event had helped increase the confidence of the students, especially the girls who had had no opportunity to step outside their college premises. They had developed tremendous confidence after interacting with the Mandal officials, mobilizing crowds and performing street plays.
• Another participant shared that through the community IYD event, they got to interact with school children from the age group of 5-8th grade. Towards the end of their three day efforts in the community, they manage to educate these young minds about HIV/AIDS.
• All participants shared that for each community event/competition they drew a crowd of 50-100 people. For events like street play, there was usually a big crowd of people from mixed age groups, both male and female.
• One participant spoke about his interesting experience during the community Mandal event. He said that their Mandal was located right outside Kandivali Station hence they had a huge crowd of 300 people gathered round their troupe that was performing the street play. He also added that right next to the Mandal there was a hotel where commercial sex workers and migrants frequented. It was a known spot for soliciting sex especially in the later hours of the day. It was interesting to see that women and men from the hotel also gathered to watch the play and they took along Saadhan cards at the end of the play.
• The IYD finale was also appreciated particularly the quiz as it not only tested the knowledge levels of the participants’ on stage but also spread knowledge among the participants who were hooked to their seats viewing the LCD screens with the questions and trying to guess the answers among their friends. This was a creative and enriching way of learning about HIV/AIDS almost normalizing the disease with this kind of an approach.

IMPACT OF RRC

• RRC students have not only gained correct information about HIV/AIDS; but they also play a key role in counseling their peers in college about various misconceptions related to HIV/AIDS as well as sex and sexuality.
• A number of misconceptions were also cleared. The RRC members were able to help their peers with the knowledge they had acquired during workshops. A common misconception is about using ‘I Pill’. “Ladke condom nahin pehente hain kyunki voh sochte hain ki sex ke baad ladki I pill le sakti hain aur phir kuchh nahin hoga.” This situation is being dealt with the right knowledge provided to both boys and girls.
• Students have multiple queries when it comes to sexuality and these are not resolved at home as discussing sexuality is considered forbidden in most Indian homes whether urban or rural. This is where the RRC members step in. They are able to talk comfortably on the subject of sex, sexuality and HIV/AIDS with their peers, especially armed with the correct knowledge provided to them.
• One participant shared that they have a drop box for HIV/AIDS related queries where students are allowed to drop in their doubts in chits without revealing their identity. These chits are then discussed in group sessions that are conducted once a while. Though a sizeable portion of questions are misconceptions related to HIV/AIDS majority of the doubts are related to sex and sexuality. This implies that youth are engaging or have an intent to explore their sexuality hence need correct information and guidance to prevent them from engaging in high-risk behavior which could also put them at a risk for HIV.
• Interactive channels like street plays and outdoor events were enjoyed by most students and also rated as the most enriching element of the RRC. Participants shared that the street play training giving to them during the peer educators’ workshop was very interesting and effective. It has not only helped them conduct events successfully but also helped many students overcome their fear of speaking in public and made them more confident.
• Most participants felt that the talk/seminar conducted by the positive speaker as organized by MDACS was the most touching and effective element of the RRC. This helped them to understand HIV and those infected even better and helped to reduce stigma and increase acceptance among students.

Report: MUMBAI PORT TRUST - Refreshers Training Workshop

Introduction

A few years ago, MDACS collaborated with the Mumbai Port Trust and organised a HIV/AIDS workplace intervention wherein staff from various departments were trained as master trainers, i.e., they had the role and responsibility to interact with, and disseminate information about HIV/AIDS, HIV-transmission and other related topics to other staffers from MPT, by organising talks and events in their various subsidiary offices and sites.

The main agenda of this particular programme was to tackle workplace discrimination towards HIV-positive workers and to de-stigmatise workplace attitude towards HIV and AIDS, and in a broader context, safe, sexual behaviour.

The present workshop was a 2-day refresher course for the master trainers; to evaluate the on-going workplace intervention and strategize the plan for future interventions, and to also gauge feedback from regarding their experiences, grievances and suggestion.

Agenda of the current workshop included:

• Revision of HIV and testing of knowledge
• Behaviour Change Communication
• Medico-Legal aspects of HIV/ AIDS
• Sharing experiences through presentations by participants

Participants were from different departments from the company including Chief Mechanical Engineers, Civil Engineers, Medical, Accounts, Secretarial, and Finance. The trainees numbered at approx. 18-20 persons, with 6 women and the rest men.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WORKSHOP

1. The programme was very well planned with adequate breaks to ensure that the target audience never lost their attention. Games were also included to entertain the folks. The presentations were made very well with the right audio-visual equipment.
2. There was a lot of group interaction and discussion, making the session very lively and interesting.
3. The work environment was very conducive to learning and the rapport that the workers share was exceptional. The participants were very involved during the whole day and interacted extensively through questions, discussions and debates as well as the games organized for them. Their prior knowledge of HIV/AIDS was very good.
4. Both speakers explained technical terms and aspects and at the same time spoke about practical ways in which one can deal with a problem situation.
5. The first speaker spoke on BCC and had excellent skills of involving the audience throughout his presentation through relevant examples and asking for feedback constantly. He also managed to skillfully show them the errors they could make in judgement and in their usage of technical terms while explaining about the disease.
6. Second speaker Nitu Sandhya’s talk revolved around 3 important elements of informed consent, stigma and discrimination, and confidentiality. The speaker managed to generate healthy discussions without letting audience discussions get out of control.
7. This talk encouraged the trainees to bring out an important issue of how medical files of PLHAs were transported carelessly in the offices; even certain erroneous practices at BPT like writing someone’s status details on the covers, referral papers etc. were brought into light by the trainees. At the end of her session, Nitu Sandhya had a small discussion of remedial provisions which the master trainers could use for future interventions in and outside their workplace.
8. Both sessions included a lot of open discussion, role plays and situational analysis that increased learning. Revision and clarification of wrong terms and misconceptions was effective, useful and practical.
9. The situational questions and examples brought about an awareness of participants’ personal conflicting emotions. Eg: we can’t teach values but can only teach about protection although we strive to preserve our culture in other ways, peer educators can’t afford to be moralizing to conduct BCC.

IMPACT

• This intervention has gone beyond a volunteering task and is now a social responsibility for each of the trainers. They are educating peers in the workplace as well as their assigned community areas and even go beyond these boundaries by talking about HIV/AIDS to family members, friends.
• The event content, delivery by the trainers, question & answer sessions, audience participation, audience recall of key messages and the total organization of the event were all nothing short of excellent. This made the event a total success with the target audience taking back with them a whole lot of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and its prevention, testing and treatment.
• The future proceedings were also planned well in advance as the MDACS team sat together with the Mumbai Port Trust team and put together a plan of action.

Report: Advocacy Workshops for BEST Employees

BACKGROUND

Mumbai District AIDS Control Society (MDACS), in collaboration with BEST workers’ welfare department, organised 8 workshops on HIV/AIDS advocacy for its employees in 8 different venues across the city.

The purpose of the workshop was to disseminate information and knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS, the transmission and prevention of HIV, and sensitising the participants towards HIV and those affected by it. One of the objectives of the workshop was also to tackle stigma and discrimination towards HIV+ve people, particularly in the workplace and among co-workers.

AGENDA

• Basics of HIV/AIDS: Transmission, Prevention & Debunking myths
• Treatment and Care related services
• Condom Demonstration                                                                                                
• Sexually Transmitted Infections
• HIV/AIDS related Stigma & Discrimination

Sessions covering each of the above topics were planned to be interspersed with audio-visual spots.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WORKSHOPS

1. High turnout of participants was a great plus point as people turned up in large numbers including traffic staff, bus conductors, drivers, apprentices, BEST officials and bureaucrats.

2. Positive Speaker Mrs. Suman Tiwari spoke about modes of transmission, HIV testing, ART therapy, followed by HIV/AIDS related stigma and discrimination. She cited hypothetical situations to make the information quite clear to the audience. There was also a lot of interaction as she threw questions at the crowd. The audience was quite enthusiastic in their response.

3. The Key Speaker Mr. Patwardhan touched on related topics while he also discussed more interesting themes such as Prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Maharashtra; the difference between HIV and AIDS; the taboo on sex and sexuality particularly among the youth and the importance of protection. He also interacted a lot with the audience while discussing the common myths surrounding HIV/AIDS.

4. The audience paid total attention during the workshop and were able to grasp almost everything that was put forth to them.

5. Normalizing use of condoms: While talking about modes of transmission, Mrs Gokhale also explained the context of “unsafe” sex practices, like having sex with a known/known person, sex workers, and so forth. She discussed about the “need” for sexual activity by migrant workers who “stay away from their homes” for a long period, and that such need for “physical (sexual) relations was normal”. In a way, she normalized sexual activity, highlighting the need for using condoms all the time.

6. HIV Testing: When discussing HIV testing, Mrs Gokhale shared that during operations or other health procedures, our blood does get tested for HIV irrespective of the stigma. Thus, she critiqued the notion of stigma, and added that the test is the only way one could know if they’re positive or not.

7. Positive Speaker Mr. James conducted Condom Demonstration in an interactive manner. Condoms were distributed among participants and they were involved in this session. Speaker also spoke about myths related to condom practices and shared correct and technical details about condom use and disposal.

8. The impact of the session was so good, that after James ended his talk, many young employees from the audience came forward and interacted with him. They shook hands and surrounded James with questions and queries, highlighting the breakdown of any stigma related inhibition.

9. A street play was performed at the end of the workshop. This element generated a lot of crowd and curiosity. Even workers who had not attended the workshop were present and listened to the actors with attention.

10. Saadhan Helpline cards were distributed.

11. Question and Answer sessions were conducted with the audience thereby increasing their awareness.

IMPACT

• Most of the respondents said that they have heard of HIV/AIDS before this workshop, mostly in the science textbooks in school, and among their peers. But they were not aware of the difference between HIV and AIDS until today’s session; one reason of thinking so is because the words are clubbed together most often in discussions, advertisements etc.
• Everyone found the workshop to be informative and said that they did “receive knowledge on the disease”; when asked if such workshops are effective, they replied in the positive saying that it is “required at the school level”. In terms of efficiency, most common responses reported were – Workshop changed their perspective about “sex”.
• The audience agreed that stigma exists in society and indicated that many of them also are apprehensive regarding the same. “Befriending and interacting” with an HIV-positive person could help in tackling social perceptions, but may also lead to them being stigmatised. But it is interventions such as these that will reduce fear and stigma.
• Most of them responded positively to the message and the theme, saying that “spreading awareness is important”, and that now, because of proper knowledge being disseminated, there is a “decrease in misconceptions” in the minds of the people. They also said that they would “like to help them (PLHA) now” and said that having a “support system for them” is very important.

Report: Monitoring RRCs in Colleges

Poster created during the competition

Introduction

This monitoring was conducted from November 4 to 14, 2011 at the following colleges

1. Jai Hind College
2. Ruia College
3. SIES College for Commerce & Economics
4. KJ Somaiya College of Arts & Commerce
5. KJ Somaiya College of Science
6. SK Somaiya College
7. Dhahanukar College
8. Sathaye College
9. MD College
10. Chetna College
11. MMK College
12. Sophia College
13. NM College
14. Bhaudas Vartak College
15. Bhavan’s College

Many events were conducted at these colleges to increase knowledge and awareness of HIV/AIDS and also to make sure that the students knew enough to increase and spread awareness amongst their peers.

Seminar on HIV/AIDS

THE CODE FOR RRC EVENTS:

1. Friendship Day
2. International Youth Day
a.    College Event
b.   Community Event
3. Seminar on HIV/AIDS & Services
4. Seminar on Stigma & Discrimination
5. ICTC/Blood Bank Visit
6. Competitions

WORKSHOP

Friendship Day

A workshop was conducted in each college. The students were impressed with the technical knowledge that they acquired about HIV/AIDS. The condom demo that was conducted helped them relate to the concept comfortably. It helped normalize their perceptions regarding condoms.

The workshop helped clear a number of misconceptions among the students and also brought along key information to those present. The workshop helped the RRC members deal much better with queries from the students.

MEMBERSHIP

A membership drive was promoted at all the colleges bringing together a number of students who were keen on being a part of the RRC.

EVENTS

IEC Material on display

The RRC members conducted Street Plays to bring awareness to the public. They also held competitions that brought about more awareness amongst the youth. IEC materials were displayed at prominent areas in the colleges carrying important messages regarding condom use and other precautions to be followed to prevent HIV/AIDS.

RRCs displayed the Condom Cutouts given to the colleges and many of the students enthusiastically took pictures along with the cutout and posted their pictures on facebook Condom Mera Dost page, increasing awareness virally.

Students in a procession on IYD

Many posters were created during the poster competition and these were displayed for everyone to see bringing forth more messages and the visual appeal made sure that everyone understood the messages correctly.

IMPACT

• Students insist that RRC has made it comfortable to discuss issues like HIV/AIDS.
• Students are motivated to take awareness campaign out of college in the larger society.
• Students say that RRC gave them an opportunity to network among youth their age and discuss HIV comfortably.
• RRC in the college has helped to sensitize and educate students
• The students felt that the RRC events were effective; they could see a change in awareness levels among students. And the fear of HIV/AIDS was reduced as students come and ask questions and take active part in RRC activities.
• RRC has helped to increase technical knowledge about HIV/AIDS among students
• Through RRC, there has been a change in students – ‘more knowledge & less stigmatization’.

SOME OUTSTANDING EFFORTS PUT IN BY RRCs

Reaching to Children of FSW – RRC of JAI HIND COLLEGE

RRC students from Jai Hind College have been organizing a 1 day excursion for children of Female Sex Workers on World AIDS Day. This event is slowly becoming a tradition with the RRC team planning this trip again this year.

RRC team of Jai Hind feels that apart from the agenda given by MDACS, they need to conduct activities and reach out to target groups in the community. When planning this excursion, they first identify an NGO who has networks with the FSW community and after meeting the children, they plan a day long excursion in the city of Mumbai.

Poster Competition

Children are taken in a bus along with RRC volunteers to various spots in the city, games are conducted for them and finally the entire troupe enjoys a meal together. This effort is a positive sign of mainstreaming of HIV/AIDS with the youth of Jai Hind setting a big example for the other RRCs to follow.

Reaching out to Youth of other colleges in Mumbai – RRC of SOPHIA COLLEGE

RRC of Sophia College conducted the following 2 HIV/AIDS awareness activities in their intercollegiate event:

Street Play

1. Game Stall: At a stall put up, a game regarding HIV/AIDS awareness was played , and participants were offered prizes for getting the answers right. Through this activity, they were able to reach people from different colleges as well. Their professors also actively participated in this activity. Around 300 people took part in this event.
2. Volunteers made paper bags with information about AIDS and MDACS on them. These bags were then given to kiranas and other shops.

RRC also distributed questionnaires to the first year senior college students to assess their knowledge about HIV/AIDS. They found that their knowledge levels were quite good.

They have an AIDS awareness program for students from junior college every year, which is attended by around 600 students. They also come out with a newsletter that publishes informative articles and stories about HIV/AIDS.

Report: STREET PLAY REVIEW

Introduction

Street Play is a very effective medium when it comes to spreading messages. The visual appeal and the dialogues spoken remain in the audience’s memory. This is especially useful while spreading messages to the  public who cannot read as they cannot get their information from reading newspapers or books.

Street Plays are planned well in advance and are conducted in crowded areas after gathering a large number of people to watch the same. It is like giving medicine with a sugar coating as in the not so pleasant message is buried within a storyline and acted out by troupes to ensure that the message reaches out to everyone.

Four different troupes were used by MDACS for performing Street Plays.

ASAR GROUP

This troupe performed a play called Raja Pradhan. Through this medium, they delivered to large audiences, key messages like modes of transmission of HIV/AIDS, misconceptions surrounding them and the services available such as ICTC, ART AND Saadhan Helpline.

The troupe leader was very particular about choosing the correct locations after discussing the same with MDACS personnel as they had to reach out to the right target audience.

The artistes wore colourful costumes while they used songs and music to attract the public. They chose strategic locations, mobilized a big audience and ensured that the crowd got engrossed in their performance. Comedy played a big part in the script, keeping the audiences interested till the end.

During the performance, the troupe members made sure that the audience got the message that a testing van was waiting nearby to help the public present. More than anything, the artistes maintained a great level of energy to keep the crowd entertained as well as be informed about the messages that they were imparting about HIV/AIDS.

DHWANI CREATIONS

With a good mix of young and older performers, troupe managed to give an effective performance. The troupe really focused on the issue and this was evident in their performance. They got people interested from the start and maintained their interest till the end. Even though respondents did not possess much technical knowledge on HIV/AIDS before the play, they seemed to recall correct facts about transmission after the play.

The troupe had a migrant oriented script “Budhiya”. This worked to their advantage as the target audience was migrants and the audience related to the main character and his life story. Language used was very fluid Hindi which worked very well with the target group i.e. Migrants.

Good use of instruments like harmonium and dhol accompanied with songs that build curiosity and gathered a lot of people all of their plays, an average of 45-60 people.

The troupe consisted of both youth and veterans alike. They managed to keep the audience hooked to the play till the very end.

EKTA GROUP

The theme used by this trip was to give the message of safety during blood donation. The public was quite aware of donating blood. But most of them have no idea of the importance of taking the right precautions. Ekta Group performed a street play that brought this message clearly to the public. They ensured that their audience were thorough with the knowledge of what they should take care of before, during and after blood donation.

Most of the artistes in this troupe are young with a lot of potential. They were very effective in imparting the message to their target audience. 40 units of blood were collected immediately after a performance.

MAYBOLI

The theme used by this troupe for their street play for Blood Donation. The troupe artistes were quite confident and gave a good performance, keeping their audiences interested till the end. They also managed to get the message across about the importance of blood donation and its after effects.

IMPACT

• The street plays performed by these troupes help get across a number of messages to the public. Most of the people from the audience managed to recall the key message imparted during the performance.
• The artistes’ interactions with the audience helped persuade the latter to get tested or donate blood as was possible after each performance.