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| Street Play at different venues |
Objective:
• To raise awareness about HIV/AIDS
• To reach out to the community and cover as large a population as possible
• To celebrate International Youth Day in the true sense, by involving the youth community throughout Mumbai
Theme:
RRC Members to reach out to school community / slum population
Goal:
• Cut across education , economic and social barriers
1. All classes
2. Educated and Uneducated
3. Rich and Poor
• Empower and educate youth to become change agents
Strategy:
• Mobilize urban youth to influence slum youth and thus bring about true community upliftment
• To be most effective, MDACS will use the support of existing partners
1. RRCs
2. NGOs
• Ganpati Mandals – A key active youth group during this season, will be educated and activated as strategic partners to RRCs so that message can spread both:
THE WORK THAT WENT BEHIND THE SCENES:
MDACS was instrumental in bringing together PPTCT NGOs, Ganpati Mandals and RRCs under one platform to promote awareness of safe sex and usage of condoms.
STEP 1
• To begin with, the NGOs were thoroughly briefed and they were mapped area-wise.
• The NGOs came up with lists of Ganpati Mandals in their areas.
• On approval by MDACS, the NGOs went and met the Mandal organizers.
STEP 2
• The RRCs (Red Ribbon Clubs) were briefed on conducting the various activities at the Ganpati Mandals.
• NGOs and RRCs were brought together in a common meeting for a briefing session.
• 10 RRCs were allocated for every NGO to ensure that the activities were conducted smoothly.
• Contacts of the Mandal organisers were exchanged.
STEP 3
• RRCs met the Ganpati Mandal organizers and explained the 3-day fest to be conducted during the IYD Month.
• Community RRCs were formed with honorary members from the Ganpati Mandals. They were issued ID cards for the 3-day period of the activity.
• College RRCs & Community RRCs got together to organize the 3-day festival at the various Ganpati Mandals.
• A week prior to the activity, posters were put up at the Ganpati Mandals announcing the 3-day festival along with dates.
3-DAY FESTIVAL
The 3-day festival was planned in the following manner:
Day 1 - Education on HIV
1. Street Play
• A group of volunteers brought together a number of people from the public by mobilizing them using the dhol
• Once people were mobilized, the Street Play was acted out
• At the end of the street play, the actors mixed in with the crowd and asked them five questions that related to the play. This was mainly interaction that brought about awareness on HIV/AIDS
2. Orientation through Card Game
• Flashcards were used for playing a game. These cards had random questions and answers on HIV/AIDS. This was basically to test their knowledge and give the public the correct gyaan.
3. Competition - Stencil cutting
• All those who were interested in the competition were given cardboard stencils and were asked to cut their messages on HIV/AIDS on them. The best cut cardboard was to be given a prize.
Day 1 concluded with an announcement on what could be expected on Day 2 and the time for assembling.
Day 2 - Competition on the HIV/AIDS Theme
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| The contestants are busy during the Stencil Cutting Competition |
1. Poster Competition
The Poster Competition was conducted between 2 pm & 4 pm. The theme was ‘Apni Suraksha Apnon Ke Liye’.
2. Stencil Painting
The best of the stencil cardboards that were cut on Day 1 were used for stencil painting, thus bringing the slogans on HIV/AIDS to the attention of the public that came to visit the Ganpati Mandals.
3. Placards
Placards were made between 5 pm & 7 pm as part of the activities on Day 2.
Day 3 - Finale
1. Poster Exhibition
• A specific area was selected for the prize distribution ceremony on Day 3 – Finale.
• The posters that were created the earlier day were displayed prominently in the area so as to catch the eye of the public.
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| Youth posing with Condom Poster with the message 'Mujhse Dosti Karoge?' |
• A rally was conducted on this day after mobilizing a large crowd.
• The 2-hour rally culminated at the area where the closing ceremony was to be conducted.
• The placards that were created the earlier day were used during the rally with crowds carrying them prominently for all the people to see.
3. Graffiti wall
• A Graffiti wall was created at the prize distribution venue.
• The participants were invited to write what they learned during the festival in just one line.
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| Prize Distribution |
• RRC members hosted this event
• An important VIP was invited to give a speech at Ganpati Mandal
• A Street Play was put up by college students
• Certificate and chocolates were given to 3 winners for each competition
The whole programme was completed with a Vote of Thanks to everyone who participated.
The following is a list of some of the Ganpati Mandals that participated in the event:
Impact:
1. Mandals were very cooperative. Even though the festival is quite religious, the mandals were quite open to tie up with MDACS for such an activity.
2. The RRCs students were enthusiastic and went in large groups to take part in the activities.
3. On the basis of the guidelines that were presented, they innovated quite a lot.
There was a Monitoring and Evaluation exercise that was conducted through which we have captured the impact. Below are details for how we went about it
Objectives of M&E:
• Assess if the event was conducted as per plan
• Assess the event organization & performance value
• Assess reach and impact of event on the masses
METHODS:
Two methods including structured observation and post-street play interviews were employed for monitoring and evaluating community events.
Street plays were the only sub event after which interviews were conducted as this was the core information dissemination event and had maximum number of audience. Respondents selected were a heterogeneous mix of men, women, adults & youth who watched the play.
STUDY SETTING:
FINDINGS
Each community event had a different outcome due to various contributing factors like RRC youth team’s organizational & performance skills, NGO & Mandal cooperation and community participation, because of which the findings cannot be generalized.
The overall impact and conclusion that can be drawn from the 3-day HIV/AIDS festival at the mandal were as follows:
• Actors delivered HIV/AIDS related dialogues/messages effectively, because of which majority of respondents recalled key messages about transmission, prevention and ICTC.
• Message that was recalled and understood the most was that of ‘Using a Condom to prevent contracting HIV/AIDS’.
• When interviewed about the most effective element of this 3-day fest, RRC volunteers reported Day 1 with the street play to be most effective as there was a wide group of audience and more scope for disseminating information.
• Good selection of location for street play and perseverance of RRC volunteers even under harsh weather conditions.
• RRC students performed the play effectively with good use of posters and an even better approach of addressing the crowd to solve any queries after the play was over. Most respondents recalled key messages about transmission, prevention and myths.
• Students were forthright & confident in addressing questions and queries from the audience.
• A positive highlight of the event was the distribution of the Card with Helpline number on Day 1 after the street play.
• Street play performers tried to add humour and Bollywood songs to get the attention of the crowds which worked in their favour.
• The RRC students were motivated to spread awareness in the community and this was evident from their performance, even though it was inhibited, as they were amateurs, they gave it their best shot.
