| AYISE |

HIV/AIDS PREVENTION THROUGH GENDER AWARENESS, COUNSELLING AND TRAINING

This project was supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in 2005 and addressed the following of AYISE's core areas:

HIV and AIDS - this was a core area of the project
Gender - training was conducted with women, men, girls, and opinion leaders to demonstrate how 'traditional' opinions and practices towards women were putting women at risk of HIV and AIDS, as well as being unfair and affecting other areas of their lives and Malawi's development
Child Protection - communities were sensitised on the need to report child sexual abuse cases and the unacceptability of such actions

The Issues - click here to read more

A base line survey conducted in early 2003, in all the targeted areas, identified factors exacerbating the spread of HIV and AIDS at grass-root level. Among other things, gender disparities between men and women featured highly. The women claimed that culturally men are given more power and authority over women in decisions. This situation led to vulnerability of women, and hence exposure to HIV and AIDS. AYISE realized that the social construction of gender and gender relations have an effect on the spread of HIV and AIDS and that the strengthening women’s ability to make informed sexual and life skills decisions could reduce their vulnerability.

The Project - click here to read more

OBJECTIVES

establishment of support services on issues of gender based violence and child sexual abuse in Luchenza and Lunzu offices;
creating an enabling environment for development actors through sharing of documented best practices and lessons in Thyolo district.
raising awareness on current HIV and AIDS issues including voluntary counseling and testing, gender and HIV and AIDS, stigma and discrimination, HIV and AIDS and cultural practices as well as gender and poverty.

ACTIVITIES
The activities that were carried out included:

production of Information, Education and Communication materials;
training sessions;
public awareness
monthly review meetings.

At the end of the project an evaluation exercise was conducted to establish levels of change created in all the areas in question.

The Outcomes and Findings - click here to read more

Achievements:

raising awareness on current HIV and AIDS issues that included voluntary counseling and testing, gender and HIV and AIDS, stigma and discrimination, HIV/AIDS and cultural practices.
increased participation of women in decision making structures at community level
we reached 93,585 people overall in all targeted areas.
communities are motivated to report child sexual abuse cases without fear or favor
an enabling environment has been created for development actors in Thyolo district through sharing of documented lessons and best practice

CHALLENGES
Some traditional leaders were reluctant to appreciate the importance of gender. The project was implemented in rural communities, and some of them were difficult to reach with a small vehicle. As the project did not have its own vehicle, timely community mobilization and training in some communities were affected as the project was reliant upon a single functioning vehicle which was also needed to service other projects. Furthermore, timely report production was hampered by inadequate computer provision as the present computers were already committed to other interventions.

LESSONS LEARNT
The project revealed that even in the matrilineal societies of Southern Malawi where AYISE works, patriarchal attitudes are still dominant. The long working days of girls doing household chores, exposes them to sexual abuse while fetching water late at night (for example), making her susceptible to HIV and AIDS. When opinion leaders are spearheading community initiatives there is high level of project acceptance and ownership by the community. Women are very significant in implementation of community initiatives and good agents of change in society. Some individuals who are not original inhabitants of a particular community, but have moved there relatively recently, contribute little to development initiatives. They feel that they moved to that particular area to do productive work and not voluntary commitments that are meant for a general community benefit - or they may not intend to stay long, and so will see little benefit from the project.

Diagrammatic Presentation Of People Reached In The Year Under Review: