Small Victories

There has been a lot of HIV/AIDS education in Ghana, but there is still a lot of misinformation and stigma surrounding the entire topic. There have been cases where someone who tested positive went home and drank DDT because he believed his life was over. Others who tested positive and were open about their situation have been evicted from their homes, driven from their villages, etc. I even spoke with a pastor whose Christian congregation made him leave their church.
There is a US Presidential funding source for HIV education, and last year Peace Corps in Ghana developed a theme and had students around the country design posters or other art to promote that idea. They then chose twelve and published a calendar for 2010. This year the theme is MY FRIEND WITH HIV IS STILL MY FRIEND, and volunteers were asked to help spread that message as part of a national effort to reduce the stigma attached to the condition.
I went to the headmaster of a nearby school, and asked if he would be willing to let me speak to his students about HIV sometime. He called them all into an assembly on the spot, and I just started in. My intro was like, “your pastor, your teachers, and your parents have told you all the different ways you can contract HIV. Today I want us to talk about all the ways you WILL NOT contract HIV.” It was pretty successful, I thought, and the kids seemed interested and involved, but I figured they were also glad to get out of regular classes. However, before long other teachers and schools asked if I would come talk with their students.
Before it was over I spoke at nine schools, including public and private, Catholic and Muslim, with between 30 and 65 kids at each session. I had about a 30-minute talk, which was then translated by the teachers into Twi and Krobo, so the students heard the message several times. They were always quite shy at the beginning, but someone would ask the first question and we would then get into some pretty good discussions about playing, eating, and working together. Then I offered them the opportunity to design a poster for the 2011 calendar. Peace Corps provided the art supplies, and the first version was done with colored pencil and crayon. I got drafts from 82 kids! Last year each student who applied got top quality art supplies, but there was such a good turnout this time that PC let us submit and give poster paints and good quality art paper for only 10 entries. I chose what I thought were the 10 best, and each of those students then did a full-size poster that I submitted.
I don’t know how many students from all over Ghana submitted work with their local PCV, but it was well over 300. I was relieved that a committee in Accra had to make the final decisions, and it turned out that one of the students from my village won a place in the calendar on the month of May. His school is very proud, and for me it is one tangible thing I can look at. I often have to remind myself that whatever we can do, small-small, can make a difference.
The whole topic has some built-in dissonance. You want people to get tested, do the treatments, and live the best lives they can free of hassle and discrimination. The Ghanaian government supplies the anti-viral meds for only five Ghana cedis a month and there are good counseling services available. On the other hand, HIV is damn serious and you want everyone to recognize that fact and protect themselves in all the ways they have been taught.