Building team spirit in the fight against HIV

[Njoh Angwi Constance]

We all know about the ABC of HIV prevention which the cameroonian woman and her counterpart in the world use. Alot has been done and is still being done about teaching women their right, helping AIDS orphans , teaching aids awareness in schools and targeting special groups like sex workers or men in uniforms. Few programs target the married couple. It is in this light that we develop 'Building Team Spirit in Marriages'. as a mean of keeping couples intact and helping to reduce the spread of HIV.
Our principle uses the analogy of a football team, whereby the women are thought their roles to be good coaches and the men, the team captains.
The results are amazing, it works.
Have a pleasant day,
Constance

[Gaston]

Dear Constance, I like this focus on couples, families and geographical communities. These are the natural groups within a community that have responded locally to their concerns for decades and they will do for decades. My experience is that using these groups works in some cases better than (self) identified groups that not always have a sense of community.

Thanks for this sharing,
Gaston

[Laurence Gilliot]

Dear Constance,

I was really inspired by a local association in Rwanda who was working with couples. In the beginning, only the women would come to their meeting on HIV.The group was wondering what to do to attract men to participate. Then, they decided to address the real issues that concern men: talking about sexuality.
So, men and women would come together to the meeting and they would discuss for instance 'why do I go and see sex workers?' and 'Why do I refuse to have sex with you', etc. They came then to a better understanding of each others needs and that improved the relationship a lot.

I hope to hear from others as well on initiatives that bring a better understanding and cooperation between men and women.

Laurence