AIDS Preventive Education Africa
AIDS Preventive Education started in 2001 due to the rise in the number of
infected youths in the country. Video and slide presentations of the Free
Teens material are used, focusing on education about AIDS itself, ideal of
the family and abstinence before marriage. Since 2002, annual seminars have
been held on December 1, the World AIDS Day, and approximately 200
junior high and high school students have attended. In 2005, 823, and in
2006, 492 youths, women and academics participated.
In 2004, WFWP started a campaign against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as
an AIDS prevention measure, mainly in the Bomet region. The tradition of
FGM is still strong in this area, and many girls have been infected with HIV
through wounds made by the knives used for FGM. It also became a problem
when FGM surgeons were found to have performed in return for money. We
educated them on the dangers of the practice for both the girls and the
surgeons and invited to join an income-generating project to help replace
income they lost. They are given instructions on how to make and sell
building bricks, so that they will be able to support themselves
financially. As of 2006, 24 surgeons have stopped this practice and joined
the project. Seven-day workshops were conducted for girls from ages 13 to
15, the age range for FGM, three times a year during long vacations. They
were taught why it is better not to undergo FGM, for the sake of health,
education and their future. As a result, there was a notable decrease in
the number of female circumcisions in the Bomet region.
Latin America
In Brazil, youth infected with STD, teenage pregnancy, and HIV patients are
increasing. Even in the Indio villages where traditional family education
was strong, free sex is rampant and single mothers and venereal diseases are
increasing because of the recent influence of TV dramas. Since 2005, 2
seminars have been conducted centered around the city of Guia Lopez and 80
junior high school students attended. In 2006, ethical education courses
were conducted in Indio villages and 30 high school students attended.
In Peru, sexual morality and ethical standards are very low, and many are
single mothers. Not only does WFWP offer education on AIDS prevention here,
but education on sexual morality, abstinence before marriage and the value
of families, from the standpoint of rebuilding families. In 2006, we
conducted seminars for approximately 100 residents in four districts of
Lima, including the women and youths of the gMothersf Clubh organized by
the government.
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