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Title: MGBALA AGWA YOUTH FORUM
Location:
Categories: Health
Child & Youth Rights
Status:
In Planning
Timeline:
Ongoing
Description:
Catch Them Young (CTY) is a programme tailored in line with millennium goal number 6. It is a new programme initiated to increase knowledge and change attitudes, practices and beliefs of children regarding HIV/AIDS. By educating children between the ages of 6-15 about sex and HIV/AIDS, we hope to prevent future generations from becoming victims of this disease. The programme is most relevant where, in rural communities, knowledge of HIV/AIDS is relatively low and where traditions, practises and beliefs seem to accelerate the spread of HIV/AIDS at an alarming rate. This is especially true in rural communities such as Mgbala Agwa, Imo State, Nigeria. The programme is to be carried out from Novernmber 2006.
Problem Analysis
The problem is to help inhabitants avoid dangerous sexual practices. Due to lack of education regarding sex and sexual hygiene within the community, children find themselves at risk when they first begin having sex. It is hoped we can increase the knowledge regarding sexual health and HIV/AIDS amongst children of ages 6-15 through the development of IEC (information education and communication) models, organisation of seminars, awareness campaigns, workshops etc. The problem was observed by MAYF who devised project to counteract it.
The project was conceived by Nduka Ozor the director of the Mgbala Agwa Youth Forum, who works for The CHISTRE HIV/AIDS Centre in Lagos. Nduka Ozor has great experience in setting up projects for many NGOs in Nigeria, including other AIDS/HIV related projects. The implementation of the project was handled by both Mgbala Agwa Youth Forum and IKU. Representatives of both organisations met in Mgbala Agwa, Nigeria and in Östersund, Sweden respectively to jointly plan the project. In each of these meetings, a committee was set up to define the needs of the program and action to be taken in order to realise the set objectives.
Because of poverty in the community, the needs are of this project could not be met locally. In addition, politicians are not interested in anything that is not financially rewarding. The authorities are quite indifferent at moment. VSO (voluntary service overseas) and some local NGO’s in Nigeria have shown interest but are unable to help due of lack of funds. HIV/AIDS is becoming pandemic and, if allowed to grow, could severely deplete the manpower of a country and even wipe away a whole generation of people.
Partner Organisation
The main actively of the Mgbala Agwa Youth Forum is to organise enlightenment and awareness programmes regarding HIV/AIDS and other youth-oriented issues. The target group is people between the ages 6-30. No funds have been received from any outside organisations but materials such as books, newsletters and magazines have been donated by various organisations all over the world. Twenty MAYF members were sponsored last year (2004) to attend a three month computer programme by a USA based organisation: The Youth for Technology Foundation. This was wholly due to Mgbala Agwa Youth Forum’s activities, and not in cooperation with any local or foreign partners.
4. Organisation analysis of the partner organisation
The strength of MAYF lies in their ability to work as a team. They have a lot of manpower which, if harnessed, will yield some good results for both MAYF and IKU. The members are open-minded, encouraging of new ideas and concepts, and always ready to work for the common cause. However they have their weaknesses; most of the members are not well educated and vulnerable. Many of them live in poverty because they do not have jobs.
The major threat to the activities of MAYF is the lack of support from local NGO groups and government. Following recent collaborative efforts by organisations outside Nigeria, there is a high hope that the programs and activities of MAYF will be implemented.
5. Target group for the project
The aim of the project is to educate children as to the dangers of HIV/AIDS before they become sexually active. Therefore our choice of a main target group is to be children of an age range of 6-15 years (Nigerian primary school level).
We are able to target these children in school. There exist five primary schools with a combined total of approximately 1000 students and 20 teachers in Mgbala Agwa and we have been granted permission to carry out our project within these schools. Our project hopes to directly affect the children educating them and also indirectly by training teachers to communicate better with the children regarding sexual health and HIV/AIDS. By targeting the children at school, we are able to help them regardless of their gender.
Project goals (Achieved after implementation of the project)
We hope to increase the knowledge level of children within the five primary schools in Mgbala Agwa with regard to HIV/AIDS. By training the teachers in these schools, we hope to strengthen their capacity to communicate with children about sexual behaviour and the risks of HIV/AIDS infection. In addition, we hope to develop a curriculum that will help reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS through educating young people about the illness.
Overall long term goals/visions
The main goal of the project is to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in Mgbala Agwa community by the sexual education of people between the ages 6-15. Our success will be quantified by surveying the knowledge regarding sexual health and HIV/AIDS before and after the project and by noting if people feel more free to discuss sexual health related issues.The pilot project has proved very successful and the need to scale it up to more communities sourrounding mgbala Agwa community.
Outcome
It is hoped that our activities will lead to positive results by educating as to the dangers of dangerous sexual behaviour. The results are undoubtedly the indication of the extent to which the project has succeeded or not.
Indication of our success will be seen by our target groups increased knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS and by comparison of questionnaires taken before and after the project. We will also hope to receive feedback from the teachers as to whether the project has helped them with regard to their teaching of sexual health subjects to their pupils.
Activities
We shall conduct baseline studies amongst teacher and student on their knowledge of HIV/AIDS and their attitudes and beliefs towards the virus and people living with it. In addition, we shall train teachers on the basics of HIV/AIDS and on communication models for the target group on HIV/AIDS. We will teach students about the basic facts regarding HIV/AIDS and organise participatory workshops for school children. A theatre group will dramatise the effects of risky behaviour to children to help bring home the reality of the problem. A curriculum will be developed by teachers for subsequent use. We will monitor and evaluate the program using surveys and record of infection levels as well as feedback from students and teachers. We will produce a report for the donor agencies/volunteers.
10. Organisations development
The project will strengthen the cooperating organisations because a lot of ideas will be exchanged and members will be motivated by each success accorded. Through interaction and exchange of ideas, people will really discover their strengths and weaknesses and make adjustments is necessary. After the project, the organisation hopes to be able to plan and develop a project by themselves without the involvement of other organisations but also be able to be a better cooperative partner when working with other organisations.
Background:
Mgbala Agwa community is a purely rural set up. There is a total lack of any basic amenities such as good roads, pipe-borne water, electricity and medical facilities. A good number of inhabitants are illiterate and believe in their deep-rooted customs and traditions. The knowledge of HIV/AIDS is very low because of the lack of education and medical facilities. The major problem with development in Mgbala Agwa is that the community is not accessible, both because of the shortage of basic amenities and the low level of literacy amongst the people. This makes them easily forgotten since they don’t have a platform to discuss local issues with government.
Both men and women are affected by the ravages of HIV/AIDS in the community. The rate of infection and sickness resulting in death follows a similar trend in Mgbala Agwa to many comparable communities in Nigeria where HIV/AIDS is pandemic. Adolescents in these communities are particularly vulnerable to infection by HIV/AIDS due of their involvement in risky behaviours such as casual sex and multi-partner relationships. The problem in this sector is lack of information, education and communication. Because of tradition, it is difficult for parents and children to talk about sex and sex related matters such as HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
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The project has been supported by the resources of the members of the Mgbala Agwa Youth Forum Community Awareness Campaign team and written materials from online volunteers around the world. In January 2005 IKU (Internationellt Kultur Utbyte) and Mgbala Agwa Youth Forum (MAYF) started a collaboration to carry out the Catch Them Young project. One representative from IKU visited MAYF in March and a representative from MAYF visited IKU in April with the aim of planning the programme together. It is expected that representatives from IKU Östersund are to travel to Nigeria to assist with the setup and again for the conclusion of the project. We also hope to have a volunteer on an ICYE (International Cultural Youth Exchange) programme for the duration of the project. Due to the lack of medical care within the community, there are no official statistics regarding the HIV/AIDS situation in Mgbal Agwa community, but there are obvious cases of HIV/AIDS infections and deaths, which have risen steadily over the years.
Both men and women are affected by the problem of HIV/AIDS however females are more susceptible to the disease than men. In planning the project, both sexes are equally involved. These is no gender disparity, both the men and the women will take part in the same kind of processes towards the realisation of the goals of the project. We hope that by having a project where women and men participate equally, we can encourage a stronger equality between sexes in the community.
Objectives:
·1 To increase the knowledge level of children in five primary schools in Mgbala Agwa about HIV/AIDS by 50% within 12 months. This will be measured using the start/finish surveys
·2 To strengthen the capacity of 20 teachers to communicate with children about sexual behaviour and the risks of HIV/AIDS infection in five primary schools in Mgbala Agwa.
·3 To develop a curriculum that will help reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS through educating young people about the illness.
Milestones:
We hope to increase the knowledge level of children within the five primary schools in Mgbala Agwa with regard to HIV/AIDS. By training the teachers in these schools, we hope to strengthen their capacity to communicate with children about sexual behaviour and the risks of HIV/AIDS infection. In addition, we hope to develop a curriculum that will help reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS through educating young people about the illness.
The project will strengthen the cooperating organisations because a lot of ideas will be exchanged and members will be motivated by each success accorded. Through interaction and exchange of ideas, people will really discover their strengths and weaknesses and make adjustments is necessary. After the project, the organisation hopes to be able to plan and develop a project by themselves without the involvement of other organisations but also be able to be a better cooperative partner when working with other organisations.
Budget:
BUDGETS
1. Activity: Conduct baseline study amongst teachers and students on knowledge, attitude, practise and belief (KAPB) of HIV/AIDS
Objective: To strengthen teachers and students on their areas of deficiency on HIV and Sexual health matters.
Naira: N450,000 $US: 3571
2. Activity: To train teachers on the basics and communication models of sexuality to the target group.
Objective: To be able to communicate interest with students effectively.
Naira: 1,600,000 $US: 12,698.431
3. Activity: To organise participatory workshop for children
Objective: To allow children discuss openly and freely on their fears, myths and suggestions.
Naira: 400,000 $US: 3174.32
4. Activity: To dramatize the dangers of risky behaviours
Objective: To create an image or picture of the consequences of adopting risky behaviour.
Naira: 250,000 US$: 1948.127
5. Activity: To teach students basic facts about HIV/AIDS
Objective: To modify the behaviours of children to be able to adopt healthy living. The programme will last for at least a period of 3 years and depending on founding the programme needs to be sustained and made to be part of academic curriculum in the schools within and around the community.
Naira: 3,000,000 US$: 23,809.524
6. Activity: To develop curriculum that will be used for further classes.
Objective: To sustain the programme with the same communication model and curriculum. Participatory workshop with teachers, students facilitators and other stakeholders.
Naira: 500,000 US$: 3968.254
REPORTING
Objective: To provide on overall information on the project implementation, monitor evaluation outcomes & weakness and possibly see areas of improvement and sustainability.
Allocate sum of:
Naira: 200000.00 US$: 1508.98
TOTAL BUDGET:
NAIRA 6,385,508 $50,678.36
Needs:
Mgbala Agwa and its specific needs
Mgbala Agwa is a town located in the South East of Nigeria and has a population of over 100,000. It is under the jurisdiction of the Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State. Subsistence agriculture is the main source of subsistence within the community. The town lacks social amenities including, paved roads, electricity, and hospitals etc.
The death rate in the community is high. It is estimated that about 5 people die every month due to diseases suspected to relate to HIV. Mgbala Agwa Youth Forum (MAYF) believes that education about the effects of the virus will help alter behaviour and attitudes that fuel the infection rate in rural communities like Mgbala Agwa. Attitudes including the practice of genital mutilation, the use of traditional methods of birth control and avoidance of condoms.
CTY is necessary to educate the up-coming generation about the impact of their behaviour on their health and thereby prevent further spread of the virus. Evidence from other NGOs working in this capacity has shown that a well-tutored programme like that which MAYF proposes in CTY can have a positive impact on reducing HIV/AIDS prevalence in Mgbala Agwa.
We need technical partners,donor agencies and international Partners.
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