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Project Description:

Familia Saludables Executive Director and several PLWAs (people living with AIDS) attended the Second Annual NationalHIV/AIDS conference in Copan, Honduras – along with several children affected by AIDS. See testimonial about the conference from FS

Project Coordination
October 2008 also saw the annual national Project Honduras conference in Copan. Last year the women were a hit at this conference, but we decided this year to take some of the children of the women, instead of the women themselves, as the theme was “Let the Children Speak”. When I suggested this idea I was inundated immediately by children in the project who wanted to come with me. I had to do interview’s to make my selection and during those interviews it was apparent that the children not only wanted to talk but they needed to talk. Once we got to Copan, I prepared the group ( aged 8 to 15 years) by taking them into the conference hall and having them sit up on stage and practice what they wanted to say. I made sure they all realized that they didn’t have to say anything except their first name and their age, everything else was up to them and I did not want them to prepare a speech or memorize anything as I wanted it to be spontaneous from them. We were there for about an hour as the conference organizers were setting up and as we went to leave Barbara Cascaras , the primary organizer with her husband Marcus, came up to me and asked if she had heard correctly, had one of the smallest girls asked if people would spit on them? Of course, I replied, she was correct, that children with AIDS or whose parents have AIDSare accustomed to being spit on, tormented and beaten up on a regular basis.

Barbara’s shock reminded me that many people are just totally unaware of how troubled these children’s lives are. As such, it takes amazing courage on the part of their mothers to be part of our speaking team and now it was taking even more courage on their parts to speak out. I have no doubt that the examples of courage from their mothers made all of this possible for them. The next day we presented early and these children went on to make their difference in their country buy talking to the CEOs, government representatives, donors and heads of NGOS in the audience. Many of them presented with tears streaming down their faces – They talked of their fear, their pain and most of all, their hope. The audience responded with a standing ovation. The next two days of the conference the children were showered with small gifts, a person paid for them to go horseback riding, they had several of their meals paid for – All tributes to how well they had moved their audience. Since returning home I have been contacted by many groups from the conference who are establishing AIDS programs or education in their organizations as a result of seeing the children. They made a difference!

This project, first established in 2006, addresses the HIV/AIDS crisis on the Bay Islands of Honduras through: education, treatment and prevention, advocacy and local capacity building.

Education
By employing and training local Health Promoters and People Living with AIDS (PLWA) as Peer Counsellors, the project will empower members of the Bay Island communities to educate the public aboutHIV/AIDS and STD prevention and treatment, as well as a to provide information to shift attitudes and reduce widely held stigma towards PLWA.

Prevent and Treat HIV/AIDS
By increasing access to HIV testing facilities, encouraging disclosure, and promoting and educating about safe sex practices and female controlled contraception the project seeks to decreaseHIV infection on the Bay Islands and improve treatment PLWA receive.

Advocate
Public awareness campaigns, advocacy by leading public figures, close relationships with elected officials and government representatives, human rights advocacy, and a campaign designed to educate employers about their responsibilities to PLWA will seek to reduce stigma and ensurePLWA’s human rights are respected on the Bay Islands.

Build Capacity and Networks
As a result of this project Familias Saludables will increase their ability and effectiveness as a leading Honduran NGOaddressing the HIV/AIDS crisis. They will also build and participate in networks within Honduras, within Central America and internationally, participating in best practice dialogues. The project will also provide members of the Bay Island communities with training, skills and gainful employment and will enhance the capacity of the community as a whole to respond to the HIV/AIDS crisis they are facing.

Update from the field: June 2009

This project was very successful at achieving all of its proposed objectives and increasing its beneficiaries from the proposed 22,000 to 25,000. Our partner organization, Familias Saludables (FS), continued to develop the Human Rights Office as a tool for people living with AIDS to protect themselves against discrimination. The women’s team (led by the health promoters) developed new skills as they expanded their presentations to include testing clinics and included the island of Utila in the clinic schedule. Hundreds of people were tested as a result of hearing the women speak. A presentation in December 2008 to the advisory council and the governor of the island Arlie Thompson, resulted in a commitment by the governor for ongoing funds for the testing group. The FS team is developing a television show that will air twice a week and they have a contract with one of the local stations for free air time. The program will present not only AIDS and AIDS related issues, but other issues of concern to women including, health, abuse, social security, nutrition etc. The skills that the women developed during their speaking engagements led to a local television station offering them their own program, hosted by two to three of the women each program.