HIV Connections
Sex. STIs. HIV. Three-letter words most teenagers would shy away from in the company of their parents or church ministers.
You'd probably feel the same whether you were a teenager in Glasgow or Malawi.
Christian Aid's HIV Connections project challenged this shyness. The three-year project with the Church of Scotland, funded by the Scottish Government, taught young people in Scotland and Malawi the facts about HIV.
They were then encouraged to share this knowledge with their peers, in schools, churches and the local community.
'Being too shy to talk about sex is not going to help. For knowledge to be gained, the topic has to be discussed,' said Val Brown from Christian Aid Scotland.
'As you can imagine, sexually transmitted diseases are still an issue that many churches in Scotland would rather not talk about. Our peer educators were taught how to break down these barriers.'
In Malawi young people did the same. Each year, the two groups of youths met each other.
Shibongire Jere was among the young people who visited schools in Coatbridge and Govan in July 2008.
'I found it very interesting to see how our fellow young people in Scotland were able to pass on information about HIV to others,' she said.
Whilst in Scotland, the Malawian young people also met former First Minister and future High Commissioner to Malawi, Jack McConnell, at the CIVICUS youth assembly in Glasgow.
Christian Aid strongly believes that HIV is a virus, not a moral issue. HIV Connections is just one way we work to break down the stigma that surrounds the disease.
To find out more about our work with young people in Scotland please contact our Youth Development Officer, Matt Grady mgrady@christian-aid.org.
