Marcus Baeder (marcus.baeder@sim.org)

11/13/2010

HOPE FOR AIDS

WORKSHOP 2010

Limuru, Kenya, October 11 - 16

A gathering of HOPE for AIDS leaders intended to inform, learn,

collaborate, network, and grow spiritually in order to advance the work on

the ground in each country represented. Applications and lessons learned

for HOPE for AIDS / Espoir Face au SIDA in Burkina Faso.

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HOPE FOR AIDS WORKSHOP 2010

Limuru, Kenya, October 11 - 16

Arriving from Switzerland via London, the final approach to Nairobi’s Kenyata Airport

proved to be exciting as I was able to see wildlife right below before landing. The short trip to

Brackenhurst Conference Centre in Limuru, located about one hour north-west of Nairobi,

was informative as the driver knew plenty of facts about his country. The conference centre

is situated among tea plantation and imparts a sense of peace and tranquility – a perfect

setting for the bi-annual HOPE for AIDS Workshop, which was attended by program leaders

and international staff from 11 African countries and India. Moise Diabri, Program

Coordinator, and myself, Marcus Baeder, Technical Advisor, represented Burkina Faso.

TOPICS AND THEMES Diane Marshall, SIM International AIDS Champion, and Edwin Porter, HOPE for AIDS

International Coordinator, composed a program of different presentations on topics that

many in the field felt worthwhile to address. The variety of issues reflects the multitude of

challenges and successes of AIDS work in Africa and India, and for each program, most

presentations were helpful and allowed for insights on how to move forward and improve the

programs.

Working with Partners & Volunteers There are many different aspects of partnership between HOPE for AIDS programs and

partner organizations, as well as volunteers. The topics addressed under this theme included

Working with the Church (Nigeria) and Partnering and Networking (India & South Africa).

It became clear that programs have made great efforts to collaborate with local governments

and other organizations that are involved in similar work. Partnerships with churches have

always been a key element of HOPE for AIDS and increased acceptance of people with living

with HIV has been a very positive result. One issue that participants brought up is the

question on how to keep volunteers encouraged without paying outright salaries. For the

program in Burkina Faso, we have learned some positive ways to improve our relationship

with the church and other organizations and are hoping to improve in this area.

Working with Children & Youth Decision-making skills are very important for children and youth as they face sexual

challenges from their peers. Themes addressed under this heading were: Decision-making

Skills for HIV & AIDS Prevention (Angola), Day Care Centres (Malawi), and Dealing with

Abuse (South Africa). The issue of abuse is a greater problem than what we are aware of and

requires appropriate and sensitive responses, often in collaboration with authorities and

hospitals. As we are not yet fully involved with children and orphans, this topic was

interesting, but not yet applicable for Burkina Faso.

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Effective Behavior Change One of the most challenging issues face in any prevention program is the need to effect

behavior change that lasts. Topics addressed during this session were: Planting Seeds for

Tomorrow (Zimbabwe), Mainstreaming HIV & AIDS Ministries (Ethiopia), and Pastoral Care

& Family Life Education (Burkina Faso). The key element that emerged from these

presentations is the need to educate and inform over a long period of time. Positive behavior

change takes time, and where the time has been invested, amazing results have been

observed. As presenters for this session, we were able to share some of the impacts our

program has had, especially among pastors and their wives. Listening to others who are

working hard in this area, we were encourage to add other subjects that relate to what we

are already teaching in our programs.

People Living with and Affected by HIV & AIDS With the increased accessibility to ARVs, the lifespan of people living with HIV has increased

greatly. There are plenty of issues and different approaches on how to care for and encourage

the often stigmatized HIV positive person and their families. During this session, the

following topics were addressed: Support Groups (Namibia), and Building Strong Networks

with People Living with HIV (Botswana). A struggle programs face lies in the balance of

supporting people financially and avoiding dependency. This problem is a big one, especially

for our support group in Piela where there is currently much dependence on food handouts

and support. We need to move strongly in the direction of Income Generating Activities

(IGAs) and find better ways for self-sufficiency – especially as many live much longer than

when the group first formed. To this end, we hope to recruit a specialist in IGAs to train and

assist our volunteers in setting up viable programs to that effect. The topic of IGAs was

addressed by the Zimbabwe team who has had positive experiences and good ideas for us to

consider here in Burkina Faso.

SKILL BUILDING MINI WORKSHOPS These sessions were designed to move programs forward in key areas. The first topic

addressed dealt with Donor Expectations. Steve Cook, president of Equitas, shared his

experiences using a variety of approaches with donors, and encouraged our programs to

improve our communication with donors and increase the visibility of our programs online.

The technical side of online visibility, our second topic, was addressed by Melissa

Lukenbaugh, Media Specialist for HOPE for AIDS, as she addressed Social Networking and

information distribution via blogging, tweeting, and posting on facebook. We have not been

the strongest in providing regular communication pieces to our donors, but are putting a

plan in place that will increase our actions to better inform donors. A blog for our program

has been created (hfaburkinafaso.wordpress.com), and more frequent mailings will be done,

starting with a thank you letter and Christmas/New Years greetings.

The third topic addressed was lead by Judy Frey, Missionary with SIM Kenya, and was titled

“Disclosure and Beyond: Psychological Issues and HIV & AIDS”. While pre and post test

counseling have improved significantly, there still remains issues with follow-up and

psychological assistance, especially in places where the numbers of those being tested are

high. Nonetheless, it is crucial for the prevention of spreading HIV and for treatment

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adherence that the psychological needs of those infected with HIV are taken care of. We’ve

had positive experiences with our counselors, especially since they have been professionally

trained and receive continuous education on the issues they face in their work.

INFORMAL NETWORKING This aspect of the gathering was one that most people perceived as being the most impactful.

During breaks, free time, and meals, ideas, experiences, and information was exchange as

people discussed and shared how their programs are running and what challenges they are

facing. The level of technical expertise, as well as the depth of spiritual maturity created an

environment of mutual learning and appreciation. Certainly, we have benefited from these

networking opportunities and hope to continue communicating regularly with other HOPE

for AIDS programs.

MOVING FORWARD At the end of the time together, everyone came up with recommendations on how to advance

the work of our programs. We hope that in two years, some of these may be implemented for

us here in Burkina Faso as well.

Recommendations:

Developing a fundraising strategy and helping each of the partners with it

Help SIM partners across the world to build their capacity to seek funding from

bigger partners (such as USAID)

Succession strategy to identify and mentor nationals

Develop excellence in one field of activity - avoid spreading ourselves too thin.

Set a clear framework for reporting and ongoing tracking of ministries linked to

reporting (RBM plans are currently not reflected in reports)

Scale-up support for IGAs

Communication - more contact among project managers/coordinators, which could

include online gathering place (central resource), SIMNet, and documenting

successes (sharepoint - online storage of different resources)

Developing an attitude of discipleship

Promote thinking towards sustainable funding & breaking the dependency on outside

funding

South-to-South collaborations

CONCLUDING REMARKS While there are costs associated in gathering program leaders from different countries in one

place, the benefits of such a meeting far outweigh the expenses. For the HOPE for AIDS

program here in Burkina Faso, we learned much and hope to implement several aspects as

we move forward in our second phase of the program. Our goal was and will be: bringing

hope to those infected and affected by HIV & AIDS!