2363. This is the number of young women that are being infected with HIV every week in South Africa. This is the highest rate of new infections in the world. The second highest: 570 infections weekly in Uganda. This means South Africa has four times the number of new infections weekly than anywhere else in the world.
HIV/AIDS' heyday in the media is long over in the United States but the epidemic is still raging in Southern Africa, particularly in Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa. Just because it is no longer center stage in our country doesn't mean we aren't doing anything about it. PEPFAR, the program George W. Bush created to combat HIV worldwide and its implementing partners (the CDC, Departments of State and Defense, and of course Peace Corps) are working all over South Africa to create programs to prevent new infections, better the lives of people living with HIV (PLWHIV), those who depend on them (orphans and vulnerable children), and their caregivers.
Today is day 5 of SA29's 10 day In-Service Training event. The program is focused on program design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of those programs. Additionally it is taking the Community Needs Analysis we have been working on over the past 3 months and helping to determine which programs are most important as well as which programs will be most successful. Towards the end of the week we will begin learning more about the variety of programs available for us to take in full, use parts of for our own programs, or just take to sit in and see what the program is about. Here are a few of the sessions I am interested in learning about:
HIV/AIDS' heyday in the media is long over in the United States but the epidemic is still raging in Southern Africa, particularly in Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa. Just because it is no longer center stage in our country doesn't mean we aren't doing anything about it. PEPFAR, the program George W. Bush created to combat HIV worldwide and its implementing partners (the CDC, Departments of State and Defense, and of course Peace Corps) are working all over South Africa to create programs to prevent new infections, better the lives of people living with HIV (PLWHIV), those who depend on them (orphans and vulnerable children), and their caregivers.
Today is day 5 of SA29's 10 day In-Service Training event. The program is focused on program design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of those programs. Additionally it is taking the Community Needs Analysis we have been working on over the past 3 months and helping to determine which programs are most important as well as which programs will be most successful. Towards the end of the week we will begin learning more about the variety of programs available for us to take in full, use parts of for our own programs, or just take to sit in and see what the program is about. Here are a few of the sessions I am interested in learning about:
Operation Hope:
A simple but effective financial literacy training for households and small community projects. I hope to teach these skills to the men and women working at our greenery so when it comes time to sell produce, they understand how much they need to sell and at what price to make a profit.
Grassroots Soccer:
A misleading name for fun outdoor activities that help school children learn about the truths and myths surrounding HIV, gender equality and what it means to be a responsible, safe, and healthy person.
Brothers for Life:
I don't know too much about this program but I am very excited to attend the session. It focuses on addressing the issues of young men and working to build self-confidence and inspire participants to lead positive lives.
When we return to site, we will begin to work with community counterparts to implement these programs. It is not an overnight process and most volunteers report their projects aren't running 100% until the one year mark which, as of today, is exactly 6 months away! The last 6 months have been nothing short of a roller coaster. I've had terrible days and I've had days where I've felt joining the Peace Corps was the best decision I ever made. I've made amazing friends with other Volunteers and I've met South Africans from every walk of life. I've listened to stories of Apartheid and opinions on the current government from white, colored and black South Africans. I've cursed myself for not bringing enough warm clothes and seen my breath in the morning (was I really ignorant enough to think it'd never get this cold in Africa?) and I've been so hot that every bit of energy I have goes into putting one foot in front of the other. All together, this experience isn't anything like I thought it would be, but its definitely having a major impact on my life.
