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Egypt’s Youth Embrace Role as Peer Educators at National Youth
Festival on HIV/AIDS
Close to 400 youth from 11
governorates gathered in Ismaileya to learn the facts about
HIV/AIDS from their peers, and what they can do to protect
themselves and their communities.
Ismaileya, December 7-9th,
2006.
A three-day festival aimed at empowering youth to increase
awareness of HIV/AIDS crowned an array of activities
commemorating World AIDS Month in Egypt. The festival was
organized by the National AIDS Program (NAP) together with the
World AIDS Campaign Task Force in coordination with UNAIDS and
several other agencies, including the USAID-funded Communication
for Healthy Living (CHL) project
What made this year’s festival unique was that it was lead by
the youth themselves. Leaders from five youth groups who are
well-trained in issues surrounding HIV/AIDS served as peer
educators in a variety of activities, ranging from
presentations, open discussions and team competitions to
theatrical performances, drawing, and sports. All of the
activities were aimed at improving knowledge of modes of
transmission, decreasing risk behaviors, and decreasing the
stigma associated with discussion of HIV itself.
Twenty-two year old Medical Student Ahmed Kassem of Y-Peers led
an activity which encouraged exploration of the difference
between knowledge and behavior. The youth all stood up at the
beginning of the exercise while a list of commonly known
“healthy” behaviors were read out, things like brushing your
teeth every day, eating five servings of fruits or vegetables,
and exercising regularly. If someone didn’t practice that
behavior, they had to sit down. Pretty soon, there was no one
left standing. “This activity shows that we can have a lot of
information about HIV and how to protect our health, but it is
what we practice that is important,” said Ahmed.
The participants of the event were chosen by leaders of their
youth centers based on their special creative talents and
position as role models to their peers. Reham, 23, and Heba, 19,
from Mansoura were eager to share what they had learned with
their family and friends upon their return. “We had many
misconceptions before coming here, like being a little afraid to
sit next to someone who might have AIDS. Now I know better.”
Both young women were clear on what was the number one obstacle
to preventing the spread of HIV in Egypt: “Ignorance. People
don’t want to hear about it. When a TV program or message comes
on, they leave the room or
turn away, thinking it is only a message for ‘bad’ people.” They
were equally forthcoming on the solution: “More media. Put on
more TV shows and advertisements and more articles in papers in
magazines so people can’t avoid hearing about it. Then they’ll
get used to it,” said Heba, adding, “At first, there were a
couple of girls in my group who sat apart from the rest of us
and acted uninterested, as if the information didn’t affect
them. But after a while, they couldn’t help but listen and want
to join the activities, because we were learning and having
fun.”
Eslam, a 25-year-old leader in his youth council in Fayoum, was
particularly eager to learn about the risk of HIV infection from
unsterilized straight-razors at the barbershop. He was relieved
to find out it was relatively low, he said, as going to the
barber for a shave is a common practice in his town. “But I
still think I’ll be shaving at home from now on, or bring my own
tools,” he added.
On the morning of the final day of the conference, youth boarded
buses to attend a VIP forum with officials from the National
AIDS Program and other organizations. They were joined by
religious leaders and celebrities Amr Waked and Khaled Aboul
Naga. Competition winners received awards from the Ministry, and
all the youth were thanked and recognized for taking on the
responsibility of becoming HIV/AIDS educators in their
communities. The final presentation focused on suggestions to
combat the spread of HIV in Egypt and how youth could help.
CHL was also singled out for an award from the MOHP for its
assistance in organizing and implementing the event as well as
for its role in coordinating CIDA, USAID, and UNAIDS production
of core conference materials, including educational brochures,
banners, commemorative t-shirts, and venue decoration. The
conference closed as all participants and speakers stood up and
joined hands in a show of commitment to break the silence and
raise awareness of HIV/AIDS to keep the number of infected cases
in Egypt low.
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