Good news from Ghana

As part of the activities to celebrate Lesson for Life: World AIDS Day, Plan Ghana in collaboration with World Vision International and Ghana NGO Coalition on the Rights of the Child formed the Ghana Movement for Children. The coalition scheduled the Lesson for Life for the 29th November, 2004.

Some of the activities undertook by the children were processions on principal streets with placards with HIV/AIDS messages, film shows, drama, singing, and focus group discussions. Some of the children drew pictures depicting their understanding of and experiences with HIV/AIDS. Some of the children in Asesewa wrote essays on their experiences on HIV/AIDS. The children also wrote their 'Good News' messages: what they want to see/experience by the 2005 December. Some of the quotations are: 'I can eat, sleep and play with my friends or people who have HIV/AIDS' (pupils in Bontrase JSS, Bawjiase) and in Asesewa one of the focus groups said that 'We should...tell our friends about HIV/AIDS'.

Examples of the Lesson for Life in Ghana:

Mankessim Program Area

Two schools participated in the Lesson for Life celebration in the Mankessim Program Area. These schools are Bafikrom and Essuehyia District Assembly JSS and Primary schools. The Lesson for Life took place on the 26th November, 2004 in Essuehyia. The celebration started with a route march through the principal streets of Essuehyia. The school children, teachers and Plan staff then converged for a durbar. Some of the people who participated in the durbar included parents, the chief of Essuehyia in the person of Nana Essi Brempon XI Odomna hen and Ghana Health Service Staff. Mr Osei Bonsu, a SHEP coordinator of Mfantisman District Education Directorate gave a talk on HIV/AIDS. At the durbar the JSS children song and also preformed a drama on HIV/AIDS.

At the end of the durbar, the children went into focus group discussions and the topics discussed were:

Differences between HIV and AIDS
What activities are high risks?
Symptoms of AIDS
Peer group education by people outside the school
Mode of transmission
How to prevent ourselves and others HIV/AIDS.
How we treat someone with HIV/AIDS.

This is one of the Good News from a pupil in Essuehyia: 'A class mate’s mother died of AIDS. People suspected he also has it-AIDS. I refused to play with him but through education I got to know that if I play or eat with him I will not be affected. So I started playing and eating with him. I therefore advise other friends to play with him to make him feel comfortable'.

Bawjiase Program Area

The above program was held in Bontrase and Papaase schools on the 29th November as part of the activities of this year’s World AIDS Day. The activities to mark the event started with processions in both communities by selected primary and JSS pupils with Lesson for Life posters on placards. Teachers joined in the procession. The teachers, children, and community members danced to the tune of songs played by the school band. Video shows dubbed 'Scenario from Sahel' was screened in both schools with the message Abstinence and need to show compassion for people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. A community drama troupe performed drama to educate the children on dangers of HIV/AIDS.

At Papaase, selected children had focus group discussions. The discussions centred on 'Learn, Engage and Change' which was the theme for the Lesson for Life event. The questions that emanated from the children in the various groups during the discussion suggested that they had really followed the scenarios in both the video show and drama. A few of the questions were:

- Would people not say I am also infected that’s why so am close to an infected person?
- So if I stay without sex I will not fall sick?
- Who should have sex?
- Would the elderly listen to us when we want to talk about AIDS?

These are some of the quotations from the 'Good News' reports: 'I will always support children with HIV/AIDS in my community' (Bontrase JSS, Bawjiase). 'If some one is having AIDS, we must show love to the fellow' (Papaase, Bawjiase). 'I can eat, sleep and play with my friends or people who have HIV/AIDS' (pupils in Bontrase JSS, Bawjiase).