OGCEYOD Celebrates World AIDS Day in Grand Style

GETTING TO ZERO: Youths and Women against HIV/AIDS in Limbe

OGCEYOD was at the spotlight of this year’s celebration of the world AIDS day. The preparation marking the celebrations started a week earlier. The staffs and members of OGCEYOD had countless meetings to determine the strategies that will be used to celebrate the event. A number of methods were proposed but the members were more concerned about teaching people about AIDS in a way that drives home the message without taking away the fun. After so many hours of deliberations, it was accepted that a “kiosk” (a mobile stand) be put at the center of the town. Here a mega phone will be used to educate the public about the disease. Women and men will be taught how to use the female condoms and after that, they will be given time to try how to use it on an artificial vagina. Successful people will be given prices, free male and female condoms. It is worthy of note that church street where the activity took place is at the center of the Town and a meeting point for all the sex workers in Limbe.

The activity proper started at 7 pm on December 1^st 2011 at church street Limbe. Members of OGCEYOD arrive the venue and started cleaning the “kiosk”. Condoms and posters of HIV/AIDS were put on the stand to give onlookers an idea of what is going on. Members of the public seemed shy and uninterested at first but when Mr. Asaah, the programs Director of OGCEYOD began educating and calling on members of the public to come and learn, a crowd gathered. Unfortunately, in the beginning, only men came to learn about the female condom. Women shy away so the Director of OGCEYOD led some members of his team into the street where the sex workers lived and brought them out to learn. A few courageous ladies made their entrance into the “kiosk” and this encouraged their colleagues to do same. By 9pm, the kiosk was over crowded with both men and women who were very eager to learn and ask questions. The celebration ended at 10pm with members of OGCEYOD moving into popular bars and streets to distribute the last condoms that were still left. It was indeed a wonderful event as it gave not only the passer bys an exciting experience but also the staffs of OGCEYOD. We learned how little things can trigger the interest of people.

Worthy of note is the fact that this activity goes a long way to cement the good relation ship that OGCEYOD has established with the female sex workers in the Limbe municipality. This is because, they immediately responded to our call. They are beginning to understand that we do not stigmatize them. We come in peace extending a hand of friendship to them. We are keeping our fingers crossed as we hope to get funding that will take some of these girls off the stress.