Edu-tainment galore at Nyava Street Bash
August 31, 2015
Danny recounts the ROOTS street bash at Nyava Growth Point …
EDU-TAINMENT GALORE AT NYAVA
By Danny Nyamushamba
Edu-tainment is an influential tool in various campaigns. On the 11th of July 2015 ROOTS held a street bash at Nyava Growth Point in Bindura. The main objective of the street bash was to educate the community on sexual and reproductive health.
Issues addressed at Nyava included the need:
To improve access and utilization of SRHR services (including contraception) by adolescents;
To empower communities and their supporting organizations to claim and exercise ownership of their SRH rights;
To exercise control over ones own sexuality and the associated rights;
To ensure that everyone has the right to decide what do with their own bodies without coercion, violence or discrimination
To continuously discuss the implications of early and forced marriages.
In attendance were 346 people with key stakeholders such as Chief Mutasa, parents, teachers and youth, in attendance. Councilors and village heads of wards 14,15 and 18 were also present. Various organizations and government departments came to support ROOTS street bash, and we thank representatives from the NAC, Hope Humana, New Start, ZRP and the Ministry of Youth Indigenization and Economic Empowerment for coming.
The street bash gave an opportunity to young people to access free HIV/AIDS testing and counseling courtesy of New Start Centre. Chief Musana led by example as he was tested, together with 40 other people. A representative from New Start Centre showed that HIV/AIDS prevalence in Zimbabwe is at 15%. He encouraged the participants to get tested regardless of whether they were married or not. He emphasized the World Health Organization 2015 theme: Zero new HIV infections, Zero discrimination and Zero AIDS-related deaths”. Furthermore he indicated that New Start Center seeks to improve access to prevention, treatment and care services for adolescents (10-19 years), a group that continues to be vulnerable despite efforts made thus far.
Councilor Mugabe of ward 14 acknowledged the good work done by ROOTS, as we target the young people who are future leaders and who are also the most vulnerable group to HIV/AIDS. He added that ROOTS should keep on engaging the community in its thematic areas. He encouraged the community to cease early and forced marriages saying that they amount to abuse and that girls need to be given the same opportunities to excel as boys.
Students from Nyava Primary School entertained attendees through traditional dance and poetry. There was a dancing and drama competition that took place and participants won hampers including hygiene products, soap, washing powder, face towels and rulers.
Meanwhile ROOTS our next stop was in Shamva where we held another street bash at More farm. Theret he main issue was early and forced marriages. More details to follow!
