\-\-\-\--Original Message\-\-\-\--

From: marta@icspr.org
\[[[mailto:marta@icspr.org]{.underline}](mailto:marta@icspr.org)\]

Posted At: Monday, December 15, 2003 11:44 AM

Posted To: info

Conversation:

Subject:

I. STRATEGIES THAT HAVE WORKED BEST FOR US:

Two strategies have proven to be effective for us in controlling the
spread of

HIV/AIDS virus in Ethiopia, one of the most affected African countries.
The

strategies are: (1) Economically empowering women heads of households
and; (2)

Gospel induced behavioral change.

1\. Economically Empowering Women Heads of Households:

Thousands of women are forced to become heads of households as their
husbands

die due to wars and various diseases. These women have to provide for
their

children and often for their aging parents though their options are
limited

because of lack of training and scarcity of jobs. Search for shelter and
food

forces many to migrate to the national capital city, Addis Ababa, where
they

are left with only two options; to be homeless beggars or prostitutes.
It is

not uncommon to see young mothers and their children begging for food
when cars

stop for traffic lights. This pattern of migration of destitute women
from

various regions to the capital city has increased the number of
prostitutes and

the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, in particular, AIDS. We
have been

able to effectively and efficiently address the problem of economic

prostitution via implementing the following programs:

A. Short-term job-skill training: We provided job-skill training that

doesn\'t require high level of education, jobs that women with very
little

education can perform \-- weaving fabrics and sewing garments. These
women were

also trained in how to manage very small businesses.

B. Micro-lending to establish small businesses: After the successful

completion of the training, we provided micro-financing to establish
very small

businesses to selected groups, women who proved to have the interest and
the

ability to successfully run businesses.

C. Employment: Those that lack entrepreneurial skills or preferred to be

employees rather than owning small businesses were assisted to find
employment.

As the economic capacity of these women to provide for themselves and
for their

families increased, so did their self-esteem and their desire to live a
life of

dignity. The result is - the women avoid being infected; they are no
longer a

threat to contributing to the spread of the disease and, most of all,
their

children don\'t become orphans.

This strategy provides us with reliable outcome measurement since we can

compare the number of women who start the program to those that
persisted until

the end to take the best advantage. Nevertheless, it is difficult to

accurately measure the results of hypothetical problems such as how many
would

have been infected if they had continued to be prostitutes, or how many
men

would have been infected, or the scale of orphans.

Since our pilot projects have proven to be effective, we are in the
process of

making efforts to collaborate with a bigger organization for a bigger
impact by

implementing major projects in trade activities.

2\. Gospel Induced Behavioral Change:

The turbulent political changes within the past three decades combined
with the

problem of remaining single for longer period pursuing education as well
as

careers have caused the youngsters to question the old traditional
values and

in many cases to reject them. Those values have not been replaced by any

constructive new ones, leaving large gaps with unhealthy personal and
social

trends. Hence, the disease has consumed hundreds of thousands of lives
and many

more are at risk. Our strategy of fostering spiritual empowerment has
resulted

in gospel induced behavioral change which is the most effective way of

controlling the spread of AIDS. In the past decade, the growth of
Ethiopian

evangelical Christian missions both inside and outside of the country is

phenomenal. Most of these ministries are led by Ethiopians who received

theological education in American seminaries. Our group is an excellent

example. As a result, hundreds of thousands of youngsters have committed

themselves to live a Christian life. As youngsters are exposed to
spiritual

truth, their behavior changes in many respects and abstinence before
marriage

and faithfulness after marriage are some of them.

The results of the gospel induced behavioral changes we witnessed have
moved us

to establish resource centers equipped with bibles, other inspirational

Christian books, videos, films, etc. where youngsters can spend their
free time

constructively and where events of interest to them will be held. We are
now

in the process of building the first one.

II\. STRATEGIES THAT DID NOT WORK FOR US

Raising Awareness of AIDS (AIDS Preventive Education)in Rural
Communities

In spite of the efforts that we made to educate and prevent the spread
of the

virus, we didn\'t have quantifiable success. The disease mostly affects
those

in rural communities due to the fact that they are ill-prepared and the
least

suspecting. Many are not aware of its existence until they are infected.
It

is also difficult to convince them of its deadliness because of
misconceptions

and myths such as \-- Sex with non-prostitutes is safe: Having a sexual
relation

with a virgin can cure an infected person: Modern or traditional
medicine can

treat the disease: Condoms are 100% guaranteed: etc.

Reasons Why the Strategy Didn\'t Work for Us:

This strategy proves to be very effective for many; but, it didn\'t work
for our

organization. Although it is difficult to be certain, there were some

indicators to convince us that it was because those who were providing
the

education were not viewed as belonging to that particular community. The
style

of clothing and the manner of speech of our representative were
perceived as

very different. Though there was no open rejection, there was no
demonstration

of acceptance. Attendees of meetings could not identify with the
teachers and,

evidently, not with the problem either. If any thing, the most evident
was

indifference. We understand other organizations that used community or

religious leaders and in some cases, government officials, received the
most

acceptances. Thus, we choose to excel in strategies that worked best for
us.

III\. VITAL ASPECTS OF EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIPS AND WITH WHOM TO PARTNER

1\. Vital aspects of effective partnerships are:

\* Accountability: Quality of management, resource and others has high

priority.

\* Competency: The staff must have strong educational and/or work

experience to implement projects.

\* Empathy: The board and the staff must have compassion to the

beneficiaries and it must be communicated. They must be able to
demonstrate

their genuine interest in the well-being of the beneficiaries. This is
not the

type of work that people should do for pay-checks.

2\. With Whom to Partner:

We have compelling reasons to believe that the following two are the
most

effective to collaborate with:

\* Local NGOs that focus in working with women groups.

\* FBOs that work mainly with youngsters.

These two groups are highly regarded and compassionately viewed by many
in

their communities. They have many supporters from within and out of
their

geographical areas. They can be effective tools in recruiting the
appropriate

beneficiaries for certain targeted projects. They also have the
infrastructure

to reach out to various economic and social sectors of their
communities.

Besides, their past successful experience allows them to build new
projects on

strong foundations eliminating mistakes new programs are likely to make.

IV\. How We Involve People Living With AIDS in Our Work

1\. Orphans:

Our organization involves orphans with AIDS to demonstrate the
unconditional

love of our Creator and the social responsibility that members of
societies

have for one another. In some ways, these children become living
examples of

the results of irresponsible sexual behavior. Seeing the sufferings of

innocent children produces a strong sense of responsibility in young
care

providers and anyone that comes in contact with them. We assist orphans
by

finding them families or orphanages and by finding support to those that
take

them in. We are also in the process of establishing an orphanage to

accommodate the needs of some that are currently in make-shift
arrangements.

Even though children infected by AIDS don\'t live long in such
environments, the

quality of their short lives can be enhanced. Loving care provides them
with

some comfort. With modern medicine, they can be expected to live
somewhat

longer and the physical pain they deal with on a daily basis is reduced.

2\. Men and Women:

a\. We involve men and women infected by AIDS as spiritual leaders by

providing them with biblical training and encouraging them to be active

participants and leaders of bible study groups, church activities, etc.
Such

opportunities lessen their loneliness and restore some of the respect
others

have for them. Besides, as these men and women grow spiritually, their
concern

about what others say about them diminishes. We believe that it is only
our

Christian duty to contribute to lessening the stigma attached to the
disease

and to treat the affected with loving kindness and without judgment.

b\. We also involve them by providing them a forum where they can share

their experiences with others: As we treat them with compassion, we
witness as

to how they voluntarily do the same for others. They strive to guide the
very

young not to make the mistakes that they did. They bravely and openly
use

their stories as testimonies to assist the uninfected to prevent them
from

becoming victims. Since their testimonies are very inspirational to

youngsters, we want to keep involving them by prolonging their lives. We
seek

to involve them longer and make them contributing members of their
society.

Thus, we are making efforts to be in a position to assist them by
providing

them access to medications through soliciting medical and pharmaceutical

products from donor organizations.

c\. In addition, we involve them in lessening the number of very young

orphans: Our long-term plan includes providing AIDS infected adults with

computer-skills training so they can be gainfully employed and afford to

purchase the medications that will prolong their lives so their children
will

not become orphans at very early age. The earlier a child is orphaned
the more

damage it causes.

Marta Z. Amde

International Community Services & Poverty Reduction, Inc. (ICSPR) 2056
Mayflower Drive Silver Spring, Maryland 20905 - 5563

\(301\) 879 - 0140

[[www.icspr.org]{.underline}](../www.icspr.org)