“It dawned on us that by working with only women, we weren’t having much of an impact on HIV and AIDS. It wasn’t working if we didn’t include men too,” said Tiffani Wright, a Mennonite working in Tanzania.
Last December, 26 staff trainers from four African countries gathered in Tanzania for a workshop on gender and human rights in HIV and AIDS education. They were tackling an important challenge: how to get men (in every situation—home, church and work) to take their role seriously in preventing and caring for those affected by AIDS. As participant, Ruth Munyao from Kenya said, “As women, we are excited to see if men can and will be involved in prevention, treatment and care in HIV and AIDS.”
It was my privilege to represent the Canadian churches supporting the workshop, along with trainers from partner organizations of eight Canadian church denominations. There were trainers from 18 organizations in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa.
Facilitators wove participants’ personal experiences in human rights, gender and HIV and AIDS together with the required facts and skills. Participants were challenged to consider their own and their community’s gender stereotyping. One man talked about being pressured by boys to harass girls; one woman talked about suddenly being excluded from playing sports with boys.
Participants learned how to grab their communities’ attention through stories, drama and roleplaying. For me, the most compelling roleplaying scenario was of a Malawian woman who had just lost her husband. According to local tradition, her husband’s brother would inherit her, her children and property. If he has AIDS, she will contract it as well.
Once the woman and her pastor learned of her human rights, they were able to convince the family that she has the right and freedom to make her own decisions and choices. Even though workshop participants were only “playing the role,” a transformation in attitudes clearly swept across the group, showing what a difference simply knowing one’s rights can make.
Since this workshop, it’s been amazing to follow up with participants on how they are progressing. David Mburu, one of our Presbyterian World Service and Development participants, has been training pastors throughout Kenya, who in turn train other community volunteers. These volunteers help their local communities understand HIV and AIDS, learn what they can do to prevent it and to reduce discrimination. He told us that the training was “very helpful not only to me as a person but will also go a long way in strengthening our training program,” especially in the area of gender. Following the workshop, Ruth Munyao from Kenya laid out her plans from January 2011 to 2015, starting with her region’s bishop. Thoko Nkomo from South Africa has already spearheaded top-level meetings in her organization and added, “We are praying about it because the challenge is huge.”
For me, the real work and reward is ahead; all of us have been working on this issue, making some difference in tackling AIDS and reducing death rates. Now we believe that by reaching men (like the bishop in Kenya or the husband at home), we can make a bigger difference in overcoming AIDS.
