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Using drama to fight HIV in Kalangala
Using performers such as these, the local leadership of Kalangala District is preaching a message of prevention of HIV/Aids as well as coping methods for those infected and affected by the scourge. PHOTO BY EDGAR R. BATTE
A chorus of drums begins playing around a remote island on the shores of Lake Victoria. Next comes dancing, followed by song.
The locals gather from the village and the shorelines to inquire about the commotion. What they find is a troupe of performers ready to entertain as well as teach their community on reproductive health.
Through dramatic skits, characters are portrayed as HIV positive and resolve to seek treatment, poems promote demand for better health care in the community, and songs teach abstinence to local youth. The people of Kalangala District are receiving both entertainment and education dubbed by many as “edutainment”.
The district comprises 84 islands, 15 health centres, and has an HIV prevalence rate more than three times that of the national average. The reality for residents of Kalangala is that their district has been heavily plagued, not only with HIV/Aids but with notably poor treatment and awareness of the disease as well.
Scattered within the confines of Lake Victoria, the islands that make up Kalangala boast of some of the most beautiful natural scenery in the country, if not the world.
Lush green forestry and non-commercialised shorelines make this place an inviting getaway for many stuck in the hustle and bustle of city life. But an underground excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures in the district has been exposed by the outbreak of HIV/Aids, leaving a culture of prostitution, alcoholism, and carelessness toward health.
Prevalence
Edward Maalo, coordinator of the Kalangala District NGO Forum (KADINGO), estimates the prevalence rate in the district to be between 18 and 25 per cent, and that is not even accounting for the presumably vast number of undocumented cases among the islands’ populations of sex workers and fisher folk.
His biggest concern about undocumented HIV cases, however, regards orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs).
“We realised the messages that are being given out are not sufficient for the youth,” Maalo explains. “For example, when they say, ‘I’ve tested and my partner (has tested). What about you?’ That’s not appropriate for a student who is in school or youth in the community who do not have partners. So we are looking at advocating messages that are appropriate for the youth and the OVCs.”
OVCs can range from children who do not have parents to children whose parents are fisher folk or sex workers. In many cases, OVCs grow up in communities where HIV awareness is not taught to them. KADINGO seeks to counter this lack of education by sending messages on HIV to at-risk youth.
Edutainment
Recently, these messages have started being presented in the form of dramatic performances aimed at promoting HIV awareness, both in terms of prevention and educating on the rights and responsibilities of patients and health care workers.
KADINGO has teamed up with the Bujumba Drama Smart Actors, a performing arts team based in the district sub-county of Bujumba, in an effort to use fictional storytelling and dramatic entertainment to fight the real-life issue of HIV/Aids.
The project, coined Advocacy for Better Health, has been reaching out to the communities in Kalangala District for more than two years, expanding its original reach of four sub-counties to seven over the past year.
“I think drama, first of all, is an effective way to get across information without the stress of a classroom setting or a workshop,” Maalo says.
He adds, “We have an issue of literacy. If you went out with a handout and gave it out, many people would not be able to read or know what the information is. So in a way we pack our information in the drama skits.”
He further explains that for this project in particular, it’s more than just about educating on HIV prevention and the ways in which it spreads. “It is also about mobilising communities to demand better access to healthcare services provided by the government,” Maalo states.
“Because our project is based so much on advocacy, we must focus on the rights and responsibilities of patients. We know the government has provided space and Aids facilities. These facilities we think have to have standards,” he adds.
Sylvester Ssemungenyi, a volunteer on the Advocacy for Better Health project, describes the dramatic performances: “We go to the community with these drama groups and give them a session of two to three hours. They have a play on HIV and a play on the rights and responsibilities of health workers and patients.”
On the effectiveness of these performances in actually prompting positive change, Ssemungenyi cites audience responses that follow the performances, saying that the communities react positively and express that the intended message has been received. “You can even ask the people,” he says, “and they will testify, ‘I didn’t know that this was happening but the drama group, has taught this to (me).’”
About the performers
Collines Patrick Ssemungenyi is the head of the Bujumba Drama Smart Actors and an actor in the performances.
He says that the group uses drums, dancing, and the promise of further entertainment as a way of mobilising communities and drawing in a crowd before implementing the intended message through dramatic skits, song, poetry, and testimonials.
The Bujumba Drama Smart Actors have been performing for more than eight years, but the Advocacy for Better Health project carries extra weight for the group as some of its members are HIV positive.
“Whenever you bring them on board, they share that experience wherever we go. One was telling me, for them, they can share without any fear,” says Ssemungenyi.
Advocating better health in terms of HIV also brings out more passion for HIV positive performers, according to Ssemungenyi. “Some of them are victims (of HIV), some are not infected but affected. They will act with the passion.
They are part of it in a way. It’s more meaningful to them.”
While the highest prevalence of HIV in Kalangala District remains within the populations of fisher folk and sex workers, the target audience of youth and OVCs in the district serves as a way of prompting behavioural change in future generations, and Ssemungenyi testifies that this change has already been seen in terms of reduced stigma. “
For (youth), they thought that if someone was infected, that is the end,” he said. “So we started saying, ‘no that is not the end,’ and now, we see that has changed.”
Creative ways of fighting HIV
The Condom Tree Programme. It was started in 1998 as a regional effort to combat sexually transmitted infections among Indigenous Western Australians.
Condoms placed in PVC (polymerized vinyl chloride) pipes that are painted by members of the community are tied to tree branches in popular meeting spots.
Nindilingarri Cultural Health Services, part of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO), is responsible for the project.
Images. Project Indulge, a new campaign by the Filipino nonprofit Love Yourself Inc., uses images of attractive and mostly-nude young men along with witty copy to promote HIV testing and awareness.
Love Yourself, mission includes promoting healthful sexual practices and positive self-love messages.According to Love Yourself Inc the campaign “suggests that people include regular HIV testing as part of their personal grooming routine to stay healthy and sexy.”
Mitchel Fee is a fourth year film student at Indiana University, US.
