HIV/AIDS Awareness Camp

Currently in Zambia only 35% of youth have the knowledge of HIV/AIDS and close to 15% of the adult population is living with HIV/AIDS. New infections are estimated at 82,000 people/year; this translates into 226 new adult infections and 25 new pediatric infections occurring each day. Recognizing the tremendous need to educate young people about HIV/AIDS prevention, KnowledgeBeat launched its HIV/AIDS Camp program in the fall of 2009 under a President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (“PEPFAR”) grant.

Our HIV/AIDS Camps focus on prevention, teaching boys and girls about sexual health, transmission and prevalence, and the realities vs. the myths of the disease. We also strive to breakdown the cultural stigmas around HIV/AIDS and encourage open dialogue and support amongst peers and communities. The children participate in interactive games and learning modules that lead to heightened awareness and life choices.

Our Objectives:

• Facilitate provision of HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention, and hygiene
• Breakdown negative stigmas around HIV/AIDS
• Train facilitators to deliver HIV/AIDS education in a culturally and medically accurate ways
• Foster the exchange of lessons and lifestyle choices across peer groups and communities that leads to reduced risk and prevention of HIV/AIDS

How We Deliver

• Teach Sex Education: We create a safe space to discuss sex and answer questions.
• Prevention Practices: We host discussions around abstinence, avoiding peer pressure, and safe sexual practices
• Breakdown Barriers: Addressing stigma is very important. HIV+ people are often ostracized from their communities. To share his or her perspective, an HIV+ speaker joins the discussion and explains options for people living with HIV.
• Knowledge Resources: KnowledgeBeat creates and updates manuals on HIV/AIDS that are used to implement the camps and serve as repositories of knowledge long after the camps have concluded.