REPACTED

Our stay at the Naivasha Stadium IDP camp came to an end and after breakfast, we went into un-pitching our tents and clearing our stuff from our two nights home. We were sad to bid goodbye to our hosts at the camp and the Red Cross staff who had been most helpful in ensuring that our first experience as IDP’s had been most smooth. We left Naivasha Stadium at 8am and started our journey to Nakuru.

At shell filling station in Nakuru, we were again sad to bid farewell to our visiting team who were proceeding to Molo for further visits. We proceeded to Nakuru Players theatre where we were to pitch tents for the next 48 hours. There we found our hosts – REPACTED ready for us and James Karongo, a member of REPACTED who was also with us on the caravan went ahead to show us our camping site and together with his colleagues from REPACTED made us feel at home.

After our sleeping quarters had been secured, we left for the Afraha Stadium IDP grounds to do abit of ground breaking but it did not start very well as someone had warned them to be harsh with strangers incase they were government agents sent to convince people to go back to their homes. Any way by the end of the day, we had been able to get through to some of them and went ahead to have useful discussions and also tried to understand their plight as Nakuru IDP’s. We went back to our camp for supper and then had an early night out in preparation for the following day’s activities.

On this day we were to have three activities so we begun very early with our breakfast then started off.

Our first activity was to be at one of the most affected areas in the town – Free area/Kaptembwa. We got there and immediately went into mobilization which was followed by a drama performance by one of the local theatre groups REPACTED who had hosted us in Nakuru. Our acrobatics team then took over marveling the crowd which also worked well for us as a crowd puller. We were then able to split the crowd into smaller groups to which we introduced the idea if dialogue and they took up from there and engaged in a most educative and fruitful dialogue session between members from different communities. They also had the chance to chat for themselves a way forward which they believed was workable for them. We then left for our second destination.

Our next stop was another affected area – Kaptembwa. Again we engaged in a fruitful mobilization making use of the theatre group and caravan participants to notify the crowds of our presence and our mission in their neighborhood. Here we had a curtain raiser by TEARS and REPACTED, our partners on the ground. REPACTED performed a skit while TEARS had a dance. We also had a performance by an upcoming artist from Nakuru –McJex. After this, we had caravan participants engaging the crowd in peace building dialogues after which they gave their opinions on the way forward. We then left for our last destination.

Our last destination was Menengai High school. Our history with the school goes back to the days of the violence when they were able to come up with an educative skit on living well as neighbors from different tribal communities. Having also graced our launch in Nairobi, it was only befitting that we honor their invitation to visit them in their school where they hoped to share with us positive ideas of how we could further pass our peace message in the course of the caravan and true to their word, it became a learning experience for us. After having lunch with them, they got to business and took us through a number of thematic games that emphasized on team work where we were also encouraged to participate. After the games, they explained to us the ideas behind the games and what message they were meant to portray most of them being on team work and the importance of togetherness. We then engaged them in talks on peace building since some students in the school were actually living as IDP’s and how they could be of positive influence to their fellow students in times of conflicts. After a few other entertaining performances, we decided to end the day after a word from the teacher in charge and headed back to our camp at the theater.

We had our supper then joined our hosts, for a few minutes of peace building discussions and they were led by their leader gave us more tips and encouraging words on how to go about our journey. We then decided to call it a night and got back to our tents for a long deserved rest.

By Fidel

In the dock I stood with tears rolling down my chicks as that stone faced learned fried read through my sentence, like a cobra ready to strike he lifted up is face adjusting his spectacles and looked straight into my face, fear griped my soul and lowered my spirit. Then like a preacher chasing demons out of a possessed person he read the final judgment. Like a bull in slaughter house I was dragged a long the corridors of justice. The journey to the prison passing through the straights, my memories multicolored poignant events flashing through my mind like lightening flashing across the dark pregnant skies sounding alarm for a heavy down pour.     

When the journey came to the end, it was indeed the end but the begging of a new life, we lined up on a straight line crossing the boarder to the next ‘country’ and indeed it was another country, another land, the land of sodomy for food. One thing that caught my patience is the life of juvenile prison who committed capital offence thought locked in different building they always fall sexual pray to the seniors, remember it is unprotected sexual intercourse, it is a common culture. I slept next to the sick suffering from AIDS related illness, some on ARV’s others left their medicine at home yet saving on poor diet. Lack of knowledge always leads to this behaviors for most of the senior inmates don’t have the education about HIV/AIDS. In one of the discussion some inmates believed that one can not be infected through anal sex, while others disapproved them. As the number of prisoners keeps growing, the number of the infections also increases. The myths on HIV also increased, hence some inmates avoided the sick, and some officers also treated the sick like objects by calling them names, insulting them, denying them access to basic needs and harassing them. Imagine sharing a piece of soap with a person with serious skin infection?

 It was until a group of young people came to the prison one day that I knew the word stigma and discrimination. They introduced themselves as REPACTED the group visited the prison on several occasions with participatory plays that actively involved the inmates in solving the dramatic situations created by the actors. At first I thought they were out of their minds but slowly they were bearing fruits because from a skit on Voluntary Counseling and Testing several of us went for testing and knew our HIV status. That was not the end they spearheaded in the formation of the post test club which I was an active member until 3^rd June 2008, when I crossed my last day on the wall. The post test club “hope of the sick in prison” offers home based services to the sick in prison the only challenge is lack of gloves and disinfectants, ARV/ART pregame in prison, the sick have to go through a cruel protocol to access the drugs which are not within their reach.  

When I left the prison I went straight to the Nakuru Players Theatre to thank the youth group for what they deed for my life. I also requested them if I could be a volunteer in the organization….thank God they offered me a chance and for the few weeks that have been with the organization I can act in the community and I will be ambassador of change in the prison and use my experience to change my society.             

 Story by

Fidel Mayende

AGE: 28 YRS OLD

DURATION OF CONVICTION FROM 10^TH DECEMBER 2006-3^RD JUNE 2008

Edited by Collins D Oduor-REPACTED from a video interview with Fidel and the REPACTED office

As a result as the above situations that we have come across in prisons outreaches REPACTED with support from MTV Staying-alive foundation will conduct training in the prisons among inmates and the officers. Because of the increase in number of the inmates due to post election violence REPACTED will train 30 inmates 10 female and 20 males on peer education in July. REPACTED is also train ten officers in the first quarter.

It is emerging in our Magnet Theatre outreaches in the community that reduction of stigma and discrimination in the community is mirage. Stigma and discrimination needs a creative approach because it is affecting the fight against HIV from all angles. Giving out condoms in public is still a problem. During the outreaches young people take condoms in secrecy they don’t want to be seen by the community because the community will associate them with sexual intercourse.

Walking into a VCT centre for most young difficult because in one way or other they have had unprotected intercourse with a person of unknown STI status because of the stigma associated with free condoms given in public and buying a condom in the home shops. Most young people ask very many subspecies questions and concerns on VCT, HIV and AIDS. Why should I go for VCT while my partner is negative? There is no need for VCT while I know that am dying; in one way or another all of us will die so why waste my time going for VCT, why use a condom when we know that we are infected? 

And when we carry out mobile VCT all of them who attend the sessions come out smiling and saying that they are ok. If condoms and VCT services are facing such tough stereotype at the community level what about access to reproductive health services by the youth. A good number of young people can not point out stigma and discrimination as community problem, but they acknowledge that there are some behaviors and attitudes that discriminate against people infected and infected.

In one of the magnet theatre session in Manyani the audience helped to condemn a behavior by one of the cast members acting as an HIV positive person. But with timeline a game used to elastrator the theatre process they agreed that they action against character could lead to many things including self stigma because of the enacted stigma from the community members.

In this picture some of the young people who were displaced after the violence in the camp waiting to here about the project and how it will help in the resettlement efforts.

After months of anticipation finally 3 weeks ago we received our 1^st deposit of the grant and immediately the team went to work already we had potential young people from the community who were ready to take part in the project, we called them together and discussed on how we want to go ahead with the training as a kick start to the project, we have been deliberating and have agreed that we want to make the project as community-owned as possible. In the same breath we went to the community with the team and sought out views of different people in the community, including the government representatives on the ground.

As seen above, members of REPACTED are mobilizing community members for discussions while at the same time giving the community an important forum to discuss health issues that they would otherwise not discuss in there homes because of taboo.

We agreed that it is important to focus in the beginning with individual stories of community members who have been instrumental in ensuring that we have peace in our country at the community level and people don’t know about this will help in showing other that they too can help in ensuring that we have everlasting peace and we don’t go back to fighting. The methodology that we will use is by taking video and stories to the community and show them in the villages and the community places for people to see and we will focus on the worst hit areas of Nakuru hoping that the same can be replicated elsewhere in the country.

In this regard we are hoping to work with various institutions to make the project a success and have an impact not only to us but the whole community at large we will be focusing on the issue also of helping young people achieve there dreams in life. Especially in the enhancement of there use in digital equipment. This is the beginning of weekly updates of the project stay on. And kudos to Joan for updates every now and then.

In this photo is Laban, a member of REPACTED, talking to some of the young people in the community on issues affecting them and how they can address them or bring them out to the general public to be able to be assisted.

Rapid Effective Participatory Action in Community Theatre Education and Development

The mission of REPACTED is to define ourselves, shape our experiences, identify our strengths, tackle our challenges and celebrate our successes as young Kenyans. REPACTED is a community-based youth-to-youth organization fully registered with the Department of Culture under the Ministry of Gender, Sports, Culture, and Social Services. REPACTED is composed of highly qualified youth and community volunteers who form a multi-disciplinary team encompassing the field of behaviour change communication including theatre for development, HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, sexuality, gender issues, drugs and substance abuse. The team (currently 25 members) contains strong field experience and profound knowledge of the local community and their cultural behaviors.

REPACTED was formed in 2001 by youth theatre artists from the Nakuru Players Theatre Club within the Impact Project of Family Health International (FHI) under the technical assistance of the Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health-Kenya (PATH-Kenya). The youth thespians formed the organization with an aim of improving their community by encouraging young people to make informed decisions around issues affecting them and to involve them in community development. They achieve this by volunteering their theatrical skills and talents in participatory theatre methodologies, awareness campaigns and peer education and counseling. REPACTED seeks to address a range of youth development issues directly associated with HIV/AIDS: sexuality, abstinence, negotiation skills, gender issues, relationships, reproductive health, safer sexual practices and methods of protection against pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Activities that improve knowledge, attitude, skills, and behaviours are organized in a range of settings: from learning institutions to communities and special circumstance institutions. REPACTED programs target youth between the ages of 15 – 24 as partners, allies, and agents of change and supports youth-adult partnership.

Past and Current Initiatives, Collaborations, and Awards:

• APHIA II Project – funded by USAID June ’07 - Present
• Abstinence and Behavior Change for Youth with ADRA-Kenya (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) funded by USAID 2003 - Present
• School and Prison Outreaches funded by the MTV Staying Alive Foundation. June ’07-Present
• Raising Voices Outreach Grant - present·
• Peace Tiles with Peace Tiles Global Project 2005 – Present·
  Act ALIVE actalive.org
• New York Film Festivals ‘Best Finalist – Short Stories’ for a film about gender inequality 2007
• Collaborations with Princeton University students and professors 2005 to present·
  Founding Member elected to the national CACC (Constituency AIDS Control Committee).
• Over 800 Community Theatrical Outreaches since 2001
• Impact Project with FHI – Behavior Change Communication funded by USAID 2001-2004