REPACTED

Hello good people i have to say that i am very happy that Eduardo visited in Kenya though iwas commited very far away from Nakuru, i have seen som of is tuition and guys are very helpfull for his help in talking to themm and helping the learn more about blogging, he had about 15 guys with him. Kudos alos good news one of the REPACTED members will be going to Albania later this year hope some GBV guys are there so that he can learn more also.

                       REPORT ON THE DIGITAL MEDIA PROJECT.

Introduction

The following is the report of the digital media project supported Raising Global Voices outreach program. The project was implemented by REPACTED Kenya community based youth organization based in Nakuru Kenya. 

The project brought together a total of twenty seven community members with very little knowledge in digital media. The organization mobilized young people from the community to be introduced to the digital world. Among the twenty seven ten are young ladies form different background.

The fast step was to introduce the community members to the digital world by taking them through five day training on digital media and the growing world of internet which has reduced the world into a global village. At first we could not afford internet connection because of the cost of the internet connection, but with the competition in the mobile phone business in the country quite affordable modem are the market the only challenge is how to maintain the monthly fee for internet connection. 

The organization purchased one computer, one digital camera, one video camera, and one modem from Zain Kenya. Apart from the equipments the organization also conducted trainings on how to use the digital camera and photography, the organization of did training on bogging and basic computer skills training to the members of the community.

 The members of the organization who are theatre practitioners in the community also enjoy the project because they are using the equipments to capture photos during the community theatre outreaches. They have also done enough community theatre outreach videos the only challenge is how to blog the videos because it takes very log to upload a video clip here due to the slow internet connection.

The project is on the right truck and very faithful to the project objectives and goal and also the organization goals and objectives.

Challenges

• The equipments are very few hence using them as a group is little challenging, one computer with about 17 trained bloggers and more community members are getting attracted to the centre.
• Blogging idea is still a new phenomenon to almost all the community members and some group members and with the limited access to the computer because of the growing number of the interested community members is a little challenging.
• Lack of proper skills in handling some computer programs and soft wears from the community members, one is trained today tomorrow all is gone you have to start again.
• Some members of the community are physical challenged hence marking it to the centre requires some special program for them.
• Though we got a train in video blogging, video blogging is still a big challenge not because of lack of skills because of the speed in the internet.   

If the above issues can be adequately addressed individually then we will able to increase the number of the Nakuru blogger sphere, and effectively improve internet communication within the community. For the physical challenged we need to move to them because they are located in one place, so by creating a digital media village in the community could improve the blogging spirit among the community members. 

We also need about six computers so as to satisfy all the new bloggers before the spirit of blogging goes down. If we buy one more video camera, and a digital camera we will be able to handle the big number of the new bloggers.

We will also organize more clinics on blogging around the community to sensitize the community on importance of digital media.    

For the internet connection we a serious challenge because the modem takes one computer at a time we are working on how to network the modem to serve more than two computers, but the service provider Zain say that it can not take more than two computers. We are also paying 50 USD per month, maintaining the cost may force the community to pay some small money the only problem is that we recruited from the slums where life is below 1 dollar a day.       

All in all we are moving on well and the bloggers are more than willing do more in the Nakuru blogger sphere, and bring out the power of blog compared to the main stream media.  Following the time line we are behind but progressing with the right pace and not just doing the citizen media for the sake of doing it. We want the best for the community and the culture to sustain itself.

Key question: If you have TB are you HIV positive?

The synopsis

The performance was about a young man who coughs continuously and suspects he is HIV positive. The young man is encouraged by his girlfriend to go to hospital but the guy refuses. They have an argument that last for a few minutes until his friend calls the young man. His friend tells him not go to hospital because he will be tested for HIV, the friend tells him that people with TB are always tested for HIV, and if he does not go he will take him to a local medicine man for medication traditional medicine. The girlfriend insists that if does not go to hospital she will never talk to him and she will leave him for another man, and the friend says that if he does not go the medicine man he will get very sick and die. What should the young man do?

Magnet Theatre session

During the actual session the facilitator asks the women what should the young man do? Should he follow the friend or the girl friend? One woman called Akinyi said that he should listen to his girlfriend and seeks medical attention, may be he has T.B. But one of the women Mama Njeri said that the young man should go by the friend’s idea of seeing the medicine man and avoid the girl friend he can always get another one. But Susan one of the inmates said that it is possible to have TB and HIV so maybe he as HIV and the girl is also infected, but Akinyi said that TB and HIV are different and suffering from TB does not mean that you are HIV positive. When asked how she can advice the young girl and the man she stepped forward and demonstrated what the man should do. The session ended with the inmates suggesting the she goes to hospital before its to late, and TB is curable.

After the main session the inmates also did a performance on tribal clashes that rocked the country this year.

The group suggested we should take next time milk, sanitary, soaps and tissues for those women with kids.

After the prison outreach we gave magazines with thematic concern ARV, TB, and VCT.

Issue arising from the Magnet Theatre session today

• Many women wanted to know more about TB, its mode of transmission, prevention and treatment.
• We should increase outreach in prison.
• We should bring VCT in prison.
• The issues of ARV to sick come up.

.How many months it takes TB to be found in your body?

.Types of TB transmission

.Relation between TB&AIDS The above issues will be handled in the normal peer education session in prisons with the trained change agents in the prisons.

The synopsis

The performance was about a young woman who needs money to take a sick child to the hospital. In the neighborhood there are two young ladies who do commercial sex to earn a living. She approaches the two ladies for assistance; they tell her that the best way to get money and take the child to the hospital is to accompany them to a night, a place where she will get money, more money. At night they go the night club and the girl with the sick child is introduced to a man who offers to pay her 5000 Ksh for a whole night unprotected sexual intercourse or 500 shillings for sex with a condom. The other ladies are pushing her to accept or else they do away with her. Should she take the big offer and serve the child or the small offer and loose the friends and the child?

The magnet theatre session

After mobilizing the community to the magnet theatre site the facilitator introduced the charters profile while the audiences give them names. During the presentation the following issues come out from the audiences/spectators, some the audience members argued that the young girl should go for the big money because the life of the child is more important than her life, one of the audience members said that better loose the child because she can give birth to another child, John a member of the audience said that the young to use a Condon and tell the man her problem, when asked how to tell the man John stepped forward and demonstrated how he will do it, but the people said that it was difficult to convince a man with such mind set, Mama Merry said that the best thing for the young girl to do is to fund raise for the child treatment from well wishers and friends, one member of the community who goes by the name Musa said that he will lead the fund raising for the child because the young girls may end up with an STI from the man and may be HIV so before it happens he is willing to lead a fundraising. The sessions ended with one member of the audience taking the young girl out of the stage just to make sure that the girl does not change her mind.

After the outreach the members gave out 400 male condoms and held one on one talk with the community members at the site. IEC materials distributed posters, and magazines with the following thematic concern ARV and VCT.

Issue arising from the Magnet Theatre session today

• Many people wanted to know more about malaria, its mode of transmission, prevention and treatment.

• We found that prostitution is in the area especially amongst young women between the ages of 16 and 27.
• Drug abuse is also one of their major concerns especially amongst to the youth where they abuse drugs like bhang.
• It was also proposed by some community members that we have a session with them and teach them about health issues generally.
• They also told us to take VCT to the site.

Key questions from the site include:

Why do people use condoms? Is it applicable to married people?

Does window period vary from one person to another?The above issues will be discussed in the next magnet issues.

Learning to blog is a process that has taken a while with our community members and also REPACTED members at large but today we had another fantastic day where they all opened up blogspots blogs. I ask that we motivate them by visiting their sites. As we continue to promote the culture of participation, here are the blogs. I have to warn you most of them are still ‘young’ with their sites.

http://collinsyuro.blogspot.com
http://ongenge.blogspot.com
http://marynyambura.blogspot.com
http://teddykarare.blogspot.com
http://gitz-wazimu.blogspot.com
http://davjuma.blogspot.com
http://jameskarongo.blogspot.com
http://mcjex.blogspot.com
http://elseroketch.blogspot.com
http://jambonte.blogspot.com
http://mwailaw.blogspot.com
http://mshale.blogspot.com

Support these sites and let’s hope they will have the culture of blogging down very soon now as we surely encourage it. Finally we hit the ground running.

 Taking it easy after an intense session on report writting and blogging  on the findings from the community the training was conducted by an external radio presenter and it was done at the office in Nakuru, i want also to update the forum that after a long search finally REPACTED has found the right person o train the community on how to video blog, also the trained members have been bringing feed back and are compiling a magazine to be distributed to the community while ach of them will have there own blog, they have been shy on blogging wondering where they will get content ut after reading blogs from other people they are becoming more and more confident in there respective areas of speciality by the end of this month we will have diffrent bloggers joinin the forum.

Peace and Love

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.

REPACTED: Forum for Behavior Change

Rapid Effective Participatory Action in Community Theatre Education and Development

P.O. Box 13361, 20100 Nakuru, Kenya

REPACTED’s mission is to define ourselves, shape our experiences, identify our strengths, tackle our challenges and celebrate our successes.

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 contains strong field experience and profound knowledge of the local community and their cultural behaviors.

REPACTED was formed in the year 2001 by youth theatre artists from the Nakuru Players Theatre Club within the Impact Project of the 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 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 initiative 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 several settings, from learning institution to communities and special circumstance institutions, targeting youth between the ages of 15 – 24 as partners, allies, and agents of change.

Past and Current Initiatives, Collaborations, and Awards:

-APHIA II Project – funded by USAID June ’07 – Present

-Impact Project with FHI – Behavior Change Communication funded by USAID 2001-2004

-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

-Peace Tiles with Peace Tiles Global Project 2006 – Present

-New York Film Festivals ‘Best Finalist – Short Stories’ for a film about gender inequality

-Collaborations with Princeton University students and professors

-Founding Member elected to the national CACC (Constituency AIDS Control Committee)

-Over 800 Community Theatrical Outreaches since 2001

Contact: Collins Dennis Oduor +254721637457 oduoduor@yahoo.com, repactedkenya@yahoo.com

Hello to all

Just wanted to share with all of you, a progress report for the last one month of the events that we have been undertaking as REPACTED.

Introduction
After the visit by the MTV, staying alive foundation representatives Sarah and Georgia and sharing a lot of information about the foundation, the award and the organization (REPACTED). The organization held a two days strategic planning meeting that was attended by all the members. Through group works the members come up with ideas, methodologies, and strategies of reaching young people during the project period in the project area.

They also come up with a work plan for the first quarter, beginning July to September 2007, some of the proposed activities were as follows; 13 Magnet Theatre Outreaches and 6 mobile VCT per month in four community sites ( Lumumba, Manyani, Hilton, and Free area), three major youth events targeting youth in learning institution, and open forums, one visit per month at the Nakuru GK Prisons.

Activities
The organization held 13 Magnet Theater outreaches in the month of July. During the 13 MT outreaches, the organization reached 5400(2500 youths in prison both male and female) youths, and 56 youths between the ages of 15-24 took the HIV test and 19 people between the ages of 25-49 also took the HIV test and the results were as follows, one person turned positive, the organization also managed to distribute a total of 1933 Condoms and several IEC materials on the thematic area and concerns of the project were given out, posters, comic books, brochures, and pamphlets.

Main activity related to AA is a Peace Tiles event that we carried out with youths who are artists at the Nakuru player’s theatre for a whole day. 45 tiles were created on the day.

Challenges
Although the organization developed some IEC materials in the strategic planning meeting, there is still a great need of adopting IEC materials from other like minded organization so that we can give out variety

Young people need condoms and they kept asking for condoms during the outreaches the
Organization gave out condoms though not enough and currently we are out of stock.

One of the biggest challenges is that the organization has attracted a great number of young people who want to join the organization; this is a good challenge since the young people are from the community.

Another challenge is that we have to fit into the VCT councilor’s programme since we network with the organization that offers the service and they have their own programmes.

Way forward
The organization has set up a task force of three people to mobilize thematic IEC materials and condoms from any reliable sources through the spirit of networking

The organization is forced by circumstances to increase the number of the members and find how to accommodate them in the activities by increasing the number of the Magnet Theatre community mobilizers from 10 to 15 in order to maintain and sustain positive behavior from the new members.

The organization will hold a joint planning meeting with the VCT services providers in order to avoid inconveniences. The organization is also planning to have three of its members trained on VCT services provision and counseling.

Mostly the activities carried out are supported by staying alive foundation, apart from the PT session which was supported by the artists themselves.

1. Who is supposed to go for V.C.T?
2. What is V.C.T?
3. What is the importance of V.C.T?
4. Can an inmate access V.C.T. services?

• It was the group’s first theatre outreach in prison and working under tight security.
• The other challenge was controlling and entertaining the inmates the lack of a public address system leading to inaudibility of some of the inmates who were contributing to the sessions.
• We also lacked IEC materials to enhance the sessions.
• Prison is quite a distance from the town centre there is need to look for means of transport to the prison.

• The inmates suggested that we be making frequent visits. This suggestion was made by two inmates by the name Njoroge and “PROF.” Bomachake.
• We also promised them that the next time we go we shall provide them with IEC materials.
• We also agreed with the Welfare team from the prison that we shall be visiting the prison twice a month.
• There was also another suggestion that the outreach Programme be extended to the officers at the prison.
• The welfare department and the group members came up with a plan of organizing a mobile V.C.T. service to the inmates and the prison officers and their families.