1800 young in Medellin sensitized to HIV: a hope

Through workshops of sensitization and reflection, at date, 430 young people from educational institutions and other community-based organizations in the city of Medellin became aware on responsible sexuality. 

Learning in training workshops

Each young person participates in two meetings to learn about what is HIV and its routes of infection, in order to use effective methods to prevent transmission

1.a Sensitization workshop: It is a space for reflection and awareness about responsible sexuality

1.b Documental: CINEMA- FORUM allow the analysis and reflection on risk behaviors and routes of HIV infection

2. Discussion: It is a space to talk and resolve questions about HIV, focused on responsibility.

During this training process, young people are invited to learn more about this topic and to visit our blog on HIV / AIDS

http://coconoceydecideaprendiendodelvih.wordpress.com/

In this web site they might find information published by a group of medical experts, who frequently summarize important topics of interest on HIV / AIDS.

The educative institutions with our interventions are IE Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento, Colegio Campestre La Colina, IE Alfredo Cock Arango. Additionality,  this campaign is extended to community-based organizations that have as mission to streghten the training process of young people by giving information on sexual responsibility. As a consequence, a  group of 20 young people from the Corporación  Picacho con Futuro, attended the meetings to learn about HIV and the ways to protect and prevent infection.

Links:

• Video

• InformeMayo_GG_English_26_mayo.pdf (PDF)
  

Your generous donation have contributed implementing this Project. It includes the following goals:

1. Development and assembly of the traveling artistic proposal with incidence in the City of Medellin and the Metropolitan Area
2. The design of the HIV prevention campaign, including the production of audiovisual material for educational activities
3. To carry-out academic workshops with young people enrolled at educational institutions. 

The Art Exhibition

• We received this work: LA FUERZA DEL LAZO ROJO” (THE STRENGHT OF RED RIBBON), oil on canvas -40x50 cm-, donated by a pediatrician and virologist, Dr. Carlos Aguirre, one of the most experienced pediatricians in children HIV treatment in Medellin.  According to the painter: “The picture represents a newborn held by arms which are surrounded by the Red Ribbon, the international AIDS symbol indicating the fight against AIDS”, meaning that prevention of HIV-1 infection in the adults is the basis for preventing HIV-1 infection in newborns. Let us know what it means for you!

• Students at the Medicine Faculty, University of Antioquia, who are taking drawing classes have joined this initiative and have already met, or in the process of meeting with HIV-infected patients for inspiration; they are already working in the paintings for donation. These young people will also have training in HIV prevention.

• Additionally, we are working on a PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION for displaying in open spaces, in order to have the opportunity to reach a wider audience, as shown in the photo. We hope being in this open space (MUSEUM ON THE STREET) and sharing with you soon what we are doing with different groups of people. 

The Media Campaign

• This campaign will be design by the agency MP4PRO and will include:  video clip, a campaign for social networks, an advertising campaign to be displayed at universities, high schools and bus stops.

The Educational Workshops

First, we are prioritizing educational institutions to carry out the preventive workshops, based on the criteria of risk and vulnerability. In addition we prioritized those institutions that had an ongoing sexual education project in which our prevention workshop could be integrated. The workshops will start on March 2016.

We want to thank to all our benefactors of Global Giving that have made the project “1800 young in Medellín, sensitized to HIV: a hope” a reality.

So far we have focused on the planning of the exhibition, which will allow us to establish a dialogue with the community around the HIV/AIDS subject, seeking to fulfill our educational and awareness-raising purposes. We are very pleased with this good start and the alliances that we have made. Following, the most relevant ones are described:

• Agreement pending with the Faculty of Arts of the University of Antioquia, which will allow the participation of students from different levels, with works, assembly and the curator of the exhibition, among others.

• The “Caja de Compensación Familiar”, Comfenalco - Antioquia through its Department of Culture will advise on design, staging and the announcement of the exhibition.

• In the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Antioquia, in the course of art of the flexible curriculum for medical students, we have the support of Professor Elkin Usuga who already made the call among students so that they link to this initiative. Some of them already accepted, and we are in the process to facilitate their approach with some people living with HIV, so they are more sensitized to perform their works.

• Eight non-professional artists have joined this initiative; the vast majority of them are health workers, who have offered different forms of art expressions such as painting, drawing, sculpture and origami.

• The Illustrator and Colombian artist Catalina Estrada, resident in Spain will donate one of her works, honoring the respect and love for life.

• We have an online permission, waiting for the legal signature, of the Museum of fine arts of Santiago of Chile to reproduce one of their master pieces, giving the appropriate credits.

Thanks to your support we are making this dream come true!!!