HIV/AIDS Education Project

HIV/AIDS education remains out of reach for many in rural communities, so in 2012, with a grant from the Global Fund for Women, we developed an HIV/AIDS Education project in Nyamagongo. Our primary goal is to provide education, testing, treatment referral, and counseling. We aim to empower HIV-positive individuals with the necessary skills to cope with the impact of HIV/AIDS on their families and to raise awareness of government resources and patient rights. 

We hired Linda Arot, one of our teachers, also a certified HIV counselor, to head the project. Herself, HIV-positive, Linda was eager to teach other women about her success in keeping her family HIV-negative. Through this project, we have sponsored health education events and provided care to over 300 local residents with the help of our partner, Shirati Hospital, and the Tanzanian government's HIV/AIDS clinics.

In early 2013, Linda created the Positive Living Support Group, to engage those who had completed the first round of classes. The group organizes HIV/AIDS education events and conducts weekly meetings with HIV-positive members, those at risk, and their partners. Linda, a highly respected health educator and community leader, trains the participants as health advocates who provide HIV/AIDS education for the surrounding communities. Four social work interns, volunteering with REACH Shirati, have spent six months at a time working with Linda on our health program. 

Our project has become a regional success and expanded to nearby Sota and Mchere villages in late 2013.

'He who learns, teaches'  Ethiopian Proverb

Read Mama Usiku's Story, one of the first participants in our Women's Health Group HIV/AIDS education classes.

Learn why Linda is so passionate about her "Positive Living" Group and about spreading her message of a healthier, happier future.