The Reviewed and
Revised Compendium of Christian Projects
Addressing the Diseases
of Poverty: HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and TB
Reviewer’s Comment: Strategies for Hope
materials are very valuable, especially in their ability to simply demonstrate
sometimes complicated ideas.
Purpose
Strategies
for Hope (SFH) was an ActionAid project from its beginning in 1989 until the
year 2000, when, following a two year phase out, it was handed over to Teaching
Aids at Low Cost (TALC).*
This ActionAid executive summary outlines
the findings of an end of project review which had three aims:
§
to
assess the effectiveness of SFH materials in the field, within the context of
other HIV/AIDS information sources;
§
to
try to understand what influence SFH materials have had in the wider field of
HIV/AIDS information and policy; and
§
to
review the relationship between SFH and ActionAid over the period.
This summary presents the key findings relating to
the first two aims, and is written for external audiences, including the donors
who have supported SFH, partners to the project, and other organizations that
have an interest in the review.
Production & distribution
By the end of 2000, the SFH series comprised 15
books, 4 accompanying videos, plus the Stepping
Stones training manual and video.
Total production amounted to 885,650 books, 13,050 videos, and almost
9,000 training manuals. Although some
of the materials have been translated into local languages, English, French and
Swahili predominated.
Analysis of the project’s mailing list showed that
at least 80% of the books, and two thirds of the videos and manuals, had been
sent directly to people in the target area, Africa. The majority of these were sent for free to organizations that
could not afford to pay for the materials.
However, over time funding has become harder to secure and production
levels for each book or video have fallen; this, coupled with growth in the
project database, has led to a decrease in the quantity of SFH materials
supplied for free to each organization.
The reviewers concluded that from a global
perspective, the coverage and reach of SFH is impressive, but for an individual
country it seems patchy, with some key agencies omitted and relatively thin
coverage in outlying areas. This seems
to be the inevitable outcome of SFH’s global distribution and the vast numbers
of organizations falling within its current target group.
Feedback about SFH materials
In the field visits the response to SFH materials
was positive, with people generally appreciating the format of the books as
short, simple, and attractive and easy to understand. In terms of content, they particularly valued SFH’s use of real
life stories which they can relate to, and of approaches that can be copied or
adapted to suit local circumstances.
Among the problems raised were that there are not
enough copies, that they are not in local languages, and that they do not
feature local experiences. There were
also questions as to whether the approaches featured are transferable, how the
materials might be updated, and whether they could be made more
interactive.
In contrast to the bulk of the SFH series, which
aims to inform and inspire, the Stepping
Stones training materials are intended for use at community level, and as
such they were valued as a practical, relevant and user-friendly tool. The two main problems raised were that they
are not in local languages and that the manual – and the Stepping Stones process - is very long.
International influence
The
reviewers sent an e-mail questionnaire to some key informants in the international
sphere of AIDS work. Their feedback
identified major shifts in policy and practice over the past decade, including
many changes of the kind promoted by SFH.
They also pointed to five key roles that SFH has played in the
international arena:
§
giving
the epidemic and people affected by it a voice;
§
getting
recognition for small initiatives in the field of HIV/AIDS;
§
providing
a training tool through Stepping Stones;
§
raising
issues not adequately understood by decision makers;
§
influencing
policy and practice.
Although we cannot attribute direct links between
SFH materials and changes in policy and practice, the responses to the e-mail
questionnaire show that the project did influence some key players, and reveal
considerable consonance between trends in HIV/AIDS work over the past decade
and SFH messages.
Capacity building
SFH has increased the participation of local writers
and video production companies, with some benefits to the individuals
involved. However, having a
predetermined style and standard for the series, and pressure to meet
deadlines, inhibited the flexibility and negotiation that is necessary for
capacity building. The project has also
invested in setting up the capacity for local distribution systems, with mixed
results.
Since 1998, the project has had a specific aim to
build the capacity of ActionAid programs to document their work and to
disseminate materials, and undertook three documentation workshops for AA staff
and their partners. This led to some
hard outcomes in the form of locally produced booklets and videos, but the
potential was not fulfilled, lacking sufficient resources and institutional
commitment from within ActionAid.
IEC materials
The fieldwork indicated that the general
availability of IEC materials for HIV/AIDS work has increased substantially
since SFH began. The range of materials
includes books, pamphlets, newsletters, videos, posters, models and training
manuals, some of which are locally-produced materials and in local
languages. However, access to the
materials is uneven, and some people suggested that increasing access to
existing materials is a greater issue than the production of new ones. With regard to the internet, whilst a few
people were making use of it as an information resource and a place for
interaction with others, the majority did not have access to the internet.
When considering the criteria for good IEC
materials, workshop participants tended to conflate materials designed for them
and those designed for use at community level, with their emphasis on the
latter. Their key criteria included
materials being: locally-rooted; in local languages; interactive; of
appropriate length; attractive; consistently available in sufficient
quantities; easy to use, or with guidance or support to use; from a credible
source; and having been produced in a participatory manner. SFH materials were felt to meet many
criteria, and to be ‘good’ materials, but with the limitations of not being
local, in local languages or easy to use directly at community level.
Some issues arose about IEC materials in
general. These were: whether
information from outside is sufficient to change practice without additional
support such as further information, training and exchange visits; how locally
produced materials need improved distribution; how ‘good practice’ may not be
applicable in other circumstances, and becomes out of date; and how all
materials have drawbacks, with a wide range needed to fit different needs and
circumstances.
Conclusion
SFH has succeeded in its aim to produce and
distribute quality materials documenting good practice which inform and inspire
individuals and organizations. SFH
materials have supported and enabled specific changes in practice, and were
also found to have made positive contributions at the international level,
bringing local voices of the pandemic to policy makers and highlighting the
importance of community based responses in HIV/AIDS work.
SFH’s work began when there was a dearth of
information, but as the pandemic has progressed the volume and availability of
AIDS materials has increased, including locally produced materials in a variety
of media. Meanwhile funding constraints
and a much larger database have meant that SFH materials are available for free
distribution to individual organizations in much smaller quantities. In this context the relative impact of SFH
products has decreased. Although SFH
materials are still appreciated and wanted by community organizations, they do
not, and cannot, meet the demand for locally-rooted and local language
materials for use at community level.
Such demands can only be met by local organizations, a role that
ActionAid country programs could embrace.
On the available evidence as to who uses SFH materials to the greatest
effect, and given the above constraints, the reviewers suggested that if the
series is to continue then SFH materials could be developed for, and
distributed to, a more tightly defined target group of policy makers and key
decision makers who have the resources and mandate to apply the messages to
their own organizations.
STEPPING STONES: A training
package on HIV/AIDS, gender issues, communication and relationship skills
What is it?
§
A
240-page manual for trainers, and an accompanying workshop video of 15
five-minute clips (though the manual can be used without the video).
§
Full,
closely-guided instructions on how to run around 60 hours of workshop sessions,
divided into 18 sessions over 10 to 12 weeks.
§
Designed
to enable women and men of all ages to explore their social, sexual and
psychological needs, to analyze the communication blocks they face, and to practice
different ways of behaving in their relationships.
The workshop aims to enable individuals, their peers
and their communities to change their behavior - individually and together -
through the ‘stepping stones’ which the various sessions provide.
For whom?
§
Designed
for use in existing HIV/AIDS projects, and in general development projects
which plan to introduce an on-going AIDS component.
§
Designed
for use by a team of skilled people - ideally two male, two female - who work
with peer groups of community members.
§
Experienced
trainers should be able to use the material straight away.
Less experienced trainers may need a training course
to help them start to use it.
With whom?
§
Originally
for use in communities throughout sub-Saharan Africa. However, it is also being
successfully adapted for use in Asia, North and Latin America and Europe.
Most sessions are designed for people in small
groups of 10-20, of their own gender and age. Occasional sessions bring
everyone together.
Why?
§
The
ABC of AIDS (Abstain! Be faithful! Use condoms!) on its own does not work.
Lectures on AIDS are too simplistic.
§
Stepping
Stones grew out of the need to address the vulnerability of women and young
people in decision-making about sexual behavior.
The materials enable people to explore the huge
range of issues which affect our sexual health - including gender roles, money,
alcohol use, traditional practices, attitudes to sex, attitudes to death and
our own personalities.
How?
§
All
sessions use a participatory approach of adult learning through shared
discussions.
§
The
exercises are all based on people's own experiences, and role play and drawing
exercises enable everyone to take
part. No literacy is needed.
§
Participants
discuss their experiences, act them out, analyze them, consider alternative
outcomes, and then rehearse these together in a safe, supportive group.
§
People
feel safe because most sessions take place in groups of their own gender and
age.
Though designed with HIV/AIDS in mind, the package
covers many related topics such as gender violence and alcohol use.
Journeys of Faith describes and analyses
innovative HIV/AIDS programs carried out by churches and other Christian organizations
in Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa.
This book is the sixteenth in the Strategies for
Hope (SFH) series, which was established by ActionAid in 1989 and is now a
project of Teaching-aids at Low Cost (TALC).
The SFH series, while not a faith-based organization, has always recognized
the importance of spirituality and of religious institutions in promoting good
health and coping with illness. Nowhere
is religious faith of greater relevance than in responding to the daunting
challenges of the HIV pandemic.
Journeys of Faith describes how local
churches and Christian organizations in three southern African countries have
responded to the challenges of HIV/AIDS with imagination, courage and
commitment based on their religious faith.
We hope that other faith-based organizations will find inspiration and
encouragement in these experiences.
Strategies for Hope plans to publish a study guide and resource booklet
- entitled Called to Care - to help
church groups reflect on the HIV/AIDS situation in their community, and to plan
and carry out activities aimed at HIV/AIDS care, support and prevention
activities.
The writing of this book has been a collective
effort involving four co-authors. Parts
of the book describe HIV/AIDS work in which two co-authors - Lucy Steinitz and
Phumzile Zondi - are directly involved.
We would like to make it clear, however, that neither of these
co-authors wrote the sections of the book which describe their work.
The individuals and organizations whose work is
described in Journeys of Faith were
actively involved in checking and revising the relevant chapters of the
book. Any factual errors or
misinterpretations, however, are entirely the responsibility of the
co-authors.
We are deeply grateful to the five church organizations,
and the UNAIDS Inter-country Office for East and Southern Africa, for the
financial assistance they have provided to make this book a reality. Any views expressed in the book, however,
are the responsibility of the co-authors.
Glen Williams, Series Editor Strategies for Hope
CALLED TO CARE: A Study
Guide and Resource Book for Journeys of
Faith (Book Preface)
Called to Care is intended for church
groups and organizations that are thinking of making an organizational response
to the HIV epidemic. We hope it will
also be useful to those who are already involved in HIV/AIDS activities and
would like to broaden their horizons.
This is
not a stand-alone booklet, but is meant to accompany Strategies for Hope book
16, Journeys of Faith: church-based
responses to HIV and AIDS in three southern African countries. It is assumed that church group leaders will
have a copy of Journeys of Faith and
will be familiar with its contents. It
would also be useful for some members of the group to have read at least part
of Journeys of Faith.
We hope that Called
to Care will help church groups and organizations to:
§
Reflect
collectively on the spiritual, theological, ethical, organizational and
practical issues raised by Journeys of
Faith.
§
Acquire
greater spiritual strength to face up to the challenges posed by the HIV/AIDS
epidemic.
§
Decide
together on actions which are appropriate to local conditions, and feasible for
the church groups and organizations concerned.
§
Gain
access to additional training and information materials to assist them in
planning and carrying out activities related to HIV/AIDS care, support and
prevention.
Users of Called
to Care and Journeys of Faith
should feel free to photocopy any of the pages of these two publications.
Only a small number of the first edition of Called to Care is being printed. This is so that the next edition can include
the experiences of the many church groups and organizations, who, we hope, will
use both Called to Care and Journeys of Faith to help develop new
HIV/AIDS programs and activities.
Please write to us, describing how you are using these two publications. We would also be extremely grateful for
examples of exercises, study guides, prayers, songs, posters, drawings and any
other materials you have developed, which could perhaps be included in the next
edition of Called to Care.
We hope that Called
to Care will help you and your church on your journey of faith towards a
world in which HIV/AIDS no longer devastates the lives of millions of people
throughout the world.
Canon Gideon Byamugisha Dr Patricia Nickson
Dr Lucy Y. Steinitz Glen
Williams
These and other Strategies
for Hope documents can be obtained through Teaching AIDS at Low Cost (TALC): PO Box 49, St Albans, Herts
LA1 5TX, United Kingdom; www.talcuk.org; stratshope@talcuk.org
*
Although Strategies for Hope is not a Christian initiative, many of the
projects that have been documented are Christian, including Stepping Stones,
Journeys of Faith and Called to Care (See summaries at the end of this
entry).