By Stephan Bren, MAYF
Tuesday, November 15, 2005

LAGOS NIGERIA: Representatives of the Swedish youth organization, Internationellt KulturUtbyte (IKU), traveled to Lagos, Nigeria, to participate in MAYF’s Catch Them Young, a program for educating Nigerian youth with regard to HIV/AIDS.

IKU Östersund is a non-governmental youth organization working to address international issues and to establish relationships with other non-governmental organizations around the world. IKU began collaborative efforts with MYAF earlier this year, by observing and assisting with MAYF educational programs, and meeting with MAYF and local government leaders.

IKU representatives returned to Lagos on June 6, working with MAYF and local government to further develop MAYF’s Catch Them Young program. During this period, MAYF and IKU representatives visited primary and secondary schools throughout the Mgbala Agwa region to introduce the program to school children.

IKU also helped organize local activities, including a street walk and football tournament in the town of Mgbala Agwa. The street walk provided interested townspeople with information and counseling on HIV/AIDS. IKU representatives concluded their visit by touring the region’s health care facilities.

IKU noted the challenges that MAYF faces with regard to HIV/AIDS, identifying lack of education on HIV/AIDS as one of the most signficant challenges. For example, some children that IKU interviewed thought that HIV/AIDS was contracted through toilet use, while another disliked using contraceptives and believed that God would protect her.

Another challenge was cultural and involved the varying status of men and women, were young women are not encouraged to educate themselves on such matters. Such challenges underscored the need to “catch them young,” in order to install early education and awareness of the dangers of HIV/AIDS and how to protect oneself from these dangers.

Such challenges also highlighted the importance of women’s participation in MAYF organization and educational activities, in order to help women make more informed choices regarding sexual activity. In general, IKU found considerable enthusiasm among the youth that participated in MAYF events.

By Stephan Bren, MAYF
Wednesday, June 6, 2005

LAGOS NIGERIA: A representative from the Swedish youth organization, Internationellt KulturUtbyte (IKU), recently traveled to Lagos, Nigeria, to meet with Mgbala Agwa Youth Forum (MAYF) and community leaders, to explore ways to improve AIDS education and other health issues through collaborative projects and workshops.

IKU Östersund is a non-governmental youth organization working to address international issues and to establish relationships with other non-governmental organizations around the world.

For many years, IKU Östersund has searched for an organizations in Nigeria with which to collaborate in addressing such challenging social issues as HIV/AIDS. After learning about MAYF through its website, IKU Östersund contacted MAYF to explore possible collaborative projects together.

MAYF then invited representatives from IKU Östersund to learn more about MAYF and its community first hand. Marielle Paulove was sent by IKU Östersund to meet with MAYF and community leaders and initiate a partnership between IKU Östersund and MAYF. Marielle has been to Lagos before, while working as a volunteer over a six month period the previous year.

MAYF is a community-based organization (CBO) registered with the local authority as a Youth Forum. It is the first of its kind in Nigeria to function as a resource centre for in-depth research into history, prevention, control and management of HIV/AIDS and Sexual Transmitted Diseases. It targets an estimated population of about 450,000 Nigerians in rural extensions and is focused on HIV/AIDS, Educational Awareness, Environmental Technology, Youths empowerment in Mgbala Agwa, a rural community in Imo State, Nigeria.

Over an event-filled four day period, Marielle met with MAYF and community leaders and youth, observed community health practices and education programs, and worked with MAYF staff to develop two projects: one involving the development of an awareness campaign on community health issues and the second focusing on teacher training in HIV/AIDS at government schools in the surrounding area.

Marielle noted the significant challenges facing the MAYF with regard to community health issues. One challenge involves healthcare. The Mgbala Agwa region has a rural population of approximately 100,000, but is served by a single government subsidized health center, which is staffed by a single nurse, and having few medical supplies.

Another challenge involves funding for development of the new MAYF library, as the local government is not able to fully provide due to limited resources. Lastly, one of the greatest challenges that the community faces is simply inadequate education. the Mgbala Agwa region has just three small schools serving over 600 children. So small are the school facilities that not all children can fit into a classroom at once, during instruction.

Additionally, some classrooms are not adequately equipped with tables and chairs and only feature a blackboard and a stone floor. Community families cannot send all their children to school at once, since they are needed to assist with farming, which is the primary means of livelihood in the region. Despite such challenges, Marielle was impressed by the commitment and dedication of MAYF and community leaders to address these challenges and find solutions to them.

The lack of adequate education in the community is one of the primary challenges that MAYF faces in its efforts to fight AIDS. The importance of education in addressing AIDS was clearly noted by Marielle in her many conversations with community members. For example, one young girl that Marielle interviewed thought that AIDS was a disease transmitted through dirty toilets.

The importance of education is well-understood by the MAYF coordinator, Nduka Ozor, who considers education the principle and most effective means by which he can address the painful impact of AIDS within his community. Nduka is particularly interested in educating the young, since “If no one teaches them, sooner or later someone will teach them the wrong thing, and that is why we have to catch them young.”

Currently, IKU Östersund is working to obtain financial support for a future project with MAYF, planned for 2005.