CCF Makes Commitment to Support Youth in the 2010 International AIDS Conference

By Sarah A. Roush, program associate for CCF

A major theme of the International AIDS Conference has been engaging young people meaningfully in programs and policy. There is a large youth presence at the conference with a special youth program designed to help young people maximize their engagement at the conference and a youth pavilion designated as a place for youth to network. At the youth pavilion individuals are urged to make a commitment to engage youth meaningfully in their organization at the youth commitments desk. This concept was introduced at the 2006 conference in Toronto, where more than 350 commitments were collected from high profile officials, as well as NGOs and other individuals. Commitments are meant to be a concrete, time bound goal that youth force members will follow up on over the course of the year.

I was extremely proud, as a young person myself, to make a commitment on behalf of CCF today. I pledged that:

Christian Children’s Fund commits to supporting at least four child and youth leaders (from the 31 African, Asian, North and South American countries in which we work) to attend and actively participate in the 2010 International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria. Youth will be selected through a participatory process that is youth led and managed.

This stands as a statement of CCF’s deep commitment to developing young leaders in the community where we work, as well as a reminder that we must ensure that youth themselves are actively involved in planning their roles at events such as the International AIDS Conference. Over the next two years, the HIV team will plan CCF’s strategic engagement at the 2010 International AIDS Conference, which will include a robust role for the youth that join our delegation.

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Talking about AIDS and Children

By Sarah A. Roush, program associate for CCF

Today’s speech at the International AIDS Conference was given by Dr. Linda Richter, executive director of Child, Youth, Family and Social Development at the Human Sciences Research Council. As Linda noted to thunderous applause, this was the first time that a plenary speech at the International AIDS Conference had ever addressed the needs of children affected by AIDS.

Dr. Richter began by demonstrating the ways in which children have been left behind in the response to the global AIDS epidemic. Last year, 370,000 children were infected with HIV and 250,000 died from HIV-related illnesses. Only 10 percent of the 2 million children currently living with HIV are on anti-retroviral therapy. Additionally, more than 12 million children lost one or more parents to AIDS in 2007.

She went on to discuss the problems related to focusing only on providing services to children rather than focusing on support to strengthen the ability for families and communities to care for vulnerable children. About 60 percent of children in southern Africa live in poverty, but as of 2007 only 15 percent of households supporting orphans and vulnerable children receive aid. In fact, families assume 90 percent of the cost associated with caring for children affected by HIV. For already vulnerable families this means that there is less money available for food, health care and education.

Because families are the most influential support for children and adolescents, Dr. Richter urged the global community to place greater emphasis on family-focused prevention, treatment and care and to develop comprehensive and integrated family-centered services. She closed the session by noting that “all children, including those affected by HIV and AIDS, are best cared for in functional families with basic income security, access to health care and education and support from kin and community.”

These words resonate deeply for me, because CCF has long been a proponent of family-based interventions, recognizing the critical role that families play in the healthy development of children. CCF will continue play an active role in carrying forward this dialogue around the needs of vulnerable children and communities affected by AIDS.

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Meeting Former Sponsored Child Misozi

By Sarah A. Roush, program associate for CCF

One of the most energizing events that I attended this week was “Addressing the Gap: Commitments, Funding and Youth Engagement.” In this session, a panel of youth and adult allies discussed the advances that have been made to meaningfully engage youth in HIV programs and at the International AIDS Conference, as well as ways to improve efforts to reach out to young people.

Contributing to the panel was Misozi, a young women who is active in CCF’s programs in Zambia. Misozi is 20 and has been a sponsored child since 1999. She is currently the outgoing president of the Children’s Committee of Kafue Central Project and the spokesperson for the Global Movement for Children. Misozi used this opportunity at the panel to speak about the cultural barriers to youth participation and the need for education and skills training to ensure that youth voices are heard.

She spoke from personal experience, describing successful campaigns that she and the Children’s Committee have carried out, such as engaging with police and traditional leaders to improve enforcement of laws against child sexual abuse. As president of the committee, Misozi oversees efforts to assist vulnerable children in Zambia through outreach and education on issues such as child rights.

Misozi told me about how she benefited from these programs when she first joined the Committee in 2005. She had a difficult time after her parents’ divorce when she was 10, and experienced neglect and mistreatment at home. CCF supported her with school fees, books and tutoring, but it wasn’t until she was trained on child rights through the committee that she was able to open up and talk about her situation with her peers. The committee provided a safe space for her to express herself, and as president she has worked to ensure that other children and youth have access to this supportive environment as well.

Today, Misozi is working as a researcher on the well being of children in Kafue District with Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative and continues to engage with the Children’s Committee. She plans on holding workshops for children, youth and CCF staff on the information that she gained at the International AIDS Conference. She hopes to start attending college next year, studying community development.

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CCF Staff Attends International AIDS Conference in Mexico City

Sarah A. Roush, Program Associate for CCF

Today was the first full day of the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. Held every two years in a different international location, the conference is the space where more than 20,000 individuals and groups engaged in HIV/AIDS work, including CCF, come together for a week of information exchange, networking and activism.

Outside of the main conference building is the Global Village which is an informal space where activists put on performances and groups, such as youth and people living with HIV/AIDS, have networking zones. Throughout the Global Village, volunteers hand out colorful fliers for different events going on during the week. In the Global Village and at the main conference, groups present innovative new programs for combating AIDS.

One such program being promoted in the Global Village is “Hairdressers Against AIDS,” a global program created by L’Oreal in which hairdressers working in partner salons are sensitized and given a basic education on HIV issues. In participating salons around the world, hairdressers can then engage interested clients in basic discussions about HIV prevention. More than 1 million hairdressers working in 400,000 salons in 22 countries have been trained through this program. To promote the program, “Hairdressers Against AIDS” were offering free hairstyles at the conference… naturally, I volunteered immediately!

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CCF Youth Speak at Symposium on AIDS

By Sarah A. Roush, program associate for Christian Children's Fund

On Aug. 1-2, I participated in the “Children and AIDS: Action Now, Action How” Symposium being held in Mexico City prior to the International AIDS Conference. The Symposium was attended by 530 delegates and 170 presenters from more than 70 countries. Attendees included program managers and staff, HIV advocates, policymakers and government officials, academics and researchers. The event provided a forum for discussion between individuals working on issues of children and AIDS at all levels, with the shared goal of pushing the agenda to improve programs for young people.

CCF was represented at the panel “Including Children and Youth in Community-Level Advocacy”. William Fleming (HIV/AIDS Program Specialist) moderated and two CCF youth spoke about their experiences and leadership on HIV youth programs in their communities.

Carmen is 17, and is a CCF sponsored youth living in Honduras. Juan is 21 and lives in Mexico. After their presentation and the crowds of individuals eager to speak with them had drifted away, I sat down with Carmen and Juan to discuss their work with CCF.


How did you decide to get involved in youth HIV work?
Juan: When I was in high school, I found out that two of my relatives were infected with HIV. I started doing research on it and was inspired to start doing work for prevention.
Carmen: My friends and I knew that the rate of HIV infected children in Honduras was very high, and we wanted to help. After doing research, we formed a group of CCF-sponsored youth to do prevention work. Now we’ve expanded to also include youth that aren’t affiliated with CCF.

Tell me about an achievement in your work that you’re proudest of.
Juan: My most outstanding achievement was advocating with youth Human Rights Promoters for Women’s Rights on International Women’s Day. We presented musical theater during festivals on the topic of Gender Based Violence. This effort reached communities as far as two hours away –- it was a very big achievement to spread our message so far.
Carmen: Among our youth group in Honduras, there used to be discrimination over income, religion, etc… but since we’ve been working for a common cause, we’ve been talking more and we’re one team. This is a great achievement.

Have you experienced a change in adults’ opinions of youth in your communities since you’ve started this work?
Carmen: Yes! Because they see the work that we’re doing, adults know youth aren’t just focused on irrelevant things. Through our meetings and representation, they know we youth are working on important issues.
Juan: At first adults in my community thought I was lazy –- that I was just hanging around, not studying… since I’ve started this work, they’ve become very supportive.
Carmen: Yes, parents prevented youth from participating in our training before but now they encourage their children to join.

How have you personally changed through your work? What are your future goals?
Carmen: I’m a much more open and sociable person now –- I’m a very secure person. My dream is to keep working with children. I want to be a teacher and not just teach math or grammar, but also values and how to be proactive on issues like HIV.
Juan: I am a shy person, and before I had trouble speaking in front of groups. Now I know I can contribute more because I have gained confidence through my work; I can speak publicly, I am here at an international conference. I also have the satisfaction of having made a difference with the youth in my country. I am inspired to keep working on these issues.

What have you gained from your participation in this symposium?
Carmen: I learned a lot, and was very proud to present at an international conference and receive such good comments. I was also excited because I’d never been to Mexico before!
Juan: I learned so much about global efforts working with youth on HIV, it has been overwhelming. I made a lot of contacts and the opportunity to be invited was an honor.

What else can Non-Governmental Organizations do to support youth in efforts like yours?
Carmen: Information access, economic resources, and other methodologies for working with young people.
Juan: She stole everything I was going to say! In addition to these things, providing spaces for youth to come together and express themselves.

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