RTC Aids Prevention Education

The Stay Alive™ Program

Problem

UNAIDS reports (AIDS Epidemic Update 2004) that 2.3 million people died of AIDS in Africa in 2004 (3.1 million worldwide) and that 25.4 of the 39.4 million currently living with HIV/AIDS are in Africa—that’s 74%! Even more tragic is the fact that approximately 2.2 million of the infected are children (ages 0-14) and young people ages 15-24 comprise “nearly half of all new infections.” Fear, stigma, and a lack of education and resources perpetuate HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Solution

Prevention education involving all levels and ages of society is the key to striking at the roots of HIV/AIDS. The Stay Alive™ HIV/AIDS Prevention Education Program (licensed by United Families International) encourages hope by teaching children how to remain disease-free through consequential thinking. Using the Stay Alive program, Reach the Children targets 9 to 14 year old children in participating countries. The Stay Alive program arms them with the tools to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and helps them understand that happiness can be found in healthy, loving families. This is accomplished through a collaborative effort with country officials, local leaders, parents, guardians and teachers.

Success

In 2003, Reach the Children facilitated 128 training workshops, 4477 teachers, 8209 parents, and 377, 379 students in the Stay Alive program. Country-wide efforts began in Kenya, Uganda, and Ghana.

Naomi Obuya is a teenage girl who lives in Kendu Bay, a village in Western Kenya. The HIV rate in Kendu Bay is close to 33% of the population, yet no one wants to talk about it. A few years ago, Naomi was taking care of her ailing mother. She knew something was wrong but no one spoke of the problem. Her father had died a year earlier of a sickness and her mother was soon to follow.

The Stay Alive Program was introduced into Kendu Bay during the time Naomi’s mother started showing signs of the sickness. Prior to her death, the mother had one request and that was to obtain the words to the “Stay Alive” song so that she could help uplift and motivate her children to say HIV/AIDS free.

Naomi, the daughter, sent Reach the Children a thank you letter after the Stay Alive program was introduced into her village. “We have taken to our mind that to live a long, loving life, we should be happy and love ourselves. Actually, God wants us to be loving and I know that he will do good to those who does good.” Her parents have both passed away from AIDS and she is left to take care of her three younger siblings, yet she has hope and is determined to remain AIDS free.

United Families International

The Stay Alive™ Program is licensed to Reach the Children by UFI. “United Families International (UFI) is pleased to announce the expansion of our partnership with Reach the Children. Due to their excellence in managing and implementing the Stay Alive program in Kenya, Uganda, and Ghana, Reach the Children has now been appointed by United Families to manage the Stay Alive program for all of Africa.”

— Sharon Slater, President of United Families International

Care for Life Teaches Stay Alive in Mozambique

Care For Life sees first hand the devastation caused by the HIV/AIDS pandemic on children and families. On average, about 500 new HIV infections occur every day in the Mozambique, 90 of them among new-born babies through mother-to-child transmission.

Care For Life implements the Stay Alive Program to teach HIV/AIDS prevention to kids ages 9-14 and to parents/caretakers of those children. Care For Life goes to the people and teaches them about abstinence and prevention in their own villages. They also teach Stay Alive in the public schools that will reach thousands of children combined with the villages. Care For Life is committed to helping orphans and vulnerable children through their Family Preservation Program that gives them hope of education, self sufficiency and the love and support of their own family. This holistic approach to keeping themselves and their families healthy, happy and live a long productive life will aid Mozambique in reversing the deadly pandemic that plagues their people.