IST

A year later, I find myself back Tubani So, the Peace Corps training center just outside of Bamako, this time as a trainer. From December 6-13, I helped to lead technical sessions for the newest batch of Heath Education volunteers. We’ve covered everything from pre- and post-natal consultations to STI’s and moringa. The volunteers got to go to a local school to do health animations (interactive education) at the end of last week. The group I was with spoke to a 9th grade classroom about HIV and AIDs as well as contraceptives. The kids were much more knowledgeable than I would have expected. Surprisingly, the teacher was also very knowledgeable, and was extremely helpful in making sure the students understood the volunteers’ Bamabara and French. The volunteers themselves gave great presentations and were able to keep relatively straight faces when talking about some very sensitive topics. The hardest part seemed to be answering questions about where AIDS came from. Not just how you get it, but how people got it in the first place. Of course, they also wanted to know if people in America have it too, and whether or not the rates of infection were the same there as they are in Mali.

The rate of infection in Mali is actually quite low, around 1.3%, while in America it is about .3%. Of course in other African countries, the rates can be much higher, which is why it seems that Africa as a continent is highly affected. Regardless, it is still an issue here, and many organizations are working to fight it and to raise awareness of it. It is interesting to go to a school, or even to talk about it with people in village over tea and hear about what they know. In my village specifically, people know that one man is infected, and they know that he cannot marry because he will infect others. In a Muslim culture that puts emphasis on multiple wives as a status symbol, it seems quite progressive to have a whole community stand behind one man’s choice to stay single. The village was one of many that received HIV/AIDS education and sensitization from a past volunteer, one of the biggest reasons why they have chosen to support this man and why he has chosen to avoid infecting others. Other villages might not be so inclined, but through our interaction and education, perhaps we really are making a difference.