THE REGIONS
In this section:
Senegal’s Bus ‘Coaxers’ Learn
to Fight HIV/AIDS
Paraguayan Indians Secure Ancestral Lands
Muppets Take to TV Screens in Bangladesh
Voters Move Toward Reform in Moldova
AFRICA
Senegal’s Bus ‘Coaxers’ Learn to Fight HIV/AIDS
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Moustapha Diouf, a 33-year-old Senegalese “coaxer”
at an informal bus station in a suburb of Dakar, is
educating his peers about safe sexual behaviors.
Richard Nyberg, USAID/Senegal |
GRAND YOFF, Senegal—Moustapha Diouf earns 40
cents for each minibus he helps fill by calling out its destination
and coaxing riders onboard. But he has taken his job as a
“coaxer” a step further, and has been trained to
persuade people to avoid HIV/AIDS.
Diouf was one of the first people in Grand Yoff, a suburb
of the capital city Dakar, to be trained by a local USAID-supported
NGO.
He and others trained by ENDA-GRAF (Environmental and Development
Action, Research, Action, and Training Group) are now leading
more than 200 coaxers in group discussions about how to protect
themselves against HIV infection and other issues.
The coaxers have also organized to help protect poor women
from getting infected. The women are vendors and do other
work near bus stations. Diouf and others have joined together
to help them improve their earnings so they will not turn
to prostitution, which can increase the spread of AIDS.
He organized the coaxers into eight teams, and they pooled
their earnings and opened an account at the nearby savings
and credit union. That, in turn, has helped bring women into
what began as men-only discussions on avoiding AIDS.
Diouf said: “We have also been able to offer loans
to the female vendors, increasing their economic power and
making them less vulnerable.
“On Labor Day we organized a big rally with the Women’s
Credit Union, and we met with the local leaders to tell them
our concerns about AIDS. We had a remarkable turnout and they
listened to us. The women vendors and coaxers support each
other, and we feel we are recognized and accepted by the community.”
Diouf, 33, dropped out of school at age 9 and began hanging
out at the bus station where he now works.
After meeting a representative of ENDA-GRAF at the bus station,
Diouf was himself coaxed into joining the peer education program.
“ENDA-GRAF’s intervention shook me awake, and I
began to understand that my life was in jeopardy,” he
said.
ENDA-GRAF has been running this project since 1998, and
is now operating 36 sites in six regions.
“The strength of this activity is its comprehensive
approach,” said Jennifer Adams, USAID/Senegal’s
health team leader. “We are not only looking to raise
awareness with individuals, but we take a closer look at needs
around bus stations and other venues where people are at heightened
risk of HIV/AIDS infection.”
“We extend our activities to the wives and girlfriends
of these transport workers,” she added, “empowering
them with information that will help curb the spread of HIV/AIDS.”
The proportion of transport workers who said they changed
their behavior to avoid HIV/AIDS grew from 61 percent in 2003
to 83.5 percent in 2004.
USAID has spent more than $25 million in Senegal since 1987
to keep HIV infections in the West African nation low. HIV
infection is estimated at 1.5 percent in the country of 11
million.
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Paraguayan Indians Secure Ancestral Lands
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Mbya Guarani men symbolically defend their ancestral
lands with rustic bows and arrows. In reality, their
fight is being carried out within the legal system through
land titling negotiations.
Daniel Piris, International Development Research Center |
ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay—On an otherwise quiet
night, an indigenous community known as Nembiara, 200 kilometers
east of the capital, found itself suddenly and violently under
attack.
Some 30 families of the ancient indigenous group Mbya Guarani
were dislodged from their homes. Their crops were destroyed.
Adults grabbed children and ran for cover in the bush, not
knowing when—if ever—they would be able to return.
At the time of the attack, the Nembiara community, located
in a rural area in the eastern region of Paraguay, had been
desperately clinging to a mere 500 hectares, the last timber
area of their once vast ancestral territory. Here, indigenous
groups like the Mbya Guarani are facing threats to their claims
on ancestral lands from drug traffickers, organized crime,
and strong agricultural interest lobbies.
Displaced families are thrown into poverty, frequently in
cities where they are marginalized and torn from their cultural
practices and norms. Often they do not speak Spanish, but
only their native tongue, Guarani, making it even more difficult
for them to integrate into city life.
Through a Paraguayan nongovernmental organization called
Oguasu, USAID is now assisting groups such as the Mbya Guarani
to secure their land rights by helping indigenous leaders
work with the government to formalize ownership of ancestral
lands.
“The indigenous leaders mobilize based on the needs
and priorities of their communities, and the results obtained
by these leaders, once they are enabled with the necessary
tools for action, are amazing,” said Marilin Rehnfeldt
of Oguasu.
Over the past two years, Oguasu aided eight Mbya communities—home
to 1,278 people—to obtain legal titles for 4,133 hectares
of land.
The group also backed the Mbya in lobbying for legislation
and public policies in the areas of public health and education
for indigenous populations.
Oguasu helps each indigenous community appoint public health
promoters and midwives. The group trains these volunteers
so they can improve health conditions in their communities.
“Now children get immunizations, pregnant women are
no longer afraid to ask for neonatal care, and community members
have even learned to bundle up to avoid catching colds during
the winter,” said Catalina Pelayo, coordinator for the
public health promoters.
Oguasu is one of over 60 organizations that have received
subgrants via the USAID/Paraguay civil society program implemented
by the International Development Research Center, a Paraguayan
NGO.
This program has invested $3 million over the past three
years to strengthen democracy in Paraguay by supporting civil
society organizations that promote citizen participation,
advocacy, and oversight, particularly within traditionally
disenfranchised groups such as the Mbya Guarani.
About 2 percent of Paraguay’s population is indigenous,
from some 17 different ethnic groups.
ASIA AND THE NEAR EAST
Muppets Take to TV Screens in Bangladesh
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Clockwise from top: Halum, Tuktuki, Shiku, and Ikri-Mikri
are featured in Sisimpur, the Bangladeshi version of
Sesame Street that began airing in the country in April.
© 2005 Sesame Workshop. All Rights Reserved. Muppets
photographed by John E. Barrett. |
DHAKA, Bangladesh—Halum, the vegetarian tiger,
has kids laughing and learning on Sisimpur, the Bangladeshi
version of Sesame Street.
On this program, don’t look for Cookie Monster, Oscar,
or Elmo. Instead, Halum is joined by Tuktuki and Ikri-Mikri,
two spirited and inquisitive girls, and Shiku, a bespectacled
golden jackal.
Under a three-year, $7.1 million cooperative agreement between
USAID/Bangladesh and Sesame Workshop, Sisimpur is likely
to be as popular as Sesame Street in America, and in
countries such as South Africa and Egypt, where it has received
U.S. aid.
Since its debut in April, Sisimpur has reached about
61 percent of the country’s population via the Bangladesh
Television network.
Mission Director Gene George said that from the beginning
he knew that “Bangladesh would be an ideal candidate
[for Sisimpur] because of its rich cultural heritage
and utilization of song, drama, and art forms as a means of
getting messages out.”
The effort is a collaboration between USAID/Bangladesh,
the New York-based Sesame Workshop, and Bangladeshi academics,
actors, writers, puppeteers, and animators. The production
embraces Bangladeshi art, storytelling, and song, using them
to support and adapt the original program’s format.
The Sisimpur coproduction is the first of its kind
in South Asia.
To expand the reach of the children’s show into regions
lacking electricity or battery-powered televisions, USAID’s
mission is working with Save the Children USA to create a
small fleet of human-powered rickshaw vans that carry a TV,
DVD player, generator, and a teacher armed with books and
child-friendly activities. The mobile teams will show Sisimpur
once a week.
“The way those involved have taken to this program
is impressive,” George said. “I keep saying something
about this effort not normally said about development activities
in this country: ‘We’re ahead of schedule.’”
The first round of research showed that Bangladeshi kids
were captivated by Sisimpur, their eyes almost never leaving
the screen. When, for example, the gravelly-voiced Halum and
the very purple Tuktuki tried to determine how many balloons
they would need for their friends, they counted: “Ek
ta behloon. Dui ta behloon. Teen ta behloon.” Since
the start of the show, millions of Bangladeshi children have
been counting along with them. As in other countries, the
furry inhabitants of Sisimpur sneak education into their merrymaking.
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Laura Bush, left, and Egypt’s first lady Suzanne
Mubarak stand by the muppet Khokha while touring the
set of Alam Simsim, or Sesame World, the Egyptian
version of the popular American children’s show
Sesame Street. Bush was in Cairo May 23 as part
of a tour of the Middle East. See an article on page
11 on the Bangladeshi version of Sesame Street.
AP/World Wide Photos |
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