JAMAICA
Tashae - The right kind of loving
Personal Story
‘You can’t catch AIDS by hugging, you know,’ says Tashae Lewin, a bright and expressive 13- year-old from Mandela Terrace in downtown Kingston. ‘I can tell you a reason how you catch AIDS,’ she continues, explaining how HIV is transmitted if people share needles, ‘my blood mix up with your blood, and me have AIDS so you’re going to catch it.’
Tashae knows a lot about how HIV is
transmitted, and how to protect herself from it,
because she attends a scheme called Children
and Community for Change (3Cs). The scheme
has evolved from a project run by Jamaica AIDS
Support for Life and works with kids through
drumming, dance and performing arts. The
children learn to express themselves and
develop self-esteem as well as getting important
information on HIV.
Tashae recognises how important 3Cs’ work is for the community. ‘People around here really need love, and the right kind of love, not hard loving,’ she says. ‘If someone in the community has AIDS they (need to) know how to talk to that person and not scorn (them).’
It’s essential that children are educated about
HIV before they become sexually active, which
may be as young as 11 or 12 years old. 
The
children who have attended 3Cs’ programmes
speak matter-of-factly about HIV, and are well
informed, both about HIV itself, and the benefits
of delaying their first sexual experiences.
With only a third of children in Mandela Terrace going to secondary school, and 20 per cent unable to read or write at all, issues of low self-esteem and low expectations go very deep. As well as the drumming classes, which Tashae attends, they also run an afterschool homework programme and use music and art for education.
In a community where most people
live in homes put together from
corrugated iron, wood and rubble, 3Cs
brings hope to the community. It helps
children to see a positive or different
future for themselves.
GIVE
| £5 | Pays for drawing materials for 20 children for one session. Community leaders encourage children to draw pictures of things they know well, such as their family. They then use these as a basis for their discussions and training on subjects such as HIV prevention and safe sex | |
| £35 | pays for one drum.The drums are used to educate between 150 and 200 youngsters about HIV and sexual health issues, when the group plays in communities around Kingston | |
| £91 | pays to produce 1,000 leaflets for community education.These leaflets can raise awareness among 1,000 people or families on subjects such as HIV and safe sex |
Please give generously
ACT
To get Stories for Change a monthly newsletter about Zimbabwe, Jamaica and Banglasdesh, current campaign actions and worship ideas email
lmeadcforl@gmail.com
You can see footage of Tashae on Together TV
PRAY
Hands strengthened to learn a
trade;
Hands stretched out to help a need;
Hands lifted to rejoice in a new
start;
Hands clasped to celebrate a
partnership:
We lift high the hopes of the world’s
poorest people to our God, who has
the whole world in his hands.
Amen.
Peter Graystone , Christian Aid
