Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 13 December 2000
Why build a community here, right on the edge of the rubbish dump for Santiago, the second city of the Dominican Republic? The tip provides a living for the fast-growing population of Santa Lucia. Adults and children work there day after day, collecting garbage for recycling.
Besides working on the dump, there is nothing to do, particularly for the young people - no jobs, no school, no leisure activities. Young people engage early in sexual activities, resulting in a high number of teenage pregnancies. One of the main concerns of the Dominican Red Cross is the spread of HIV/AIDS, and it is addressing this problem through a "youth, sports, HIV/AIDS and drugs prevention" project, funded and supported by the Netherlands Red Cross.
The project started early in 2000. Now, 25 volunteers from Santa Lucia and the local branches in Santiago have set up two volleyball teams and three baseball teams, which train twice a week and play games every Saturday. "By organizing these teams, we hope these youngsters will not fall into bad habits as drugs and alcohol," says Ram<=n de Jesus, the Red Cross project coordinator from Santiago. "The games give the youngsters something to look forward to. Importantly, for us, the games are also a way of attracting these young people to our information sessions on HIV/AIDS or drugs."
The sessions are held once or twice a month in a small wooden community building, which can seat about 30 people. Frequently, others who are interested peep through the window. For some, these information sessions are the first time they learn about condoms, and how they can prevent transmission of HIV.
Ram<=n demonstrates how to put on a condom by rolling it onto a green banana, showing how it stretches to fit. As one young man does not believe what he sees, Ram<=n asks him to come forward and fits a condom over his hand. The man hilariously has to confess that it works. Then, Ram<=n uses another trick to demonstrate that using a condom does not means loss of sensation. "Close your eyes. What am I doing now?" asks Ram<=n while blowing on the condom-wrapped hand of the young man. There is great laughter from the audience as the man whispers, "you're blowing on my hand".
Two girls at the back of the room, giggling and with red cheeks, confess they have never before touched nor seen a condom. So one of the Red Cross youth volunteers encourages them to try and put one onto a banana. It takes a few minutes before they manage to put them on, but they do succeed.
"People have to be informed. It's not right that people get infected because of ignorance. If you take a personal decision to run a risk, that's something else," says Ram<=n Acevedo, a dissemination worker at a local AIDS prevention organization, who himself is infected by the virus. Ram<=n is occasionally invited by the Dominican Red Cross to its information sessions. Here in Santa Lucia, he takes care of the theoretical part of the workshop, explaining the various ways of how people can be infected.
The sessions do not only deal with prevention, but also aim to change people's attitude towards people living with the virus. When Ram<=n tells the attendants that he is HIV-positive and explains what will happen to him, some people stand up and leave the room. They come back after ten minutes to attend the rest of the session. "There are people who think that they can get it simply by sitting on a chair I am sitting on, or by a mosquito bite. Others think they can get it from drinking from a glass I have used," explains Ram<=n.
For Ram<=n, his work has become like a therapy, a way of dealing with his problem. But most of all he does not want anyone else to get it. "If we can avoid anyone else having to go through this, why not avoid it, " he says.
The Dominican Red Cross is one of several National Societies in the Caribbean that have formed a Caribbean Aids Network to join forces against the alarming spread of HIV/AIDS in the region, with programmes that especially target young people. The Caribbean has the second highest prevalence rate in the world after sub-Saharan Africa and the Dominican Republic is the one of the worst affected countries there. It has an HIV prevalence rate of nearly three per cent in adults between 15 - 49 years old, representing approximately 125,000 people.
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