Three "animators" or presenters came to my village along with my buddy Jeremy, a PCV down in Gaya. They arrived early on in the afternoon in order to give us plenty of time to set up and work out a program for the presentation. We had quite a few technical difficulties trying to set up a bunch of old electrical equipment for the presentation- projector, speakers, DVD player and microphone- but by dark we had it all rigged up, well, kind of.
The female presenters talked to the women and girls asking about the basics con
cerning AIDS prevention while the men did a condom demonstration. Afterwards we showed the crowd- yes there were A LOT of villagers there, over 150 men, women and children- a couple of videos which talked about AIDS- modes of transmission, prevention methods, etc. We then had a question and answer session to see what all the villagers had learned and what questions they still had.Once it was all over with we ended up playing Nigerien music videos for my villagers which they were ecstatic about. Most of my villagers never have any form of entertainment other than listening to the radio so being able to watch videos on a big screen was very special for them, especially the women who took a break from their daily (and nightly) grind to enjoy the films.
The next morning, with the help of the NGO, we had a meeting with the two shop-keepers in town and explained the importance of having condoms in the village. As a result both men have begun to sell condoms in their shops. For me that was the best part about the entire meeting. The fact that condoms are readily available in the village for those who decide to use them is extremely important. It was a very rewarding experience for me as a volunteer since not only were people educated but since the shop-keepers are now selling condoms, it will be sustainable.
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