The strong determination of the Standard Chartered Bank’s team of HIV Champions to honour their pledge of education of 30,000 people on ‘Living with HIV’, in Sierra Leone has seen a positive development with the team reaching out to the provinces to educate provincial members of the public on HIV & AIDS.
Over the last two weekends, the team was in Lunsar and Bo respectively to ensure that these communities are properly sensitized about the pandemic, through an activity based ‘Living With HIV’ education programme in which members of the public can experience the activities themselves, which depicts that knowledge alone does not change behavior. It requires ‘something else’. Standard chartered aims to provide that ‘something else’ which includes: Linking behaviour and choices to realising a future that people want and value (instead of focusing on the problems), an experiential, affective learning.
Speaking to over 150 Girl-Mothers of Hanci in Bo, Mariama Kamara, HIV champion and Operations Manager, Human Resources, said, “Standard Chartered focuses on education as a way of reducing the number of new HIV infections. There is no cure or vaccine for HIV, so we must stop people getting infected in order to tackle the virus. Giving people the facts about HIV and AIDS enables them to make safe lifestyle choices, and also dispels the myths that drive stigma. Education is key to promoting behavioural change and the most effective preventative measure in the fight against new HIV infections.”
Students of Hanci were taken through the ‘Living with HIV’ Educational modules by other champions of the Bank, including Sulaiman Lumeh and Olive John.
In the same vein, over 1,000 people of the Marampa community benefited from the HIV & AIDS education, when the team zeroed in on the community immediately after a football match which was witnessed by the entire Marampa community.
Standard Chartered remains committed to the Group’s pledge to the Clinton Global initiative, to educate 1 million people on HIV/AIDS by the year 2010. The HIV Champion’s team continues to preach the know your status agenda; Care for/focus on the needs of your partners; Eat responsibly; Find a routine for the exercise that you enjoy. Exercise regularly to rejuvenate your body parts and functions.
Through their active community partnership programme ‘Living with HIV’ initiative, the Bank aims to create the awareness that one can survive the disease, if one’s status is detected at an early stage and ‘Live with HIV’
Successfully’’.
Mr. Isharca Tarawalie, on behalf of the Management of Hanci, thanked the Bank for their positive move to the provinces to ensure that, that part of the country is not left out in the HIV/AIDS sensitization. This move he noted was not surprising as Standard Chartered Bank and Hanci had built a strong partnership over the years, as depicted in the Bank’s support of the construction of the Skills Training Centre for Girl-Mothers in Bo.
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