Projet “Hêré Bolo”
This summer, the GAIA Vaccine Foundation will pilot its first HIV peer education program, “Le Main de l’Espoir,” at a clinic in Sikoro, Mali. “Le Main de l’Espoir” (which translates to “Hand of Hope” in English and “Here Bolo” in Bambera) will teach Malians about HIV prevention and treatment by using a mnemonic that is easy to remember and easy to teach. The program will be five days long, and each day will correspond to one finger of the hand to emphasize a point about HIV – hope (the thumb), identity (index finger), transmission (middle finger), marriage, fidelity and family (ring finger) and the community (both hands together). At the end of the five day program, all participants will have the necessary knowledge about HIV prevention and treatment to allow them to become peer educators and will receive a tee shirt that identifies them as HIV peer educators in the community. It will then be their responsibility to bring “Le Main de l’Espoir” to other Malians living in Bamako and Sikoro, and teach them the mnemonic so that more people can become peer educators. In this way, GAIA’s program will put HIV prevention and treatment directly in the hands of the Malian people, and give them the power to carry out their own public health intervention.
Maddie Di Lorenzo
Brown University ‘08