Make an Impact

By: Iman Abdi Ali

We all have a responsibility to our community and more importantly to ourselves to make a positive difference in whatever way we can. This may be just taking the time to educate ourselves about a certain topic or designing a grand scale project that can make many people’s lives better. We just have to take some time off from our daily routines and become aware of issues around us. If we do this, I believe we all have philanthropic feelings that urge us to be selfless and do something to solve these problems.

One of the major problems that concerns most communities is HIV/AIDS. This monstrous disease has affected us all in one way or another. And even though there are many different programs to fight against HIV and AIDS, I believe the ones that can ultimately succeed are the ones that deal with the youth, as they are enthusiastic and energetic to learn new things and change accordingly unlike adults who are hesitant to embrace change easily. Statistics indicate that the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS is among people aged 15-29 of age group. Who are these people? The Youth!! So based on this premises, we need to initiate timely programs that target particularly the youth to have any legitimate fight against HIV/AIDS!!

I recently got acquainted with an organization called Anti-AIDS Teacher’s Association of Zambia (AATAZ); the organization has several programmes that deal with the youth. In one of these programmes, they pick 5-10 children (9-19 age group) from a number of high schools in different parts of the country and train them in a 3 day programme. During this period they mainly train them on life skills (eg. self confidence, assertiveness and critical thinking) . These are of paramount importance for a person to possess particularly at a young age; however, they are qualities that many people lack. It is lack of these life skills I believe that most youth find themselves engaging in alcohol/drug abuse and sexual activities that consequently could lead to HIV infection. So by armouring these youths with life skills, AATAZ is minimizing their chances of HIV infection greatly while also making them responsible and conscientious at the same time.

The programme does not stop there. The trained youths go back to their schools and create a club called “Catch Them Young”. They recruit their fellow pupils and share their newly acquired knowledge. The club members meet regularly and organise events such as drama and poems on HIV/AIDS and life skills that they present to the rest of the school community sharing essential information in a digestible manner.

This program has made a huge impact on many of the children’s life. By the end of the training, the youths are completely different, with a more precise and powerful insight into the world around them and ready to achieve success for their communities and themselves. They have an obligation to share whatever knowledge they have been imparted with, with people around them. They cannot just sit back and leave this for someone else to do.

So I strongly believe people, especially the youth should be very keen to be involved in their communities and not just be in their small little box thinking me, me me!! The sooner that they step out of their comfort zone and experience life in someone else’s shoe the closer they become to being a ‘’complete’’ person!!

The writer of this article Iman Abdi Ali 16 , is at Lusaka International Community School (LICS) and a member of the Children’s News Agency.