PROJECTS

SECONDARY SCHOOL PROGRAMS

Anti-AIDS Clubs exist in every secondary school in the country, and have been given the mandate by the government to reach out to their peers and also to their communities. RAPSIDA was born in 2003 at a conference for Student and Teacher leaders of anti-AIDS clubs at Secondary Schools in Kigali-Ngali Province. Since then, RAPSIDA has continued its school program with a Pilot Project in 2004 at one school, and with 6 schools in the Expansion Phase beginning in 2005 and running through the end of 2006, supported by Action Medeor and Gallery 138. In 2007, our school program was extended for the full year, supported by Action Medeor, Aktion Tagwerk, and with additional support from Gallery 138 and the Ward Brook Center.



OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH PROGRAMS

In addition to Secondary School anti-AIDS Clubs, RAPSIDA has been training Youth Clubs, which often contain both students and out-of-school youth, but which are mostly not affiliated officially with any school. These clubs often have better dancers than school clubs, connectivity with village populations, and can operate year-round.



HOTEL, RESTAURANT, AND BAR WORKERS (HRB WORKERS)

In April 2006, RAPSIDA became the first NGO in Rwanda to train hotel, restaurant, and bar (HRB) workers in HIV Prevention and Anti-Discrimination work. HRB workers constitute a very important audience/target group. They are vulnerable (given their low-pay, difficult living circumstances, and proximity to the sex trade), but they are also influential (given the many people they meet everyday, they can reach out to many people with a good message). Within two months of RAPSIDA's first pilot HRB Worker Program in Nyagatare, a hotel/restaurant worker collective had been formed to prevent HIV/AIDS and discrimination—approved by the Mayor and the restaurant owners; the worker trainees were training co-workers; all trainees were wearing the HIV-Awareness red-ribbons at work, with full knowledge of the ribbon’s deep meaning, which they passed along to their customers as well; all of the restaurants/hotels in the program had participated in an HIV/AIDS Awareness week, becoming the focal points of HIV Awareness with educational activities, competitions, and promotions galore; and sexual harassment of waitresses by their clientel had decreased according to the restaurant workers.



BIKER BOYS

"Biker-boys" (biker-taxi riders aged 14 - 20 approx) are service providers who meet many people every day with whom they can have conversations about important messages. In the various communities where RAPSIDA works, RAPSIDA reaches out to these Biker Boys with the Small Badge of Hope program, training them to wear the badges and to understand their meaning , so that they can share the message with their clientel, and each other. In addition, biker boys have been trained to give male condom demonstrations, on their bike-handles!