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Among the major activities that i have initiated and implemented in the three years include mobilized Mexican youth and together staged an hour performance during the cultural program at the August 2008 International AIDS Conference in Mexico and Several of these shows have been staged in more than 42 Ugandan schools,in the United Kingdom. My story is that….. I am the second youngest of 10 siblings and having experienced the pain and devastation of losing dear ones to HIV and AIDS first hand when a brother, later a sister, and close neighbours in the village died of AIDS-related illness he begun to wonder whether he would personally make it in life. In a village where malaria is rampant and health centers are poorly resourced, “we used to share syringes whenever we got sick. Our fathers would simply deep the syringe in hot water and treat one after the other. Even in the dispensary it was the same case.” i recall. “These situations made me feel powerless, hopeless and certain there was nothing I could do to stop the pain and loss.” In 2004 during my S6 vacation, before i was admitted to Makerere University for my Bachelors of Commerce degree, i was introduced to a Volunteer Health Education Programe (HEP) with Students Partnership Worldwide (SPW) by my elder brother and successfully completed a 7month volunteer programme in Health Education. This included an intensive four-week training course in Sustainable Development, Adolescents Sexual reproductive health, Non-Formal Educational Techniques, life skills development in youth followed by 6 months field work based in rural schools in Kamuli District in Namwendwa Sub County with main activities to include timetabled non-formal health lessons in schools. During my tenure of volunteering, we established functional co-curricular clubs and activities. “This gave me the opportunity and the determination to strive against the odds and make a significant contribution to push back HIV and AIDS in Uganda” I must confess. “After the six months of volunteering, I decided to turn this experience and loss into something positive; to become an agent of change.” To date, I inspires and educates thousands of young people in Uganda, I have performed in Mexico during the XVII global AIDS conference, in UK during the very competitive ‘Unite to Fight AIDS Speaker Tour 2007’ selection process. Among the over 60 accomplished speakers from all over Africa, and i was found to be one of the best candidates for the role of delivering interactive workshops to young people in secondary schools in United Kingdom. we visited 23 schools across the United Kingdom. On unprecedented scale, I am so often invited and I have been invited for youth camps, HIV/AIDS Public lectures for presentation, during launches and outreaches for HIV/AIDS mass testing and linked to organizations to offer my personal testimony and lectures. Some of these lectures include the Ariel Camp 2008 by Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, One stop Youth Center Kabalagala, AIDS Information Center during outreaches, COMESA Agricultural Marketing Promotion and Regional Integration Project (AMPRIP) for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Enhancement (PACE) in Uganda, Uganda Joint Christian Council, International Movement of Catholic students (IMCS) Pax Romana Africa, Child AIDS Funds on the (ABY) Programme. Abstainace, Being faithful for youth Model Smart Choices clubs like that of Rubaga Girls, Rotary club of Rubaga among others have extended invitations to talk on related HIV/AIDS Themes. I am a member of the Technical Advisory Team (TAT) of YEAH (Young Empowered and Health) Initiative Kampala and we contributes towards YEAH initiative of reviewing Quarterly Rock point 256 Storylines, Review materials for the “True Manhood Campaign” that includes billboards, radio spots and concepts for short silence video also called “Video Vignettes”. To demonstrate my leadership acumen, I have championed and coordinated the ONE MILLION TESTS-WORLD AIDS DAY 2008 CAMPAIGN between Mpolyabigere RC-RICED Center and AIDS Healthcare Foundation-Uganda Cares with what i begun with a paper and pen commitment while in Mexico City at the XVII International AIDS Conference was made a reality when 2015 free mass tests were realized for the first time in this new rural district of Busoga. My commitment with AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) to conduct 500 free HIV/AIDS testing in Namutumba was a commendable step for the people of Namutumba district. This clearly exhibits my mobilization potential for mass action. The tangible results during this campaign put to the hands of the under-privileged rural people who wish to know their sero-status but are unable to walk miles to get tested makes me proud of my roles. Since then, the campaigns have been stepped up to monthly visits lasting four days Through this HIV Mass testing Model there has been a significant increased access to HIV Counseling and testing in hard to reach rural areas in order to encourage people to know their status, promote prevention and linking people to care in case one tests positive. During the million testing project in Dec 2008, the 33 reactive cases out of 1.64% of the total population tested were referred for ART clinic at Nsize Health Center IV which greatly reduces the risk of these people’s re-infection and access care and support. For a rural uninformed community, this is a time bomb has the initiative not taken place. I have also successfully organized refresher training with the support of AHF- Uganda Cares in the first place in 2008 to provide training to 12 Lower health units health Workers and Laboratory Technicians and recently in August 2009 to more 25 with mass testing modalities. The aim of this training was to educate the communities about the benefits of mass HCT, Conduct test decision counselling sessions with groups of individuals, couples and children at the outreach within the shortest time possible, Conduct a rapid HIV test using the INSTI kit and also prepare DBS for quality assurance, Provide HIV test results to individuals, couples, and children within the facility and at the outreach sites, Support individuals and couples to develop a risk reduction plan and identify safer goal behaviours based on their test results, Support individuals and couples to disclose their serostatus and encourage partner testing and other family members, plan and implement effective mass testing activities and effectively collect data and have knowledge for use of a new state of art technology. this program targeted the 2009 World AIDS Day global effort Campaign to Testing MILLIONS this early November – through December 1st. One concrete sustainable result, what i push for is that young people receive honest answers to some of several unresolved questions that they harbour concerning HIV/AIDS; evidence from the hundreds of question asked indicate that, despite the many years of HIV sensitization in the country, little has been done to address young peoples concerns, and that as a result, many, rural and urban alike still, remain Guessing and uncertain about such issues as whether mosquitoes spread AIDS, whether one can contract HIV virus at night, whether kissing spreads AIDS, whether homosexuality can lead to HIV infection, or whether condoms are 100% safe, … An inventory of all these questions must continuously be addressed. Together with young people, the hope of achieving the aim of creating a global movement of people driving change in their communities and contributing to pushing back HIV and AIDS, as well as challenging the stigma’s and taboos that still surround this pandemic can be realized in our lifetime.
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