Young Talk, March 2008

Not for SALE: Young Talk is FREE

No. 3 Vol. 11 March 2008

•Know your rights •Stay in school •Wait to have sex

Sex education for primary schools

Many young people are living with HIV/AIDS but they are healthy and have big dreams.

Positive Living and Loving

You cannot get HIV through hugging shaking hands touching an infected person sharing plates and clothes with an infected person Q

Q

Q Q

Young Talk met this free and brave James who shared his story.

I want to become president of Uganda "I came to know that I was HIV positive when I was 11. I was in P4. I had lost my parents and I was falling sick all the time. My brother took me for a test. At first I did not believe my results. I have never had sex. But after being counseled, I accepted I had HIV and needed treatment. I was tired of falling sick. ARVs have made me feel better. I hope one day I will get well. It is not easy taking drugs everyday, it irritates. At times I feel like vomiting. But I still want to live and become an important person in future. I thank God that people treat me well. When I was in school, my friends used to treat me well. But now I am out of school. I lack school fees. My advice to Young Talkers is to abstain from sex. They should also test to know their HIV status. You may have got HIV from your parents just like me." Ewelu James of Mbuya I believe the come il I w l be of Uganda t n e d si Pre . I live one day take my .I ly e v ti si po n time. drugs o

What Positive Living means

• Visiting a health centre whenever you are sick • Avoiding sex; To avoid infecting others and getting even more HIV • Disclosing your HIV status. Telling other people that you are HIV positive helps you live freely and get their support

• Sleeping under a treated mosquito net to avoid malaria • Taking septrin everyday. Septrin drug helps the body to fight diseases that easily attack people with HIV, like; cough, pneumonia, and diarrhoea • Drinking a lot of safe water • Looking after your body by taking personal hygiene • Eating nutritious food. Have a balanced diet each meal • Doing light exercises to keep healthy

• Would you tell others if you were HIV positive? • Would you love yourself the way James does? • Do you think it is a good thing to support children with HIV? Share your experience and your views with your friends.

• Support and care for your friends who have HIV • Having HIV is not the end of life. You can still do great things •Knowing your HIV status helps you look after yourself well and live long • Sharing your HIV status can helps you live feerly

YOUNG TALK IS FOR TEACHERS AND PUPILS IN P5, P6 AND P7

2 Young Talk, March 2008

Support children with HIV What is Help them stay in school

It is good to interact with children who are HIV positive. You cannot get HIV unless their body fluids mix with yours. If you do not interact with them, you scare them and some can drop out of school, which is a bad thing. I Advise Young Talkers who are HIV positive to get treatment. They should also avoid spreading the virus to others. HIV is not the end of life. You can study hard, reach the university and become an important person in future. Abonyo Rose, 14, P7, Obim PS, Lira

HIV/AIDS

Our teacher told us we cannot get HIV by playing with children who are infected. I play with them and we also read books together. I advised one of my HIV positive friends to tell the teacher, so that she is not given heavy work at school. I encourage her to take her medicine. This can make her healthy and live longer. Young Talkers, if you are falling sick all the time, ask your parents to take you for HIV testing. Angom Agnes, 12, P6, Obim PS, Lira

AIDS is a disease that you develop some years after being infected by the HIV virus. It has no cure.

How does HIV enter the body?

One can get HIV through: Sex Through an infected mother to her baby. If you share body piercing or cutting instruments like razor blades If your wounds get in touch with infected body fluids. These fluids include: blood, vaginal fluids and semen. Q Q

Q

Q

Stop HIV from entering your body: Q

I have a friend who is HIV positive. I play with him, guide him and eat with him. I know HIV cannot be got through sharing food.

Q

I try to avoid sharing sharp things with him. I can get infected. We should support people who are HIV positive. It is not their fault. Gira Moses, 12, P5, Ojwina PS, Lira

Wait as long as possible before starting to have sex. Sex is the main way through which HIV is transmitted. Do not share razor blades, needles or ear-piercing equipment.

There is no cure or vaccine for HIV/AIDS.

Dictionary:

Disclosing: Telling people that you have HIV Piercing: Making a tiny hole in body Pnemonia: A sickness that makes it hard for someone to breathe

Make friends with children who have HIV and play with them

Do not hate or run away from your friends if they are HIV positive There are very many kinds of people who want to help children with HIV. Doctor Sabrina Kitaka looks after children with HIV at Mulago Hospital. Ssuna Cissy counsels them. They talked to Young Talk

sex. If you are HIV positive, do not lose hope. Practice the 6Hs which mean: Hoping for the future, Celebrating Happy times, Coping with Hard times, Recognising the Hand of God in your lives, Your Heritage; do not forget where you come from. Your Home Home; do not forget your people or relatives.

As you grow up, you need to be careful. Friendship does not mean

Doctor Sabrina Kitaka, PIDC, Mulago Hospital

YOUNG TALK IS FOR TEACHERS AND PUPILS IN P5, P6 AND P7

for Dear teacher, you can also help children with HIV live longer by giving them information on nutrition, selfcare and general hygiene.

teachers

You can create an environment where they feel free to talk about their status. Use different methods to deliver

messages to them like through pictures and letters. Build trust and friendship with the children so that they confide in you. Categorise them according to their ages or classes, there are things that some of them are too young to know.

Ssuna Cissy, counselor, PIDC, Mulago Hospital

3 Young Talk, March 2008 Young Talk brings you Sara: The special Gift, part 1.

Welcome to the journey with Sara, your role model and symbol of girls’ empowerment in Africa. In this series, you will learn how to negotiate with adults to stay in school. How to do useful handwork and impress your guardians to keep you in school, which is also good for

The Special Gift Near a small town in Uganda, the hot sun is burning fiercely. Sara and her friend Amina have collected as much firewood as they can carry and are going home where more work awaits them.

We never have enough time to do our homework.

Im really tired Sara!

e you Ask your parents to giv rk. wo e hom do to e tim do some Q You should always work at home. ke you Q Nothing should ma leave school. you have Q Tell your parents if . ms ble pro any

Q

But at least we can still go to school

So am I Amina. We have to walk long distance from home every time. Come on Zingo. Do you want to be eaten by a leopard?

your future. At the beginning of this series “The special gift”, Sara and Amina are very tired from collecting firewood; they are worried about failing to do homework. Yet they will find more work at home. But they are happy that they can still go to school. As they move home Zingo follows. As they reach home, Sara and Amina say good-bye to each other. Sara’s uncle thinks of what to say as he waits for the chief.

As they reach the town, Sara and Amina say goodbye and return to their homes. Bye bye.

Meanwhile in Sara’s compound, her uncle, who is looking after the family while the father works in the city, waits for the chief to arrive.

See you at school tomorrow. What will I say to him? Good morning to you.

I must say something which will show how much I am known among people...

Watch out for the firewood! These girls!

Sara and Zingo put down their loads and go into the cooking hut where her mother and grandmother are preparing a meal.

Yes, chief. How are you? I’m glad you could come.

Dictionary

EMPOWERMENT- Having the power/ authority or knowledge to do something FIERCE - strong in a way that cannot be controlled IMPRESS: To make someone feel good NEGOTIATE: To reach agreement through discussion PET - animal or bird kept at home for company. YOUNG TALK IS FOR TEACHERS AND PUPILS IN P5, P6 AND P7

4

Young Talk, March 2008

DEAR Young TALK

body changes you are going through and what they mean to your life.

I have missed my menstruation periods for one month, my friend told me that I la pa m Ka 6 36 22 X B0 P.O. am pregnant but I have never had sex. What causes that? Shadia S, 13, P7, Ociba PS, Arua When I am passing urine, I It is normal for an adolescent girl like you feel a lot of pain. What is my to miss menstruation. You are still going problem? KZ, 12, P7, Mushonga through body changes and your body is PS, Bushenyi not yet stable. Sometimes the types of Sorry KZ for going through such pain! It food one eats and changing the is not normal to have pain while urinatenvironment in which they live may ing. You may be having an infection. also cause them to miss their periods. Visit the nearest health center or clinic Do not worry, your periods will immediately. In case you fear going become stable as you grow older. alone, talk to a friend or parents/guardian or a teacher to help you get treatment. I am in P4. I go to school everyday but What can we do with probI find it hard to read lems like forced marriage and write. My teachand old men are forcing us into ers teach me well and sex? Ainemasiko A, 14, Nyamiko we have many books, PS, Bushenyi but I get zero in Forced marriage and sex with children is exams. Should I against the law. Stand firm and say No. If leave school? BJ, they insist, report them to your teachers, 15, Kyamiza LCs, police or the district probation PS, Kasese office. You can also tell your teacher or BJ, NEVER LCs of your village. Avoid gifts from old LEAVE men or other strangers. Do not move SCHOOL! alone at night or in lonely places. Thank You need to you for standing up against forced get help from marriage and sex with older men! the people you live with and your teachers. Do you have Is it true that a boy of 10 brothers or sisters in upper classes? Talk can produce sperms? to them so they can help you. You can Asiimwe P, P7, Police Children also try reading with your classmates. School, Kampala Find some time at home to revise your YES, IT IS TRUE! Usually, from the age of books. Have you tried talking to your eight, a boy may be going through body teachers? I am sure you are good at changes and among them is production something and they can help you of sperms. So, a girl who has sex with discover it. You also need to believe in him can be at a risk of getting pregnant. yourself. You can make it. As a teenager, you should know what

Is it true that a girl who wears trousers is a prostitute? Atugonza R, Mother Care PS, Hoima No. It is not true. It is just a belief among some people. But, it is important for children to learn how their communities and families expect them to behave, including what to wear to avoid being named “prostitutes”. But when you get a chance, talk to the elders/teachers/parents about the myths about dressing and other things. Learn what clothes to put on at certain times and places. Know what to wear when you are with elders. Is it true that if a girl rides a bicycle she can get problems during delivery? Ariyo R, Buliziba PS, Ntungamo Ariyo, IT IS NOT TRUE!! Bicycle riding is a good exercise for you. It can also be useful for your family. They can send you for something and you quickly go for it. Riding bicycles has nothing to do pregnancy or complications during child birth. If you are a cyclist, be proud of yourself. I have never had my menstruation periods. But every month, I bleed from the nose. This has taken two years. Can this be menstruation? Nawera J, 13, P6, Mashonga PS, Bushenyi Judith, menstruation does NOT come through the nose, but the vagina. It is also NOT normal to bleed through the nose. Visit a medical person immediately. You can begin menstruation as early as 9 or as late as 15 years. It is still normal. So, at 13, be at peace! Is it true that when a girl reaches 18 without having periods, she cannot produce or be normal? Maureen A, 11, Rukungiri Modern PS It is not common that a girl reaches 18 without having her periods. Such a girl should see a doctor for medical checkup and advice. When I am passing urine, I see some discharge coming from my penis. Am I suffering

from Candida? SG, P6, Mutir PS, Nebbi Sorry SG for what is happening. That could be an infection or an STD. You need to see a doctor. My private parts itch a lot when I am near my periods. How can I prevent this? NF, P6, 15, Nkonge PS Dear NF, it is normal for a girl to experience premenstrual signs, but itching may mean that you have an infection. You need to see a doctor to know why your private parts itch. Make sure you practice good hygiene by bathing everyday, trimming your pubic hair and having clean panties on. Counselor: Faith Falal, Outreach and Training Department Straight Talk Foundation

Dictionary

Discharge: A liquid that comes out of a body part Myths: Beliefs or stories that are not true Prostitute: Someone who can have sex for money Trim: Cut short

Quiz Quiz EXCESS PAIN DURING MENSTRUATION MAY NOT BE NORMAL.

Write to us and describe the kind of pain you face during menstruation. Tell us true stories, we will give you advice. You may also win a T-Shirt

Write to Young Talk P.O. Box 22366 Kampala.

Reading Young Talk helps us to delay sex. Pupils of Maganjo SDA PS, Wakiso

We thank Straight Talk Foundation for caring about us. Pupils of St. Mary's PS, Adjumani

STRAIGHT TALK FOUNDATION

We love Young Talk. Some of the Young Talkers of Kataho PS, Bushenyi

4 Acacia Avenue, Kololo, Kampala, P. O. Box 22366, Tel: (031) 262030/1, Fax: 534858, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], Director: C. Watson;; Deputy Director: T. Agutu, Editorial Manager: E. Kimuli, Editors: G. Awekofua, M. Akello, D. Agaba, J. Abongowath, Designers: M. eB. Kalanzi, Gb. Mukasa, Printer: The New Vision. Young Talk is funded by DANIDA, DFID & SIDA.

www.straight-talk.or.ug