PROJECT AHTA-AH

LINKING AIDS EDUCATION AND PREVENTION, THE ARTS AND COMMUNITY PROBLEM SOLVING IN VILLAGES IN CAMEROON

Project AH- T A-HA, sponsored by Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and funded by USAID initiated a unique approach to community-based AIDS education and prevention that focused on participatory problem solving involving nine rural villages in the West Province of Cameroon. Recognizing that the intervention population knows best its history, constraints, key leaders, practices and resources, Project AH-TA-AH was co-designed by JHU in close collaboration with celebrated Cameroonian artist Mr. Paul Kengmo, a key leader from the West Province. The Cameroonian context of history, culture and daily life were integrally woven into the project design and further reinforced through partnership with a Cameroonian NGO working on health and development issues in the intervention area.

The project team communicated education and prevention messages through traditional dance and music, and discussions conducted in the native language of each village. Project staff and key leaders "(Kings, King assistants, leaders of women's and men's groups, mothers and fathers of twins, traditional healers and birth attendants, nurses and health workers, and gifted storytellers, singers, dancers and drummers) met on several occasions to discuss AIDS, recall village history in which threatening health problems were confronted, and generate recommendations for AIDS prevention. In large village meetings the dialogue on AIDS education and prevention continued, interspersed with traditional dance and music by Project AH-TA-AH artists and village cultural groups. In addition, representatives from each village came together in regional meetings at the beginning, midpoint and end of the project, in order to share common concerns, reduce fears, exchange ideas and strengthen education and prevention activities.
 

The approach to Project AH-TA-HA illustrates the understanding that solutions to village problems need to emerge from an informed community in order to be appropriate, appealing and sustainable, and that respect for the intervention community is the initial entree to a village, commencing with project conception and design. In addition, the utilization of cultural expression, e.g. dance and music, are captivating and viable conduits for communication related to health and development issues.