|
HIV/AIDS CENTRE LAUNCHED OFFICIALLY IN MAPUTSOE IN THE DISTRICT OF
LERIBE | |
|
The Maputsoe Community HIV/AIDS Resource and Information Centre that will be used by the community in a fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS was officially launched on Friday 16 August,2002. Speaking at the ceremony the Lesotho and South Africa Care Country Representative, Mr. Daniel Sinnathamby said the center is important because it will reach out to a large part of the nation as it is meant to involve youth and the community to teach others to stop the spread of AIDS. Mr. Sinnathamby said CARE realized that it would not be easy to fight AIDS alone, this is the reason why they formed partnership with government departments and the Non Governmental Organization (NGO) whose joint efforts and support has made it possible for the fight against the pandemic. 'The major task that need to be realized is for the center to have its own site and building so that the community could have their own place and to extend the services that they offer ', he added. The United Nations Ambassador to Lesotho, Mr. Robert Geers Loftis said the best weapon that could be used in fighting AIDS is information, adding that peer educators who voluntarily work at the center will help provide HIV/AIDS information to the other youth who might not be well informed, and added that if information is well disseminated, people will be in a position to avoid the disease. He said it is through such centers and peer educators that people will learn that their participation is highly needed in teaching people about defeating the disease and to stop it from spreading further. The representative from Lesotho Aids Programme Coordination Authority (LAPCA), Mr. Teko Ramohlabi encouraged all stakeholders in health provision to work together in issues concerning the disease so as to avoid duplication of efforts by different government departments or NGO's. He told youth to make use of the center because it is where they will get correct answers to their problems rather than getting them from other youth who also do not know, adding that parents should allow their children to go to the center where they will meet other youth and discuss valuable things. In an interview, one of the peer educators, Ms Ntoetse Molapo said the center is opened five days of the week and a different topic is discussed every day, adding that people of different professions are called in on weekdays to educate the youth who have come to the center. Ms Molapo said they have visited the 10 schools around the Maputsoe area with the objective of disseminating AIDS information and the response of both the teachers and the students was positive. The Maputsoe Community HIV/AAIDS Resource Centre which is sponsored by
CARE - Lesotho was formed with the objective of providing youth with a place
where they could be educated about AIDS by peer educators and where they
could share ideas about problems facing youth. | |
| SOURCE: LENA |