Chitral: Street theater being used to sensitize community about HIV/AIDS
By: Gu Hamaad Farooqi
Chitral, November 13: A day long sensitization session on reproductive health was held at Alnasir community based school in Garam Chashma. The project is part of an initiative – Reproductive Health Initiative with Adolescents (RHIA), funded by the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme.
Addressing the session, Syed Altaf Ali Shah said that RHIA has been working in different areas on reproductive health and to create awareness among the masses especially students through these sessions. He said that main objective of the program is to promote better reproductive health of adolescent through different awareness sessions, workshops, theater performance because the adolescent cam play vital role in the socio-economic development of the country.
He said that they have 6 adolescent friendly centers (AFC) in which they create awareness among the masses on different topics like hepatitis , HIVAID, early marriage conflict, peer education, health and Hygiene, puberty change, child rights STI,s etc.
He said that a large number of adult are still uneducated and other hand the young generation involve in different social evils due to no awareness about these conflicts. So we sensitize the masses to save their lives from these diseases and to involve them in creative and productive activities.
Girls students presented theater performance on different issues like HIVAID, early marriage and male students performed on illiteracy issues. Students performed sophisticatedly to inscribe the message how stray young travelling through big cities and involved in social evils causing for HIVAID and further more they also indulge innocent people especially women folk through marriage in this irreparable disease.
Second group presented their drama on early marriage and its bad result and troubles aftermath.
Third group performed about illiteracy to prove importance of education. They presented their theater that some youth achieved their high standard through education and the remaining one who not get proper education were facing great troubles in their practical life.
Students, teachers and social workers in a large number participated in this infotainment and informative sessions.
Some female and male participants as well as students told this scribe that they learnt great lessons from these theater performance about social evils.
