Empowering youth in Lima

Problem statement

UNAIDS’ and UNFPA’s latest figures illustrate that half of the new HIV infections every day are among the under 25’s. As the single largest group infected and affected by the virus, a huge part of the potential solution lies with young people. That’s exactly why dance4life involves them. dance4life Peru started in 2010, reaching schools in the north of Lima, the capital of Peru. The area, called San Martin de Porres, has the highest number of people living with HIV in the whole of Lima. The population there is young and there is a high use of drugs and alcohol. There is a big lack of information available for them, and sexuality education in schools in Peru is difficult as it is seen as promoting sex, especially by the conservative leaders. Sexual intercourse under the age of 18 is forbidden by law in Peru, so this makes sexuality education more difficult – if young people aren’t allowed to have sex, then why teach them about it? Fortunately dance4life Peru has influenced local councils and school authorities to understand the need of educating young people about healthy living. In Peru, dance4life will train young people to go into the schools and inspire students, so that they can take information based choices and takes action themselves to push back HIV and AIDS. The team will go into the schools in San Martin de Porres.

Goal

We want young people everywhere to be inspired to join dance4life, to take action to halt the spread of HIV and AIDS and improve young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights. Youth who have gone through our schools programme and are active in their communities are called agents4change. dance4life offers agents4change ways to stay involved after having finished the schools programme. Their actions raise awareness, trigger other young people to become active in pushing back HIV and AIDS, strengthen the sexual and reproductive health and rights of themselves and others around them and ultimately draw them into a forceful youth movement with a positive voice. Our goal of 1 million agents4change leading the movement is a powerful symbol of this commitment.

Main activities

First, dance4life INSPIRES young people aged 13 to 19 to become involved. Our local tour teams travel to participating schools to INSPIRE young people through music, drums and dance. We promote an open discussion about HIV, which breaks down the stigma and taboos regarding sexuality and HIV. Young people living with HIV are part of the tour team and their stories from the heart of the performance. Once inspired to become part of dance4life, we EDUCATE young people about sexual and reproductive health and rights, HIV and AIDS. Skill building workshops are organised to increase their knowledge and self-esteem. They also learn the skills needed for better communication, negotiation, decision-making, leadership and entrepreneurship. All of which empowers them to make positive decisions about their futures. Equipped with these empowering skills, almost half of the young people we meet are motivated by dance4life to take ACTION. They change the way their family and friends view HIV and AIDS and make a positive change in their community. We call these young people AGENTS4CHANGE, as they are making a difference to the world. To CELEBRATE the achievements of the agents4change, a powerful global dance event is organised every two years on the Saturday before World AIDS Day. Only those young people who took action are invited to attend. United by one cause and connected live via satellite, they dance together to inspire and gain support from the rest of the world, and to remind the world leaders of the promises they made with the Millennium Development Goals.

External risks

First dance4life conducts a contextual analysis of the country and the HIV and youth issue, corruption, safety etc.. Based on this, advice is taken from our partners such as UNFPA, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the World AIDS Campaign as to who might be suitable partners for us in that country. dance4life international partners with existing organizations who are able to implement the schools project locally, and gives them support in fundraising, communication, strategic programming, monitoring, evaluation and reporting.

Budget breakdown