Youth and Health Training

Date: November 6-8, 2009. Participants: 33 students (22 female, 11 male). Theme: Don’t Avoid, Don’t be Apart! Let’s to know and stop HIV & AIDS! Goals: giving an understanding to students what HIV/AIDS is and growing sense of sympathy and care on HIV/AIDS problems, motivating students actively involved in the socialization of HIV/AIDS.

Summoning Young People to Care on HIV/AIDS Problem

Samuel Rachmat Subekti, the director of Victory Plus reveals his faith on God’s word on Isaiah 57:15. I am the high and holy God, who lives foe ever. I live in a high and holy place, but I also live with people who are humble and repentant, so that I can restore their confidence and hope. Victory Plus is an organization as a place to cure infected people. Since Victory Plus established in 2004, Samuel feels that God also loves those who are infected by HIV/AIDS. It is not easy for infected people to live normally with others since stigma as infected people are affirmatively labeled to them.

Generally, people think that HIV/AIDS is a fearing disease, cursed disease, no treatment to cure, suffering sin people, and contagious disease that those are infected should be isolated and cannot be accepted by normal people. Those assumptions are not false at all and not correct at all but the result is stigmatization and discrimination in all social aspects, such as, family, society, community, office, church, health service and so on. Even a family that sends their son to Victory Plus is very reluctant to accept their son back after the curing treatment. They said that it is better for their son to stay with Samuel in Victory Plus. On the other hand, a wife that is fired from her work since her husband was known to be infected. It is problems!

Discrimination occurs as low understanding on such case among people, fear of death whenever interaction happen, shame feeling, and a disgrace to the infected people are problems of HIV/AIDS. The isolation leads to new spread of the virus since the infected people are reluctant to go to medical treatment, not declare fairly to their spouse and not using preventive treatment.

However, the fact is HIV/AIDS can be managed with anti-retroviral treatment though it cannot be cured. HIV is different with AIDS. HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is the virus causing AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

Participants learn how this disease can be contagious and how to prevent it. They are so absorbed to ask many questions to Samuel that detailed questions are launched so frequently that sometimes rather ridiculous. The important thing is that infected people also have the same right as the health people on education, health service, having job, social welfare even family and children. The infected people have to be the break off the cycles, not to spread to others, inform the status and socialize HIV/AIDS correctly.

Samuel declares that Victory Plus has some activities to make infected people community, open access for treatment, empower infected people based on their interest and skill, make some seminars and trainings of HIV/AIDS in church and social organizations, giving brochure about HIV/AIDS, and carry out National reflection on HIV/AIDS annually.

One problem in Indonesia that health test result of a certain disease is informed just for the patient not issued for their institutions to prevent spreading. Thus, the patient must be encouraged to declare the health status. A participant from Papua shares that sometimes health institutions not declare the status to the patient since they don’t have enough facility to diagnose such cases so the patient doesn’t know if he/she is infected or not. But Samuel says that some cities of Papua has modern facilities to diagnose blood test for identifying HIV/AIDS, moreover Papua is the highest rank for HIV/AIDS risk in Indonesia to get prevention and solution.

Mapping the Spread of HIV/AIDS in Yogyakarta

The Coordinator of Training Division of PKBI DIY, Wiwid delivers his session by explaining that HIV is firstly found in Bali in 1998. The infected man is not an Indonesian, but a Dutch. Seven months later AIDS emerges. So far, there are 18.963 cases noted in Indonesia. In Yogyakarta Province, city of Yogyakarta is on the top rank followed by Sleman Regency. The percentage of AIDS cases is rising every year among male. The top ten in Indonesia until March 2009 are West Java, Jakarta, East Java, Papua, Bali, West Kalimantan, Central Java, North Sumatera, Riau, and Islands of Riau. In 2008, Yogyakarta is in the 16th, but in 2009, it is in 11th. Although Yogya is the icon of education city in Indonesia, it cannot claim that it is free for HIV/AIDS. It has 461 cases of HIV and 154 cases of AIDS in 2008. The average ages of those are infected around 20 – 29 years old. It is the challenge for the students and Yogyakarta people to eliminate the spread of HIV/AIDS.

It is easier to make data of AIDS than HIV. Why? Health condition of the patients forces them to go to hospital, but not for HIV as they can manage themselves their suffering. Commercial Sexual Worker is the core of the spreading. Participants then learn how this virus incubation, how to check it and what treatment can be made to such condition. As this virus may spread through liquid media like blood, sperm, vagina liquid, and mother’s milk, Wiwid reminds not to do free sex but faith to one spouse instead, care of health and healthy life to avoid the virus. As the practitioner knowing real condition, Wiwid has many experiences to share with students how to handle such cases. Even he declares that it is free for those who want to have VCT test to know whether someone caught by the virus or not. He opens his institution for those who want to check their blood using VCT.

Social Analysis of the issue of HIV/AIDS in Yogyakarta

Dra.Nunuk Murniati from LSM Yabinkas introduces herself as the victim of gender identity construction. She got married with a man named Sucipto, and then later she is called Mrs.Sucipto. She lost her own identity. She is a housewife but she is assumed as a bad housewife because she often goes out for her activities. As royal blood generation, she is demanded to have bland behavior. All of these are constructed by social culture where we grow up and all of us are life in such construction. This time, we choose Christian perspective to analyze HIV/AIDS issue since the social construction perspective says to avoid the infected people. In Indonesia, woman loses more when she is given a role based on gender.

Frankly speaking, that actually, now Indonesia is 20 years lagging behind on gender issue compared with other countries in the world. Unbalanced condition must be redeemed by repentance first. Many stories in Holy Bible teach how Jesus wants to raise woman’s dignity through his actions. It is a question for us if we are willing to be the same as the infected people, marginalized! Will be we humble to open our heart for them in our life? It is what is meant by repentance. Social analysis used here based on our faith, Christian. It analyzes all aspects covering social, economy, culture and politics to bring holistic wistful and finally collective action.

Christian should redefine the goal of his/her life. Life must be filled with actions to glorify the Lord. Life is not just for worldly life but merely for the sake of God whatever we can do although it is just a small thing. Woman has strength to do. The unbalanced gender occurs because of not only man and woman relationship but also the powered and unpowered.

Social analysis may be in a set of questions about what we will observe to have a conclusion in describing something. Social analysis has three perspectives that is; social fairness, gender fairness and feminism. The method includes questions of What, Why, Where, When, Who and How. Take an example;

Why youngsters are the most HIV/AIDS infected category?

Social aspects;

- Family background. What kind of family do they come from?

- Nurture. Do parents give much attention to their children?

- Living condition. In what kind of life condition do the children live?

- Coeval gathering. Do they have good coeval gathering? In addition, many other questions in others aspects to help us have valid and comprehensive mapping.

To help students to do their exposure after the session, Nunuk Murniati makes group discussion to yield some question points to be asked to the institution visited.

Students are discussing some points to get data during exposure.

Exposure

Participants are divided into two groups of exposure, one will go to ‘KEBAYA’ and the other will go to ‘Victory Plus’. ‘KEBAYA’ NGO is an organization concerns with transvestite (sissy) and ‘Victory Plus’, an organization concerns with HIV/AIDS infected youngsters.

Exposure at ‘KEBAYA’ Organization

KEBAYA stands for Keluarga Besar Waria Yogyakarta. Sisi a member of ‘KEBAYA’ tells his experience why he decides to be a sissy. He is well educated and a graduate of a well-known university in Yogyakarta. Although it is ridiculous for him at first and he tries hard to deny it but the feeling to be a woman is stronger and cannot to avoid. Participants are rather tongue tied at first entering the situation that they never imagine before. It is extremely different world for them. However, they try to break the icy situation with some questions and then finally they can adapt the situation well. It means that they learn to open their heart and be humble to feel the same as ‘KEBAYA’ members. The administrators of ‘KEBAYA’ share their dreams and hope for their community to have the same access as normal people. It is lucky that government and some NGOs care about their health especially related with HIV and AIDS, as they are very susceptible to the virus and disease.

It is extremely difficult for them to have job access since no one and no institution wants to employ them. Many of them are working as commercial sexual worker, barbers, singing beggars and many other blue-collar jobs with very little income. However, they also have achievement in sport, fashions, cooking competitions, beautician and tailor. There are 228 registered as members of ‘KEBAYA’. Thirty-six of them are infected with HIV and nine of them are going under therapy. Commonly, the members are not well educated but they have commitment not to have sexual affair with children and teenagers under 20 years old. Administrator of ‘KEBAYA’ fights to get some education access for its members to make them more qualified to bear deserved income. Training for skill is very important for them.

Exposure at Victory Plus

Participants are sharing and listening to some HIV infected youngsters. They are sitting together and asking eagerly why, how, feeling and dream for the future. The sources are very brave to declare that they are infected of the virus. They are not ashamed to admit it but then determined to be better and wise in their life. The courage is not gained instantly; they need times to be brave to declare to their community about their condition with all consequences, isolated or losing friends. Being determined to be better, they have to access education like healthy people and work in any job fields. Having heart to infected ones must be done frequently and continually.

Exposure Presentation

Students prepare to have exposure presentation. Each group will present the organization they visit, the impression, data and fact and the action plan. During the presentation, their friends ask questions for sharpening the collected information and also action plan.

Advocacy Issue of HIV & AIDS

Advocacy is meant with control function towards society needs. One big institution that concerns with HIV/AIDS in Yogyakarta is PKBI. The regulation to combat HIV/AIDS in Yogyakarta is being formulated in the House of Representative. However, it is pity not to involve the susceptible to the virus and disease. Actually, it is very important to involve them in formulating the regulation. Advocacy can be given in some activities such as; medical service, psychological service, legal support and income generating training.

What society can do to help?

Don’t put stigma on them and do discrimination. Don’t isolate the infected people but give them chance for education and job access. Giving right to be parents and nurture children. Give correct information about HIV/AIDS to other people and make networking to support this marginalized community.

Before leaving the training, students as participants are expressing their experience following Youth and Health program. They admit that they are brought to other world, not normal world as they have before following the training. It is the first experience for to interact with HIV/AIDS infected people and transvestite people. They learn their life and struggle as the marginalized people. They are also challenge to think what they can do for them in humanism perspective.