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Hello. I’m Ruby Jones.
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And I’m Marina Santee. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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‘Leadership makes or breaks the efforts that people make against AIDS.’
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Leadership - being good at leading - is the main idea for World AIDS Day 2007, and the theme for the coming year. World AIDS Day is on December the first. The organisers want to teach how good leadership can help the overall aim of the World AIDS Campaign - that is to ‘Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.’ In earlier years, world leaders and governments agreed to reach targets and goals to prevent and fight HIV/AIDS. Many groups and organisations are still working together to encourage leaders to keep their promises. Leaders have power.
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In today’s programme we look at the work of an aid group in Uganda, called Watoto. This group sees and knows the importance of good strong leaders. This is why it is working to create them!
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Civil war in Northern Uganda has had terrible effects on the country and its people. Children are often the worst victims of war. Reports say that over thirty thousand [30,000] children have been forced from their homes. Children’s hands use the weapons of adults. Children fight as soldiers - in a war they did not create.
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It is against this difficult situation that aid groups like Watoto work. Out of conflict and pain comes the sound of children singing.
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The voice of the Watoto choir. The children’s choir is part of the Watoto project. The singing group travels around the world raising money for projects in their home country - Uganda. They are part of the important fight against HIV/AIDS. The Watoto children’s choir are all orphans. One or both of their parents have died from AIDS related causes. However, the children sing a message of hope. They sing of their faith in Jesus, in the middle of suffering. The choir is only part of the work of Watoto. The choir is the ‘face’ of the organisation. Behind this face, the project fights problems at their deepest level. The project aims to raise up new, strong, leaders - to bring change from within.
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The Watoto project is training and empowering children - to be the strong leaders of the future. In doing this, they can bring changes to their own country. One of the organisation’s sayings is: ‘Rescue a Child. Raise a Leader. Change a Nation.’ Watoto’s goal is;
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‘to give children the moral values and life skills that they need. These will enable them to make a powerful and lasting difference.’
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Watoto manages children’s villages near Kampala, Uganda. The project cares for over fifteen hundred [1500] children. The children are between the ages of two and twelve. Eight children live in one home. Each home has a house mother. They live together in a family environment. Watoto villages provide a school system for their children and the surrounding communities. There is a church and a medical centre. And there is a clean water supply and electrical power. The village also provides work for women and teachers. Here are some of the words of children from Watoto:
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‘It is really a family in Watoto. We are very close. It is like we are blood relations’
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‘We are a living example to people around us. They look at us and see the good things God has done in our lives. Watoto told me ‘we believe in you.’
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‘To me, Watoto is the hope of Africa. It is my light. I am a university student. Watoto has prepared me to go out and be an example to others.’
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‘I plan to be a leader who is a servant, not a leader who commands.’
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This attitude towards leadership comes from Jesus’ teaching in the Christian Bible. He teaches his followers to lead by example - to lead with love. He shows them strong moral values. He teaches them with wise words and instruction. Jesus is a powerful leader. Yet he also washes the feet of his followers - the job of a servant! He does this to show them they must serve each other. He shows them that serving can be the most effective kind of leadership.
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Watoto is based on Jesus’ teaching. Children learn to act with strength and love. They learn from example. They also receive good education.
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Education is an important part of the fight against HIV/AIDS. Here is a two minute guide about HIV/AIDS.
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HIV is the virus that leads to the disease AIDS.
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There is no cure for AIDS. But antiretroviral drugs slow the virus down.
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Here is how the virus is spread:
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HIV is carried in the body’s fluids. An infected person can pass the virus through sex. People also catch HIV from equipment to inject drugs. There is also a risk to unborn babies. Pregnant mothers with HIV may pass the infection to their babies.
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Here are the ways you cannot catch HIV:
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You cannot catch HIV from talking to someone.
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You cannot catch HIV from shaking someone’s hand, touching their skin.
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You cannot catch HIV from sharing a drinking glass.
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You cannot catch HIV from sharing food.
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You cannot catch HIV by caring for someone.
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You can help fight the spread of the disease.
World AIDS Day 2007 celebrates good leadership. The World AIDS Campaign chose this theme. The Campaign is a large project led by UNAIDS. Stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS is a difficult fight. But the Campaign says that places with strong leadership have made the most progress. The Campaign also states that leaders are not just at the high levels of society. Leaders are in families, communities and organisations. In fact, the Campaign points out that much of the best leadership on AIDS has come from communities and aid organisations. They have refused to accept the situation, and worked against it.
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Raising strong young leaders as Watoto does is part of the fight. But World AIDS Day is not just for development groups. And it is not just for African countries. HIV/AIDS is an international problem. Strong men and women need to lead the fight against it. Together they can train, learn and improve their communities. They can help protect and educate children. Then children of the future will have a chance to win the fight their parents began.
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