Universal Academy

Last Friday was my first lesson at Universal Academy, a private secondary school in Parika. My first 10 lessons will cover HIV/AIDS. The first session was about myths and facts concerning HIV/AIDS. I taped on the board two sheets of paper. One that said "true" and the other "false." Then I passed out pieces of paper to some of the students with a statement on each one. The students then placed the statement under true or false according to what they thought. Afterwards we went through each statement to see if it was correct and to talk about why. Some of the statements included:

Guyana has the 2nd highest incidence rate in the Caribbean. (true)
You CANNOT get HIV/AIDS from sharing a cup, a toilet seat, or mosquitoes. (all true)
You can have HIV and not know it. (true)
Americans have access to medications that cure AIDS. (false)
Everyone dies from AIDS, so it's better not to know if you have it. (false)

There were about 13 statements and the class got them all right except one: HIV/AIDS is a disease of immoral people such as prostitutes. They put the statement in the true column when in reality the statement is false. According to the United Nations Development Program, 2/3 of women around the world who are infected reported that they had only one sexual partner. I emphasized how it could happen to anyone even in marriage if the spouse is unfaithful. (And, infidelity is rampant in Guyana.)

Throughout the session I answered questions such as,
Can you get HIV through oral sex?
Where did AIDS come from?
Did HIV come from homosexuals?
Are condoms 100% effective?

The students were responsive and inquisitive. I think they may know a lot of the basic information already, but I learned that they don't necessarily think HIV/AIDS is a problem in their community or that it is a danger to themselves or to their families. I think a part of it is because they are young, and young people see themselves as invinsible. Another part of it is that because of the stigma attached to HIV, people try to distance themselves as far as possible from the topic.

I hope teaching 10 or more sessions about HIV will help them understand the disease, how urgent the topic really is, and how to make better choices in protecting themselves.