By MN Reporter
A team from a Canadian Non – Governmental Organisation has launched a massive HIV and Aids awareness in Migori County.

The group from the Queen’s Health Outreach (QHO), an NGO located within the Kingston’s Queen’s University came to Kenya following reports of increasing HIV and Aids infections along the beaches of Lake Victoria.

Led by Mr Mitchel Edward, Ms Rachel Ashley, Ms Sarah Jarvis and Ms Catriona Moggach, the group has set base in Nyatike Constituency which they identified as the hardest hit due to its proximity to the lake and for being the home of gold mining activities in the region.

Gold mining and activities in the area have led to many cases of school drop outs and early marriages.

The foreigners who came into the country through a partnership of a Kenyan based organization – Rieko Kenya – are sensitising the sexually active youth of the dangers of the scourge, prevention measures and giving them free voluntary testing and counseling services.

“The team is targeting Nyatike constituency due to the high prevalence of HIV and Aids in the region as a result of reckless sexual lifestyles along the beaches of Lake Victoria and in the local gold mines,” said Mr Kabaka Ochenge, the executive director of Rieko Kenya.

“This awareness programme is meant to scale up counseling and testing of HIV/AIDS among the youth so as to enable them to make informed positive choices,” added Mr Edward.

He said the partnership was coined due to the overwhelming number of youth being infected by HIV/AIDS and the high number of orphaned children whose parents succumbed to the scourge.

The sensitisation activities are carried out through theatre, songs and sport in a bid to attract participation of the youth aged between 12 and 30, stated Mr Edward.

The programme is also taking place in 20 primary and five secondary
schools in the constituency.

“ Through interactive lesson plans, QHO and Rieko Kenya are able to engage students in the material being taught, and saw a significant improvement in the understanding of prevalent health issues. Students continued to ask incredibly thoughtful and intelligent questions regarding the transmission of HIV/AIDS and ways to reduce stigma within their community,” explained Mr Ochenge.

Education officials from the region said the programme was causing improved awareness among the youth in the region and called for participation of other organizations noting that “the ever increasing level of children being left orphans in the lake region was worrying”.