Tuungane Youth Project is an HIV intervention program being implemented by Impact Research and Development Organization, a local non-profit making organization based in Kisumu, Kenya. The project was initiated in October 2004. Tuungane (which means let’s join hands) brings together youth, parents, teachers and religious leaders to fight HIV/AIDS among the youth residing in the informal settlements of Kisumu City as well as in Suba District. The project targets youth and young adults below 29 years and is being funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the Center for Disease Control and prevention (CDC)

THE PROJECT:

• Trains youth on Life Planning Skills, Peer Counseling and Education, providing health talks.

• Offers the following services: HIV counseling and testing, STI treatment, HIV/AIDS care and treatment, PMTCT, Post-rape care, Family Planning, alcohol and substance addiction counseling and treatment.

• Designs and distributes IEC (Information, Education and Communication)/BCC (Behavior Change Communication) materials with behavior change messages, sexual and reproductive health information.

• Provides recreational activities to reduce idleness. GOAL Promote abstinence and faithfulness among the youth, implement activities and provide services that aim at reducing HIV and STI infection among young people.

MISSION

Committed to empowering the youth to reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS and mitigate its impact.

VISION

Healthy and Empowered individuals and communities.

ACTIVITIES

The project has over the years implemented various activities that help it realize its goals and objectives and the most notable among the long list include:

• Trainings: The project offers training to youth on various competencies that empower them with relevant and up-to-date knowledge which build their skills for leading safe, focused, guided and productive lives.

• Health talks: Done in the field during mobile clinics, social events at the satellite centers and at Tuungane Central, among other forums.

• Dialogues and Debates: Debates are held between youth groups’ members and other youth (inter-youth groups’ debates) or between students of different schools/learning institution. The dialogue sessions are done in the clusters that involve the youth and the adult population.

• Video hall shows: This activity targets youth who visit video hall in the slum areas and gives them an opportunity to be reached with educative contents of reproductive health videos apart from the ones they watch at the satellite centers during health talks and discussions.

• Mobile clinics: Providing clinical services in selected public sites.

• Recreational and sporting activities: Indoors and outdoors games, talent shows and contests, entertainment and other extravaganza are organized especially during school holidays to involve the school-going youth.

• Community social work: Community clean-ups are organized to encourage communities to take up clean environmental practices thus reducing opportunistic infections for youth who are immuno compromised.

THE STEERING TEAM

Dr. Kawango Agot - Project Director

Mr. Mathews Onyango - Co-Director

Mr. Kennedy Ongeko Project - Coordinator