| News in Detail for October 2008 | Local government in Indonesia is taking the AIDS Competence Process on board
The United Nation Population Fund and the local governments of Pontianak, Singkawan and Merauke support the launch of the AIDS Competence Process in Indonesia. Last year, the Constellation organized two workshops and participants were enthusiastic about the approach. After a year, participants shared how they integrated the Process into their work and life. “We adapted SALT to our own life. We used to think that we were the experts. We told people to do this and that. Now, we understand the importance of listening. We realized that people in communities have a lot of capacities and we want to support them,” explained one of the government officials. During the learning event, participants did the self-assessment of their own city. They also shared their experience on specific practices like acknowledgement and recognition, inclusion, linking care and prevention and ways-of-working. Acknowledgement and recongition
Read the knowledge assets that summarize the common lessons learned and the individual experiences.
In Pontianak, Singkawang and Merauke there were clear steps made to establish a Facilitation Team, with the aim of taking the process forward, owning the response, managing the activities, and maintaining mutual support through SALT visits in teams. “People in Merauke showed me love, live and the fact that people can response AIDS by their own strengths. I came back to Jakarta with smile and spirit… fabulous: why do we always discuss the problem if the strengths and positive things can be the power for change,” shared Harry Kurniawan from PKBI. |
Local government officials, NGOs and religious leaders in Pontianak, Singkawang and Merauke are taking the lead with the AIDS Competence Process. Since last year’s visit of Constellation coaches, they changed their way-of-working. “Now, we understand the importance of listening,” said a participant in Pontianak.
After the learning event in Merauke, Matthew, Constellation coach, shared: “There was a real sense of team from the onset, including the local team. They were eager to show the progress they had made.” He explained that “from the start of the workshop we heard story after story of change, realization and awakening to a greater number of possibilities that life held – even in the midst of struggles such as HIV and drugs that had previously only made life seem bleak and unapproachable.
We heard from Winona who had learnt about sexual techniques from sex workers and how to please her husband – where she would never had thought sex workers could offer her any advice on anything previously.”