| News in Detail for October 2008 | Inspired by the neighbours
It was still early in the morning when we walked down to Genoka settlement, in Goroka. The path had changed since we last walked on it: it was so clean! At the entrance of the community gathering area, we were surprised to see flower decorations and young children dressed with traditional clothing –full of colourful feathers. We received a genuine welcome from people in Genoka. They were proud to share their experience with community members from other settlements like Banana Block and Pis Wara. We sat down in small groups and that is when the real sharing started. “A group of 20 mothers of all ages come together on Sundays for the ‘Sunday Woks’. We all contribute 10kina to one mother, to support her income generating activities. The next week it will be another mother who receives the small fund,” shared Regina, a mother from Genoka. “In our neighbourhood, community volunteers take care of people living with HIV. At the same time they inform the family how to prevent themselves from getting infected. That is how we link care with prevention,” shared Suzan from Banana Block.
“We see that we can learn so much and inspire each other. The girls in my group were so proud to share their experience. It stimulates us to do more,” explained Hellen, youth leader from Walis Station. “We want to go back to Walis Station to learn even more from the youth. Once we know enough, we can start our own activities, like coffee nights,” shared a young man from Pis Wara. “These Knowledge Fairs showed us that the transfer of AIDS Competence from community to community is possible. All you need is a facilitation team to give the first impulse for sharing,” said Jerry, Constellation coach from Papua New Guinea. And indeed, connecting local responses starts with your neighbours! |
Communities from five provinces in Papua New Guinea visited neighbouring communities to share their experience with AIDS Competence. “We were so proud to share what we have done,” said the youth in Walis Station (Mt Hagen), “and we learned also from our visitors. We will keep in touch to exchange more.” This experience was organized during the Provincial Knowledge Fairs, from 2-18 October.
Similar exchanges happened in five provinces in Papua New Guinea, during the Provincial Knowledge Fairs, organized from 2-18 October. People participated in two sharing sessions, or ‘peer assists’ with their neighbours. One peer assist was on a specific practice of the self-assessment, like how to mobilize resources. The second peer assist was organized in a community setting. During a peer assist, participants are invited to share their actual experience – not their opinion. 
