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HOW SPORT HELPS THE ARMENIAN RED CROSS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST HIV
By Guest
RedCross.org.uk
http://blogs.redcross.org.u k/health/2010/05/sport-hiv-aids-armenia/
May 12 2010
Karen Young, from Scotland, is spending a year in Armenia as part of
a volunteer exchange programme, the international youth volunteering
programme.
Well, yet again I am starting my blog entry by saying that we are
very busy here in the Armenian Red Cross Youth Department! We have
been finishing off our campaign to promote awareness about lonely
elderly people in Armenia as well as doing school sessions on HIV/AIDS
and setting up a new branch of our Smiley Club for kids in a second
dormitory. I love the fact that we are always busy here - it can be
very tiring, but it is good fun and we know that what we are doing
is really making a difference to people's lives.
The HIV/AIDS programme is fully up and running at the moment - we have
been going to schools all across Armenia to give sessions on HIV/AIDS
and also to organise a basketball tournament. The tournament is part
of the "We play against HIV and AIDS" programme - which uses sport as
a way to involve school pupils in publicising the fight against AIDS.
Schools play against each other to generate interest in the cause;
afterwards we conduct the peer education session and leave posters
and information leaflets in the school gym for the kids to read over
the next few weeks.
I have helped out with a few of the matches and sessions now, including
going with other members of the team to a school in Gyumri (Armenia's
second city). It was really interesting to see the difference in the
response between Yerevan and Gyumri, which is a very small city and,
as a result, somewhere where young people are significantly less well
informed about sexual health issues than their peers in Yerevan. This
is something that the Armenian Red Cross are working to combat,
and the response from both staff and pupils was very positive.
Las week we had a charity dinner as part of our campaign to raise
awareness about lonely elderly people, and the results were very
positive; especially when you take into consideration the fact that
this was the first ever event of its kind for the ARCS, and also not
a very common type of event in Armenia. It was a massive achievement
for us - we raised over £800 and, more importantly, passed on our
message to some very influential people.
We have also been out collecting money again in the streets of Yerevan,
again in support of our grannies and grandpas, and the response
has been very encouraging. Again we received a lot of thanks and
encouragement for the good work we do as volunteers, as well as of
course raising a bit of cash!
All in all it has been a very active and productive period for us,
and it is very nice to have a "quiet" week or so where we are mainly
writing reports! What with all the extra hours we have been putting
in for the campaign, and the fact that I spend the best part of my
spare time climbing mountains and hiking across the countryside with my
fellow volunteers, I am exhausted! But exhausted in the best possible
way - and at the moment I wouldn't swap my volunteering experience
for anything - even a well paid job!
Being a volunteer in Armenia, especially when jobs are so few and
far between and financial matters still dominate the headlines, is
a welcome reminder that there is so much more to life than money and
security, and that we volunteers are "paid" in rich experiences and
the satisfaction of a job well done.
Photo: Trygve Utstumo via Flickr
Karen's time in Armenia is funded through the Youth In Action
programme from European Voluntary Service. To find out more, email
[email protected]
By Guest
RedCross.org.uk
http://blogs.redcross.org.u k/health/2010/05/sport-hiv-aids-armenia/
May 12 2010
Karen Young, from Scotland, is spending a year in Armenia as part of
a volunteer exchange programme, the international youth volunteering
programme.
Well, yet again I am starting my blog entry by saying that we are
very busy here in the Armenian Red Cross Youth Department! We have
been finishing off our campaign to promote awareness about lonely
elderly people in Armenia as well as doing school sessions on HIV/AIDS
and setting up a new branch of our Smiley Club for kids in a second
dormitory. I love the fact that we are always busy here - it can be
very tiring, but it is good fun and we know that what we are doing
is really making a difference to people's lives.
The HIV/AIDS programme is fully up and running at the moment - we have
been going to schools all across Armenia to give sessions on HIV/AIDS
and also to organise a basketball tournament. The tournament is part
of the "We play against HIV and AIDS" programme - which uses sport as
a way to involve school pupils in publicising the fight against AIDS.
Schools play against each other to generate interest in the cause;
afterwards we conduct the peer education session and leave posters
and information leaflets in the school gym for the kids to read over
the next few weeks.
I have helped out with a few of the matches and sessions now, including
going with other members of the team to a school in Gyumri (Armenia's
second city). It was really interesting to see the difference in the
response between Yerevan and Gyumri, which is a very small city and,
as a result, somewhere where young people are significantly less well
informed about sexual health issues than their peers in Yerevan. This
is something that the Armenian Red Cross are working to combat,
and the response from both staff and pupils was very positive.
Las week we had a charity dinner as part of our campaign to raise
awareness about lonely elderly people, and the results were very
positive; especially when you take into consideration the fact that
this was the first ever event of its kind for the ARCS, and also not
a very common type of event in Armenia. It was a massive achievement
for us - we raised over £800 and, more importantly, passed on our
message to some very influential people.
We have also been out collecting money again in the streets of Yerevan,
again in support of our grannies and grandpas, and the response
has been very encouraging. Again we received a lot of thanks and
encouragement for the good work we do as volunteers, as well as of
course raising a bit of cash!
All in all it has been a very active and productive period for us,
and it is very nice to have a "quiet" week or so where we are mainly
writing reports! What with all the extra hours we have been putting
in for the campaign, and the fact that I spend the best part of my
spare time climbing mountains and hiking across the countryside with my
fellow volunteers, I am exhausted! But exhausted in the best possible
way - and at the moment I wouldn't swap my volunteering experience
for anything - even a well paid job!
Being a volunteer in Armenia, especially when jobs are so few and
far between and financial matters still dominate the headlines, is
a welcome reminder that there is so much more to life than money and
security, and that we volunteers are "paid" in rich experiences and
the satisfaction of a job well done.
Photo: Trygve Utstumo via Flickr
Karen's time in Armenia is funded through the Youth In Action
programme from European Voluntary Service. To find out more, email
[email protected]