Educate 20000 Namibian teenagers on HIV using Arts

As you know, the Ombetja Yehinga Organisation (OYO) is a Namibian NGO that uses Arts to create social awareness. We believe that solutions can only be found with young people for young people within a given context. Each project works closely with students (called learners in Namibia), their schools and, when applicable the surrounding community. We use non-threatening means of communication, including role-plays, dances, songs, our youth-friendly magazine and we create safe spaces.

The biggest difficulty we now experience is to continue crowdfunding. All our friends were amazing in June, during the accelerator program, and thanks to your combined outstanding effort we managed to get on the platform. But remaining on the platform is difficult. We don’t like to ask for money and raising additional funding is a challenge. 

In December we had a wonderful week of performance for the World AIDS Day. We had an intern from Finland, Isabella Mansnerus and prepared a performance with her. On the last week, we could organise a mini-tour, thanks to additional funding from YOU. We presented three pieces ‘to take or not to take’ on treatment adherence, ‘smarting up’ on voluntary medical male circumcision and ‘cold’ on stigma and discrimination.

The pieces were presented in Windhoek (Windhoek mental health centre, Havana informal settlement, Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre), Hardap (Hardap correctional facility, Gibeon and Kalkrand communities), //Kharas (Tses community, Keetmanshoop correctional facility, Gibeon community) and Omaheke regions (Uitkmons San settlement). 1,742 people attended the performance and took part in a facilitated discussion.

After a much deserved rest over the festive season, the dance troupe resumed in January 2020.

At the beginning of February, we were asked by the Ministry of Health and Social Services to support their outreach campaign in one of Katutura’s informal settlement. We could reach 507 people and motivate people to make use of the services available (HIV testing and counseling in particular) 

You may also want to know:

• Thanks to the joint UN program in December (from 15 to 20) we organized a series of events in the Erongo Region, at the coast. We have identified hotspots and performed there. We collaborated with I-TECH, a wonderful NGO that provides much needed on-the-spot services such as HIV testing, risk assessment, PrEP and Gender-Based Violence Counseling.
• Thanks to the MTC knock-out project and Debmarine/Namdeb foundation we started a campaign against Gender-Based violence and to address teenage pregnancy in schools in the //Kharas region. This project complements work done thanks to much valued support from Stichtung Horizon. 

We still need your help

We have now exhausted all the funds received thanks to your generosity. Yet much still needs to be done. We will call on you in March to support the littlexlittle campaign. Between 24 and 27 March 2020 your donation BETWEEN US$ 10 and US$ 50 will be matched by 50%. Additionally prizes can be won. The idea is to get as many small donations as possible to help us get big results. So please put a reminder on your phone, inform all your friends and help us win big in March! Our link is still: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/using-arts-educate-4000-namibian-teenagers-on-hiv

As you know, the Ombetja Yehinga Organisation (OYO) is a Namibian NGO that uses Arts to create social awareness. We believe that solutions can only be found with young people for young people within a given context. Each project works closely with students (called learners in Namibia), their schools and, when applicable the surrounding community. We use non-threatening means of communication, including role-plays, dances, songs, our youth-friendly magazine and we create safe spaces. 

After a very successful accelerator campaign in June, we found it very difficult to sustain the effort. We would really like to thank wholeheartedly the few of you who have continued supporting us, either donating monthly or when you could. We greatly appreciate.

We got a large disbursement in July and a small one in August.

In September we performed for a University event on HIV – both during the Official Opening and for the students. We performed in two locations in Katutura (Windhoek’s township) and in two schools (Westmount High School and Ella du Plessis).

In October, we had a chance to continue with our project in two correctional facilities in the north, in Rundu and Divundu. In Rundu we performed for all three Units, discussed issues around HIV testing and encouraged inmates to go for the test. In Divundu we performed for the whole facility. We had not visited any of the two facilities in 2019 and both inmates and officers appreciated the visit.

In October, we also had a chance to work with a renown French artist, William Domiquin. In November, we welcomed a young dancer from Finland, Isabella Mansnerus. We are busy preparing for the World AIDS Day. This year, we will entirely self-fund over 12 performances around World AIDS Day in Windhoek and two regions in the South (Hardap and Karas). This is thanks to your generosity.

You may also want to know:

• Thanks to the joint UN program in December (from 15 to 20) we will organize a series of events in the Erongo Region, at the coast. We have identified hotspots and will perform there. We will be collaborating with I-TECH, a wonderful NGO that will provide much needed on-the-spot services such as HIV testing, risk assessment, PrEP and Gender-Based Violence Counseling.
• Thanks to the FNB Foundation will plan two events early 2020 to engage the public in Windhoek around burning social issues. 

But - we still need your help

The more funds we can generate, the more young people we can reach. There are 14 regions in Namibia and young people represent more than half of our small population. Since donor funding is tight to specific projects, we can’t always go everywhere. Your support helps us reach more young people in areas where creating awareness is much needed. We have a limited network overseas, but maybe you can help us by encouraging your friends, colleagues or family members to learn about us and support us too. Our link is still: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/using-arts-educate-4000-namibian-teenagers-on-hiv