15 Sep FISHER FOLK COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
As the fisher folk community in Mfangano Island (sena), we have related in so many ways with the LISTEN program. We have gained a lot of knowledge through sensitization done by the LISTEN program to enable us take leadership as champions to serve our community. Through our activities a great number of the community members whom we have reached are registering a positive attitude in understanding HIV and health matters in terms of prevention and care and treatment. The community has welcomed prevention measures such as use of condoms consistently, minimal sexual partners, health talk among us and many others, all these have been brought due to our linkage with the LISTEN program. As a fishing community we have acknowledged that health is wealth. For us to continue fishing we need to be healthy.
Through this program, members have been able to participate in business promotion and partnership with other collaborators through diversification in our socio-economic activities to adjust our living standards. Our linkage has enabled us to develop a well-designed saving plan which initially was not well implemented by the members, this is through practicing self-help groups, formation of SACCO’s and merry-go-rounds to help us do loaning and saving so as to boost and stabilize our businesses. Through this process we can be able to support health talks among our peers and promote access to condoms across the Islands.
Despite the success, there is more to be done if we are to reach all the Islands with information and services whose only means of transport water. For enhanced behavior change, there needs to be continuous sensitization and health talks on; HIV prevention, stigma and discrimination, Sexual and Gender Based Violence among the Fisher Folk members because some are still stigmatized and their response towards HIV testing among other sexually transmitted diseases is still low.
There is also the need to do capacity building on health, business promotion and saving skills because majority still believe in the daily meager income, they get forgetting that it won’t be permanent.
Communication networks to reach the community in various beaches is still a challenge because we do not have a reliable means of transport to reach these people frequently and the resources generated by members are still not adequate to support all our planned activities.
Mathew Kaganda (FF secretary)
Michael Kidera (FF champion)
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