My work

So I really do work (in case anyone was thinking otherwise). As I previously posted I am with BOFWA (Botswana Family Welfare Association) which is a full member of the International Planned Parenthood Federation. The organization's goal is to provide youth friendly sexual and reproductive health services with a special focus on HIV/AIDS and help reach the goal of a HIV free generation.

Botswana has been hard hit by HIV/AIDS and has the 2nd highest adult prevalence rate in the world at 23.9%!!


A number factors contribute to the rate of HIV/AIDS infections: the stigma associated with the infection and thus people are unwilling to find out their status, alcohol use, and a persistent misconceptions about the virus and how it is spread. In response the government became the first in Africa to offer free ARV for all its citizens. While people are living longer with HIV this also contributes to the high prevalence rate and also may have a negative impact on efforts to curb the spread of the virus as many see that you can live for a "long" time with treatment, so its really not "that bad."

This is where BOFWA comes in. The 4 clinics throughout the country provide youth with accesses to HIV/AIDS testing, family planning, STI treatment, and other general health services. They also provide young people with the opportunity to become involved through their peer educator program and work to educate the community through outreach. My experience so far with BOFWA has been a mix of things. I am currently helping HQ create an plan/tool to evaluate the effectiveness of their 12 programs. I also help out in the clinic where I conduct health talks and take part in home visits. These are fun! It reminds me of street tracking as a missionary but instead of teaching about religion we are teaching about prevention methods and helping as it is advertised here, "condomize" the people.