Youth Literature Project Booklet. Credit: Francesca Woodburn
Our Youth Literature Project involves the development, printing, distribution (free), and discussion of culturally relevant HIV awareness booklets. The 64-page, illustrated booklets are aimed at educated Maasai youth and provide them with both factual information and a tool for peer education and discussion. The booklets have been very well received and are providing popular with both literate and non-literate members of the community.
Project Aims
- To design, print and deliver 4000 culturally relevant HIV/AIDS information and prevention booklets written in both Maasai and Swahili text and aimed at Maasai youth and families.
- To deliver the booklets to Maasai youths, families, schools, clinics and warrior villages across Ngorongoro District in northern Tanzania.
- To provide community counselling sessions during deliveries at which Community Counsellor, Kering’ot Purengei, introduces and discusses the information in the booklets and provide practical, participatory condom demonstrations.
Progress
Empuaan’s Youth Literature Project booklets have proved very popular with both literate and non-literate, Maasai and non-Maasai member of the community, and with young people, health workers, NGOs, teachers and students locally and further afield. We have had many requests for booklets and workshops.
Kering’ot has been using the booklets as the focal point for discussions with Maasai youths, families, students, teachers and health workers. Feedback from these sessions has been very positive. In addition, teachers have told us that students have been using the booklets very successfully for peer teaching and that the practical nature of the booklets has enabled them to share their experiences with their partents and have open discussions about many of the issues raised.
We have also been able to use the text and illustrations from the booklet to produce a condom leaflet and have received a generous donation to print copies which will be provided, free of charge, at condom outlets such as shops, dispensaries and bars.
We are delighted with the positive feedback we have received and plan to continue with our deliveries, workshops and demonstrations across the District.
Youth Literature Project Booklets
Text
Caring at home. Illustration: Chris Tyler
The text was written first in English then translated into both Swahili and Maasai. The text was then reviewed, adapted and refined during a series of focus groups with young people from the local community. Final proof reading sessions were held with local elders, health workers and youth before the booklets went to print.
Illustrations
Having plentiful, high-quality, culturally correct illustrations really help to reinforce the information in the booklets. It is clear that the pictures enable non-literate Maasai to interact with the booklets, generate their own questions and ask for readings of the text. The pictures also provide Maasai youth with visual tools that they can use to prompt peer group and community discussion.
Layout and Accessibility
Caring at home, Maasai. Illustration: Chris Tyler
The information is presented in Swahili language with Swahili pictures on the left-side pages and repeated in Maasai language with Maasai pictures on the right-side pages. In this way readers are able to first read the text in Swahili, the language in which they learned to read. They are then able to read the less-familiar Maasai text with greater confidence, and read the text aloud to others without having to make their own translations and interpretations of the information.
You can download our Youth Literature Project booklet free, in PDF format, by going to our Youth Literature Project Booklet page.