Zimbabwean stories of "Best Practice" - SAfAIDS

Campaigns are also conducted with the use of IEC materials which include:• messages on flyers distributed at sporting events• slogans printed on the netball and football kits of the youth working group, as well as the uniformsdistributed to the men's and women's groupsThere has also been use of sports and the arts as vehicles to disseminate advocacy messages. Padare isinvolved in procuring sports kits for the youth. The organisation engages the young people in formulatingeffective messaging around issues of gender, sexuality and HIV and these uniforms are thus worn as botha means of identification and as a conduit for message reinforcement.While sports such as netball and football are used as a means of diverting the attention of youth frompotentially risky behaviours (unprotected sex, for example), they also act as meeting points for the communitywhere IEC materials are mass distributed. The arts, through the use of drama, allow the youth to act outthe various scenarios that they encounter within the community while allowing for the encoding of stronglobby messages for reform.Capacity developmentAs discussed previously, the Odzi project is playing a significant role in building the capacity of the communityto respond holistically to the issues affecting its members through facilitating platforms for communicationand skills-transfer (training) between the community and key stakeholders.Support groupsThese groups are formed by community members themselves, some of whom have shown commitmentto converting from their past violent behaviour. The main purpose of the support groups is to ensure thatmembers maintain positive behaviour change and guard against relapse. Padare's main role is to createawareness among members of the fact that they have a problem which requires solutions.“These are people moving in darkness and Padare's role is to come up with the light. The choiceof which route to take remains the target group's choice.”- Mutare Padare Chapter ChairpersonThrough the use of the trans-theoretical model of behaviour change, the Odzi project believes that individualsmove from a stage of pre-contemplation to contemplation and then actual behaviour change. The supportgroups act as a mechanism to ensure that the behaviour that has been adopted is maintained.10.2 Elements of a Best PracticeDespite the fact that the Padare Odzi movement has had a relatively short period of existence (4 monthsat the time of documentation), there are a number of attributes that already qualify it to be documentedas a Best Practice in transforming gender relations in a cultural context.Effectiveness“Men of quality are not afraid of equality and real men do not abuse women.”- Padare saying75