Youth voices for an HIV free generation

Date Posted : Monday, 30 Apr 2012

“The best way to reach young people is to use their peers,” says Ernest Waititu, the Director of Health and Digital at Internews in Kenya, 

This is why Internews has partnered with the HIV Free Generation (HFG) to train young people between the ages of 10 and 24 years. 

The partnership organized a training workshop last year and a follow up this year to equip these young people with the skills to produce radio and print features on HIV, reproductive health and youth empowerment issues.

The stories are published weekly in a page in the Pulse magazine, a pull out of The Standard newspaper and Generation Next magazine, a pull out of the Sunday Standard newspaper. The youth also broadcast live radio programs on Easy Fm every Thursday from 8-9 pm and on Q-FM on Saturday from 10-11 am.

“These young guys have become journalists and they have been doing a very good job” says Waititu.

The G-Pange campaign aims to motivate the youth to increase their knowledge, skills and economic opportunities so that they can make responsible decisions to lead healthy and productive lives.

“The training is good because it has given me exposure,” says Mkala Nelson, a writer and cartoon artist for the G-Pange magazines. “I also learnt a lot from hearing what other people had to say from their experiences.”

G-Pange is a word play on the Kiswahili word, “jipange”, which means to put your act together.  

The HFG brings together global leaders from the private and public sectors, along with non-governmental organizations, to revolutionize HIV prevention among the youth.