War on Want Northern Ireland — Fighting World Poverty

The FOCUS Project, Malawi

FOCUS stands for Foundation for Community Support Services.

The FOCUS project was established in the Zomba region of southern Malawi to fight the spread of HIV, challenge the stigma experienced by people living with HIV/AIDS, and to provide support for vulnerable women and young people.

In the rural communities where FOCUS operates, there has been inadequate information among the general community on HIV/AIDS. Great stigma is associated with HIV/AIDS and people living with the disease are exposed to severe prejudice and social isolation. Women and girls are particularly at risk of infection and at risk of abuse as a result of poor economic status. Many young girls are forced into early marriage and early pregnancy. High levels of illiteracy compound these problems.

FOCUS is undertaking a dynamic programme of activities to tackle these problems at a grass roots level and at a strategic level. FOCUS’s activities include:

Forming village committees and strengthening community structures to enable the long-term dissemination of HIV/AIDS and health promotion information.
Establishing strong links between the community and existing support organisations such as hospitals and local government agencies.
Increasing knowledge on the prevention of HIV/AIDS with young people through education projects that visit communities performing educational dramas, educational songs and public advice.
Challenging the stigma of living with HIV/AIDS through touring educational projects that include personal testimonies from people living with HIV/AIDS and public discussions on the stigmas associated with HIV/AIDS.
Supporting women through providing business and technical skills training, supporting new business groups and co-operatives, providing business start-up funding and creating community based micro-credit organisations.
Educating young girls at risk through peer education, training in life skills, and skills training to enable girls to be economically self-sufficient.
Providing adult education by establishing adult literacy and skills training groups.

FOCUS changes the lives of thousands of people in the Zomba district. One such person is Jenny.

Jenny was born into an impoverished family in a poor rural community. The realities of life for families with little income or opportunities to improve their situation includes no access to basic education, becoming susceptible to poor health particularly HIV/AIDS, and families breaking up as individual family members leave to fend for themselves.

By the age of 14, Jenny had left home to try and look after herself. She soon became pregnant to a man who later abandoned her. She was unable to turn to her family for support as they has problems feeding themselves. Jenny was faced with a future of destitution and no way of exerting control over her or her baby’s future. Jenny’s story is typical for many young girls in poor rural areas.

Jenny then became involved in the FOCUS project. She undertook skills training classes to help her earn a living. She learnt about HIV/AIDS and its stigma. She is currently setting up her own small income generating business so she can earn money and look after herself and her child. Jenny is also taking part in peer education sessions with young women, passing on her experience in life skills classes to ensure young girls in Jenny’s community learn from her experience of life.

Jenny now has hope for her future and her baby’s future. Jenny’s goal in life is to make sure she can feed and look after her baby and make sure her baby gets an education.