| Subject: | [youthgas] Meet an outstanding HIV & AIDS young social entrepreneur | | Date: | Sunday, October 7, 2007 23:43:41 (+1000) | | From: | Cameron Neil <cameronneil @....org>
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Dear friends and colleagues
Since December 2004, myself and other Australian members of IYPF have
been working each World AIDS Day (1 December) to sell ribbons and
other items to raise money for Royal Youth Organisation in Zimbabwe.
These ribbons have been handmade by AIDS affected or infected young
people in Zimbabwe involved with RYO's youth empowerment work.
All this came about because we met an inspiring young Zimbabwean man,
Rassel Chisango, one of the driving forces behind RYOs work on HIV
and AIDS issues. Rassel attended the International Young
Professionals Summit 2004, became an IYPF member, and leads our HIV
and AIDS network.
Why am I telling you this?
I give you this background because Rassel is back in Australia, and
he wants to use the opportunity of his visit to develop a network of
support for his youth based work in Zimbabwe. He is currently
attending to Oxfam International Youth Parliament Kaleidoscope event,
and from 14 October to 4 December he wants to visit agencies,
organisations, and individuals in Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney and
Brisbane (and places in between, if possible).
Rassel is therefore looking for:
* organisations interested in meeting him to discuss youth
empowerment and development work, particularly related to HIV & AIDS
and sexual health
* speaking or presentation opportunities to share about his work
* generous people to assist him during his travels through providing
a place to stay for a night or more (as you can appreciate, Rassel is
travelling with a limited budget!)
Rassel's calendar is a relatively clean slate from 14 October to 4
December, though current tentative plans have him in Canberra from 14
to 21 October, and Brisbane from 26 November until 4 December.
We look forward to receiving your proposals and offers for
assistance. Please send them to chris.szigetvari@abs.gov.au and
rasselchisango@iypf.org.
To learn more about Rassel's work, see his note below on the new
Royal Youth Resource Centre Project, and some photos of his group at
the following links:
http://www.tigblog.org/group/iypfmembers/post/263689
http://www.tigblog.org/group/iypfmembers/post/263691
Thanks and I look forward to you joining us in partnership with
Rassel to assist young people in Zimbabwe.
Cameron
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Rassel writes on his work:
The growing and pressing need for youth for youth services -
otherwise known as Youth Peer Education Services - has been tried and
tested not only in Zimbabwe but globally and has proven to be
effective particularly for behaviour change programmes related to HIV
& AIDS prevention.
According to various multilateral organisations, particularly UNAIDS,
WHO and UNICEF, youth for youth run programmes or activities are an
ideal and effective strategy through which young people can
participate in HIV and AIDS initiatives as well as meaningfully
contribute towards vindicating their peers from the threats, effects
and impacts of HIV and AIDS. It is from this background and
understanding that this purely youth for youth empowerment for
development against HIV and AIDS Royal Youth Resource Centre Project
has been formulated. It is also crystally apparent that such uniquely
focussed projects are pressingly needed yet dangerously scarce in our
communities.
Equally important, in view of the well documented fact that much of
the information youth receive on sexuality comes from peers we are
convinced that this concept of a Community Based Youth-oriented
Resource Centre is essentially relevant and well timed considering
that such centres are dangerously scarce in our communities yet so
pressingly needed. Over and above all, we believe that through the
proposed resource centre several invaluable benefits will accrue not
only to our primary target groups but also to our community of
service at large taking cogniscence of the fact that this is a social
entrepreneurship project.
OBJECTIVES
1. To disseminate and make accurate, honest and non-judgemental
information on HIV and AIDS easily accessible to young people in a
youth friendly environment
2. To identify, train and support other young potential social
entrepreneurs who will organise and catalyse development projects
from the youth resource centre
3. To mobilise and provide seed resources to trained social
entrepreneurs and peer educators to initiate demand driven youth
oriented services from the R.Y.R.C
4. To offer referrals to young people where specialist services are
required
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Join the International Young Professionals Foundation
http://www.iypf.org/membership.htm
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
International Young Professionals Foundation
Cameron Neil Chief Executive Officer
0402 072 452 cameronneil@iypf.org
www.iyps.org www.iypf.org
http://profiles.takingitglobal.org/cjneil
http://cjneil.tigblog.org
http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=426121
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"if you want to build a ship, don't gather your people and
ask them to provide wood, prepare tools, assign tasks...
Just call them together and raise in their minds a longing
for the endless sea." -Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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Meet an outstandin
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