Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In August 2007, Mohan flew out to Madagascar to launch the clinic with the help
of the Blue Ventures medic. Initial meetings to raise awareness were set up with the
women, men and teenage girls separately. The response was overwhelmingly positive
and large numbers of women took up the service when it was first launched. Mohan
felt that from the beginning, it was clear that the facility was important in emancipat-
ingthewomenofthevillagewhohadn'thadcontrolovertheirfertilityandwhowere,
largely, coping with men who didn't want to use condoms.
In January 2008, the new medic, Rebecca Hill, took over the running of the weekly
clinic which offered advice and access to a range of contraception. As well as con-
doms, which were promoted for safe sex and contraception, the clinic offered Depo-
Provera injections, the combined contraceptive pill, and the progesterone only pill.
The clinic also offered advice to the women so that they could choose which type
of contraception was right for them. Hill believed that the service could be reach-
ing more women and was shocked at the high level of ignorance about sexual health
matters. Hill held more meetings with different sections of the community, hoping
to dispel some of the misconceptions. She also persuaded Blue Ventures volunteers
to wear T-shirts embroidered with slogans promoting condom use. 'There aren't bill-
boards here,' she reasoned, 'so I thought that volunteers could be walking posters in-
stead'. She also wanted to tackle the myth that 'only white people wear condoms'. A
play about STIs was performed using humour and recognisable local stereotypes to
make the play entertaining and relevant. The play, 'Captain Kapoty' (Condom) was
performed again a month later to a packed audience on the beach. Another advertise-
mentwascreated-ahugepiroguesailemblazonedwithCaptainKapoty-andposters
aboutthebenefitsoffamilyplanningplacedinhighlyvisiblelocations.Acompetition
was also held, getting members of the community to devise and perform their own
plays about STIs and family planning. The message was getting across.
'When I started here in January, no one would take condoms' said Rebecca. 'But
just before I left in August, most women would take a supply. I regularly had boys
knocking on the door to my room asking for them.'
Much more still needs to be done. The future challenge is to understand what is
stopping more people from using the service, what the barriers to using contraception
are, and to keep the momentum going. There are plans forsatellite clinics in other vil-
lages with the hope of reaching the coastal community of 10,000 people who cannot
get to Andavadoaka, and for more education and awareness work, including a tour of
the play.
BITING THE HAND (OR ARMPIT) THAT FEEDS IT
Bill Love
