Do posters work?

[Giray]

We all keep producing AIDS posters. Do they work? I may be the wrong person to ask because they do work with me. On a recent trip to Zambia, I saw some very powerful posters on AIDS and child abuse and they shocked me profoundly to the point of having started a local drive to prevent child abuse in my own community.
So, do posters work? And, do they work better with adults or with children?

[andor]

I would like, in my first post, to reply to your question, and at the same time, to tell you about my HIV experience. I want to congratulate you for this incredible job. I really think that we can make the difference in preventing AIDS through the world. All the efforts aren’t many compared with the communications problems that we all have in this society.

To answer your question I agree with you when you say that the posters work. They sure work for many people. Unfortunately they don’t work with all. They don’t reach its goal. One of the reasons is their position. They aren’t in the appropriate place. The main problem, in my opinion, is the Conscience that has to be worked before they can receive the information, and transfer it for their life’s. The effort on Education has to be tremendous. The family has the responsibility to provide information to their sons. As the society grows with new products, services, entertainment programs, new viruses, diseases, alcohol, drugs, etc, we need to shrink the time that we need to explain to other the rules, the problems and the society that we create. Survive is difficult! We must assume this. Not only with AIDS. AIDS in Africa is frightening, but before that the rich countries should be responsible for the base education that can offer instruments to prevent and to work in a much more effective way the virus in these countries. In the self called developed countries the problem is other. Despite of the primary education, we assist everyday to risky behaviour that is hard to explain. This reality is even scarier because everyday people get infected. They don’t know, at the beginning that they transport HIV and infect other people. Everyone can help. Discuss the theme can be a way to provide information that plays an important role to someone

My experience leading with HIV begins in a summer at the age of 18. I went out with a girl and we have sex without protection. I wasn’t thinking in the risks until a friend of mine called. We were talking about the vacations and I told him that I had knew a girl and tried to describe her. He knew her and told me things about her life that gave, even more sense, to a risky relation. She had problems with drugs, difficult life conditions, no education. I didn’t know this girl. This is not so important like we should think. Today I know that AIDS doesn’t choose people. There are certain procedures we can apply to protect us, but if there isn’t a conscience in evaluate each risky situation (sex, blood exposure, drugs) we can predict difficulties dealing with the problem. I was scared, I couldn’t sleep at night. I had to talk about the situation. I told everything to my parents that went with me to make blood analysis. We were shaking, waiting for the results. The tests were negative. We could breathe, my behaviour changed a lot, but I was living everyday with situations that could indicate risky behaviours and a wrong way in preventing AIDS. For example, during some years, I had 2 or 3 sex relationships with girls, sexual actives, that admitted that I was the first boy that they were having sex using condom. After realise this, I panic, and I was thinking in the numbers. Many boys and girls were infected for sure without knowing. Those behaviours were dangerous, and this people think AIDS is a problem of someone, that doesn’t touch them.

I had a friend. I knew him at the age of 17 when I went to live in Lisbon. He was a reference for me. In his way of discuss the problems and in his personality. He was a great person. One day he got sick. He was very sick. At this was working with me. At the beginning he had a blood cancer. He was making all the tests, and trying to get better every single day. But the situation was getting worse. I remember we had a to travel by plane to and he was suffering too much. I told him it was better not to go, but despite of the problems, he went. Two months later he went to the hospital and didn’t come out. There are some things we can not explain in this life. A nurse who is working in that hospital knew a friend of mine. When she saw that this guy was my friend she called. And she told me… that he was infected by HIV and he had many viruses in the blood. I run in to the hospital. I was there when he and his wife received the bad news from the doctor. His wife panic and started to scream so loud that the doctor had to hold her. They gave her some drugs to calm her. That day I will never forget. I can’t describe it. I waited for the nurse. She stayed with me explaining the entire situation. Now, we were worried about his wife and his son. Were they infected? Thanks to God, No. They weren’t. He didn’t know that I knew the gravity of the situation. No body knew. I think the great majority of those who went to his funeral, didn’t know what cause his rapid death (respiratory problems caused by HIV). I really think that no body knew he was infected, except the family and the nurse that was present. He didn’t take drugs and I am almost sure that he was infected sexually with some girl. He had a wrong procedure from all points of view, and he paid that with his life. He destroyed the family. The conversation I had with him 5 minutes after he got the news showed me that he understood what could infect him. The only thing he could think was in his wife and son. During this short time (between he received the news and died) I visit him twice. The first one he was blind, and his weight was 45 Kg less than normal. He was happy when I told him I was getting married… The second time, I was sure that this was the last time I was seeing him alive. He could see me, but his condition was so weak… He died at the age of 38 and left his wife and his son in this life…

I am trying to work with CESIDA in Spain. I will try my best on preventing AIDS. I am a Portuguese citizen living in Spain. This doesn’t matter. I am a citizen of the world, dealing with a problem that we all have…

Regards
Andor

[Giray]

Hola Andor.
Wow, what a post! Just read it twice.
For starters, I agree with you about education. I think most of us involved in the AIDS movement would agree. So many people just don't know. Everytime I do a film on AIDS or produce anything that requires field travel to Africa, I realise that so many youth just don't know!
As for your own experiences, thanks for sharing them with us. Indeed, each personal experience helps others to realise the importance of safe behaviour. I especially liked the section where you describe the girl who admitted that you were the first to have sex with her with a condom.
Andor, keep up your commitment and welcome to the community!! Feel free to invite others and have them engage in discussion. This is the only way to make things change.

[budavati2003]

Giray,Andor,
This is in reply to your posts. I say posters do work and they do work with adults as well as with children. Because, a picture is worth one thousand words. We can communicate and also educate people even those who are illiterate and have no education.But it should be done locally and consistently.The young people and children should be made to understand the value of SEX and the value of LIFE. As a member of the community and as a person who created HIV/AIDS posters and put them in the COMMUNITY using the highest attachment space, I strongly believe that posters do work.

[andor]

I coudn't agree more. When i said: "Unfortunately they don’t work with all", i mean that over circumstances we can't control, posters aren´t read by a large number of those who can make the difference. Some of the parents, some of those that compose the risky groups. With my post i didn't want to say that the posters don't have a very important role to play. The opposite. As many we get, it worth the work if we get one reader that understand the message. I strongly believe that posters work too.

[Giray]

You bring up a good point. Posters have to be displayed in places where the largest number of vulnerable populations pass. Places of worship, schools, bars, city halls. We have to make certain that posters don't just sit in ngo offices. Sure, that's important too, but they have to be seen by as many people as possible.

[budavati2003]

Andor, Giray,
I understand Andor's point of view.We have to make posters without writing.
Like cartoons without caption.We must make them interesting, colorful, attractive and in the local medium.All this is not enough.As Andor says, many people don't come to the posters. We have to take the posters to the people. In spite of this world AIDS campaign, many people don't believe in the dasngers of AIDS.The campaigners also don't have any authentic information or concrete examples.Still, we should not get disheartened and we should not stop our work.We have to stop even the ignorant and illiterate from dying.Let's now concentrae on posters without captions or writing.

[andor]

I think we need to fight strongly the governments. They are the key. Economical power should allow us to post the best poster we could get. In the self called developed countries: TV. In African Countries we could reach population through their communication system that can be the program to supply food to the populations or through medical assistance. It’s impossible to reach everyone but to fight a strong virus like HIV; we need the strongest communication support we can get. If we could put our promises on air between 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. on each main channel of each country, I think we could do something really important. Unfortunately I know how propaganda machine works, and to achieve this goal we need a big structure, with financial funds and a budget. If we start thinking, we easily understand why television doesn’t work with human causes, health problems or social behaviour. This is only one of the problems to fight for. And this is a big one.

[Giray]

Folks, I've started a new thread discussing TV time here (http://www.worldaidscampaign.net/community/showthread.php?t=138).