Sex, Reproduction and the future

ByNetwork Learning

A call to all of us working in the South – in Africa, Asia, the ex-Soviet countries, the Asian Pacific etc. It is time for us to look again at the Earth and the big issues around sex and reproduction. It is not only the job of the Health NGOs – it is everybody’s job.

We know that HIV/AIDS is a serious threat to our species. How well are we combating the problem? It was hoped that effective treatment could be rolled out to sufferers everywhere, and that this would help infected and uninfected to change their behaviour. Has it? We still have hopes for a vaccine – but it is a long way off. There are hopes of the microbicidal gels that can be used by women independent of their partners – but with these too, more trials and education are needed. Behaviour concerning HIV/AIDS is still not changing fast enough.

When we look at the world’s resources we see an exploding population – but the area of land where food can be grown is shrinking.

We strongly suggest that every NGO could be doing more, helping every employee to become an Activator – Director, workers, secretaries, cleaners and drivers, each person reaching a different group of contacts. Each of us can be a motivator, an educator, an agent of change, and it is time that we all stop talking about it and started doing it.

The NGO can help train its employees

  • To talk about sex without embarrassment; to be ready to discuss these big issues, within and outside their work; to be knowledgeable about conception and contraception; to know how HIV is transmitted or blocked; to help girls negotiate with boys etcetera.
  • To help teenagers make good decisions. Every employee can decide themself whether, with teenagers, they will only teach about abstinence or about contraception as well.
  • Every colleague should be able to demonstrate the correct way to use a condom. Are you against condom use? Think of two facts. a) If condoms are put on badly they are more likely to break. With what results? And b) you may meet a married couple where one is HIV positive and the other is negative. Wouldn’t you want to ensure they used condoms properly?
  • Every colleague can help married couples plan the size and spacing of their family. NGOs can assist employees to attend clinics and get the best help. They can ensure that they have the time to be good parents. Their kids are part of the future of your country.

WE CAN ALL START TO SPREAD THE WORD.

Related Articles

  • Essential manual for refugees to Northern Europe

    ByNetwork Learning

    We recently made a manual Finding Mental Health after Conflict , which focused on Developing Countries. Then we were contacted by a new colleague originally from Sudan, who was interested in working with us. Mubarak has gone through thirty years of asylum-seeking, living in camps, then adapting to life in the Netherlands. In consequence, he had already started on a manual for asylum seekers and refugees in Northern Europe. It contains information about the legislation that affects them and the issues – practical, psychological and cultural – with which they may have to deal. Primarily intended for people like himself from MENA, it is hoped it will be useful for refugees from other areas. Now in both English and Arabic: Refugees from MENA to Northern Europe: Pressures & Solutions As a side-product, Mubarak would like to put together a list of doctors and psychologists in Northern Europe who have the skills and knowledge really to help refugees. Do you know anybody good? If so, let us know .

  • A fresh idea for keeping food

    ByNetwork Learning

    You may have seen the design for a slow cooker which cooks beans in 12 hours, using thick insulation and the sun’s heat? Now an NGO in Sudan has developed a refrigerating “zeer” pot which stores 10 kg of food for up to 20 days! Go to practicalaction.org – you will also find a video on the donkey cart ambulance, which has helped women in child births that have gone wrong to get to where they can be helped.

  • A New Approach developed by the blind

    ByNetwork Learning

    A Canadian, Daniel Kish, who was born blind, felt that his mobility – using a long white stick – was too limiting. He set about finding out how to improve on it and has now developed a mission to facilitate the self-directed achievement of blind people everywhere. A key component is echo-location, which involves blind people making noises to bounce off objects nearer and further away; they can be trained to become much more aware of the sounds around them, to become more confident and to move more freely. Graduates use bicycles to travel around. A full explanation of World Access for the Blind’s ‘Perception Based’ approach can be read at www. worldaccessfortheblind .org/node/120

  • | |

    Networklearning onderneemt lokaal actie – Voedselbos Schoorl sinds 2013

    ByNetwork Learning

    Om woorden in daden te vertalen en de verandering te zijn die we willen zien, is Networklearning een eigen milieuproject aan huis gestart op de grond rondom het woonpand, het voormalige Gemeentelijk Gym Lokaal, Smeerlaan 1 in Schoorl. Zo houden we de ontwikkelingen goed in de gaten!

  • Tired of paying for the latest computer packages?

    ByNetwork Learning

    Will you have the money for Windows 2012 or Apple SuperDuper? If you may not, think again about the no-cost alternatives. The Word Programme that you already have includes functions that have been around for over 20 years and will be perfectly adequate for your lifetime. OR there are free, good quality Open Source programmes that you can download: for example, OpenOffice does everything Word can: Could you write a good-looking document? Yes. Could you send it to colleagues whatever programme they are using and have them open it? Yes. Could you open old documents? Almost certainly. But if there is a really old document that you need but cannot open, you could consult Jon, our technical expert at networklearning. > Contact