Straight Talk Foundation Annual Report, 2010

2010
ANNUAL REPORT
* Listening * Telling true stories * Addressing adolescent and adult sexuality
abbrevIaTIONS
AMYC AJYC ARVs BCC CCTs CSF DATIC DEOs DHOs GYC FGD HCT IPPF KYC MoES MOU NUREP PACE PIASCY PPET PS PWDs R&E SGBV SRH STI SS STF UNESCO UNFPA UNICEF UNITY WILD 4RS Amuru Youth center Ajumani Youth Center Anti Retrovirals Behaviour Change Communication Centre Coordinating Tutors Civil Society Fund District Agricultural Training and Information Center District Education Officers District Health Officers Gulu Youth Center Focus Group Discussion HIV Counseling and Testing International Planned Parenthood Federation Kitgum Youth Center Ministry of Education and Sports Memorandum of Understanding Northern Uganda Rehabilitation Program Programs for Accessible Health , Communication and Education Presidential Initiative on AIDS Strategy for Communication to Youth Post-primary education and training Primary School Persons With Disabilities Research and Evaluation Sexual and Gender Based Violence Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health Sexually Transmitted Infection Secondary School Straight Talk Foundation United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization United Nations Fund for Population Activities United Nations Fund for Children Ugandan Initiative for TDMS and PIASCY Wildlife Landscapes and Development for Communication Runyankore/Rukiga/Runyoro/Rutooro
Straight Talk radio shows capture deeply private moments. Interviews are conducted in huts, classsrooms, clinics and small living rooms and under trees. They are assembled into shows in STFs Kampala studio. Straight Talk Foundation (STF) is a Ugandan NGO, set up in 1997. It grew out of a teen newspaper, Straight Talk, started in 1993. Today it practises
COmmUNICaTION FOr SOCIal ChaNGe. Its main focus is preveNTING hIv IN aDOleSCeNTS.
STF also supports pareNTS and TeaCherS to have safer and healthier sexual lives and to help adolescent have safer transitions to adulthood. STF adheres to a KNOw yOUr epIDemIC- KNOw yOUr reSpONSe approach and follows a SexUal healTh promotion model. In 2010 STF worked in 17 laNGUaGeS. STF communicates through raDIO, prINT and FaCeTO-FaCe. STF is concerned for the well-being of all adolescents and their families. however, it is particularly concerned about the most-at-risk, especially GIrlS, OrphaNS, adolescents living wITh hIv or with SpeCIal NeeDS, and adolescents in complex environments such as FIShING COmmUNITIeS.
Table of Contents
Message from the President 2 Message from the ED 3 PRINT 4 Positive dignity 7 ST & YT in Braille 8 Letters/distribution 10 ST and YT at a glance 12-13 1 TREE TALK & FARM TALK 14 RADIO 18 A Straight Talk radio trip 22 ST radio brings changes 23 Parent Talk testifies 24 Parent Talk saving marriages 25 Radio letters/Maps 26-27 Radio topics & partnerships 28 FACE-TO-FACE 29 Outreach and training 30 Teachers fairs, sensitization 33 Working with CBOs 34 Youth centres 35 Special needs & Batwa 40 National interns/volunteers 41 International colleagues 41 RESEARCH & EVALUATION 42 FINANCE/ADMINISTRATION 45
3
STF is all about activism, personal warmth, conviction, solidarity and talk.
1 In the top photo, STFs Jacki Alesi, 25, laughs with students of
Arua SS. They had asked me about using two condoms, she says. We were enjoying the discussion.
In the middle photo, STFs Runyoro-Rutooro radio journalist, Juliet Kabahuguzi, 20, demonstrates condom use to a group of students in Tororo. In the bottom photo, Parent Talk Ateso journalist Ruth Achope, 30, talks earnestly to parents in Kabermaido. The conversations can never finish.
Above: a young girl with Downs Syndrome expresses her thoughts at an STF workshop at Kireka Home for the Mentally Handicapped.
Says Quinta Apiyo, who runs STFs work in special needs, She was complaining that boda boda men deceive girls that they are wanted at home and then take them and rape them.
STF 2010 Annual Report
Message from the President

his is my seventh annual report for STF. Since the report is a painstaking yearly audit of everything that we tried to do in the previous 12 months -- and not a PR exercise, the writing never gets easier. I run up and down stairs in our Kampala building, asking How many radio stations aired us for free? How many people did we reach? And I shake my head sadly, when our data seems improbable or reveals a problem. We treated 4000 adolescents for STIs but gave out only 1000 condoms? What is happening here? But writing the annual report is also deeply satisfying. I need a letter that shows how little 12 year olds know about AIDS yet how large sex already looms in their lives, and our letter team hands me a pile in seconds. I sit with staff, looking for the perfect image that captures what we do. Wow, what was happening here? I ask, as we click through photos on a computer. I hear stories I had not heard before, of our staff going deeper into villages and conversations than I ever imagined. You guys are amazing, I chide. Why didnt you tell me you did that? I find out that Quinta used $75 of her per diem to rent a field for landless pygmies. I see that in condom demos, young people now hook the dildo into the front of their trousers as our field workers run a commentary on correct and consistent use. Is that embarrassing? I ask. No, they answer, smiling and unfazed. We asked Fred Womakuyu, Ugandas most meticulous documenter of social reality, to take annual leave from The New Vision where he is a senior feature writer, and travel around Uganda and impartially enquire about us. I wanted to know how a radio show can cause people to form a club and how a child perceives our papers. His findings appear in boxes. What strikes me most is the simplicity of what people told him. They really did not know that it was OK to talk to their wife about sex or that a husband or wife sometimes does not feel like intercourse. They learnt that from our parent radio show. If this report seems heavy and pedantic, it is because the work is heavy and we want to make our case that mass media interventions are essential for preventing HIV: ideas are even more important than services, and biomedical interventions (PMTCT, HCT and others) almost
always fail unless they are accompanied by talk. We also want to justify talking about sex in 17 languages and account for what we did with the $3.4 million of foreign taxpayers money that donors gave us in 2010. We would not spend it the way we do if we did not think it works after all the money could be used for schools or cash transfers. The research and evaluation section is particularly dense. But today donors and charity watchers such as Givewell and Good Intentions are Not Enough demand far more than an intuition that something works. Givewell notes that less than 10% of international charities follow proven approaches and insists that charities exhibit an unusual degree of transparency, publicly disclose failed programmes, systematically commit to publishing evaluations, and provide a complete picture of how money is spent. This does not daunt us. Our approach is proven, and public disclosure is what this report is all about. For instance, we are open that we provided PEP to fewer adolescents in 2010 than in 2009 and are not happy about it. Today the gold standard is randomized controlled evaluations. But where would STF find an unexposed control group? Givewell concedes, however, that some NGOs have macro stories that provide evidence without separating people into treatment and control groups. Programs are considered promising when they are associated with past demonstrated success in improving peoples lives. STF has many such stories. STF addresses HIV in the context of sexuality and sexuality in the context of culture. So in 2010 I was excited to attend UNFPAs Global Consultation on Sexuality Education. But I clashed with colleagues from UNESCO, Population Council and IPPF over their new sexuality education guidelines. As they told me Straight Talk was anti-sex, I told them that their curricula underplay the consequences of sex for adolescents in countries with generalized HIV epidemics, little contraception and much early marriage. One curricula states that There is no right age to have sex. Each person has to determine when he or she feels ready. STF believes, in contrast, that there may not be a right age but there are certainly wrong ages, such as early adolescence or when you entirely depend upon parents for school fees. Sex, especially for girls, puts an end to education, which is the greatest promoter of well-being. We parted as friends, but with much on our minds. I thank STFs managers and staff for their terrific work in 2010 and our board and donors for being so generous towards us. Catharine Watson
Message from the Executive Director
traight Talk Foundation had a successful year in 2010. With an income of almost UGX7.6 billion, about $3.4 million, its achievements included: about 12.6 million newspapers and adolesent print materials produced and distributed. 4836 half-hour radio shows broadcast over 48 radio stations, in 17 languages for adolescents and nine for parents. a conservative estimate of 126,345 people reached directly by STF staff in schools and communities. many thousands more reached indirectly by the 614 peer educators, 217 teachers and 46 CBO workers that STF oriented in 2010. sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services (family planning, HCT and STI treatment) availed to over 10,000 young people at its youth centers in Northern Uganda. 68,313 letters received from its radio listeners and readers, more than in any year since we started in 1993. STF has a specialized niche with young people and a comparative advantage. Its mass media materials are a trusted household name. Currently 80-85% of young people have access to an STF radio show in their mother tongue. Its interpersonal work is innovative in addressing sexuality, the core driver of HIV in Uganda. We are committed to meeting and preferrably exceeding our beneficiaries expectations for comprehensive sexuality education and SRH services. Our actions follow these key tenets: Implementing interventions backed by evidence. Recognizing the diversity of STF beneficiaries and significant adults in their lives. Building, nurturing and preserving strong partnerships with the key players in ASRH. The year saw the departure of Executive Director Julie Wiltshire and Director of Grants and Special Projects Stuart Campo. We wish them both well. We welcomed Victoria Kajja , a CDC Fellow from Makereres School of Public Health at Makerere, and were proud when Nabbumba Nuru went to UNAIDS Geneva to represent youth on a six month fellowship.
In 2010, STFs work for teachers was enhanced by support from UNITY/USAID to produce Teacher Talk for primary and secondary schools. We strengthened our work with young positives and grew our special needs programs through our core work and Gulu and Kitgum Youth Centres. We started writing a new strategic plan to define our direction 2011-15. Funding for many civil society organizations in 2010 was precarious. So, to make economies and continue reaching our beneficiaries, we integrated STF programmes, e.g., STF print and radio teams conducted face-to-face counseling and group talk. After 18 years, STF remains committed to being adolescent-driven, talk rich and sex positive. Vital components in our quest for quality are documention, model-building and developing staff through monthly learning sessions, on the job training and mentorship. We are proud to deliver the highest standard of communication for social change to adolescents and adults in Africa. Strategic planning and innovative thinking are other key elements in our journey to excellence as a world best practice in HIV prevention. Quality is our passion, and our energies will remain dedicated to it. We are grateful to all our donors and partners without whom, our achievements would not be possible. We hope that you will find our 2010 report useful. Susan Ajok
Photos through the years, learning through doing -- Susan in a classroom on an outreach in 1999; at health fairs in the early 2000s. She joined STF in May 1998 and became Grants and Special Projects Manager and Director of Programmes before becoming Executive Director in October 2010. She has an MPH from the School of Public Health, University of Washington, and a BA in Sociology and Political Science from Makerere.
Boys at a secondary school enjoy a Straight Talk on drug abuse. Boys often use bravado to hide anxiety. Ugandan boys have a later median age of first sex than girls: 18.1 versus 16.4 years. However, boys today are more likely to have sex before 15 than boys in older age cohorts and than girls: 17.5% of boys aged 15-17 had had sex before 15 compared to 10% of girls. (UHSBS, 2004) Besides the risk of HIV, sex can have severe social consequences for school boys, including reducing their chances of completing their education. The girls parents may force them to marry their daughter or threaten them with prison. The boys parents may conclude that their son has lost interest in education and cease paying his fees. 4 STF 2010 Annual Report
PRINT
TF has worked through print since 1993. For six years, until STF started its English youth radio show in 1999, print was STFs sole channel of mass media communication. Straight Talk, a newspaper for secondary school students, was launched in October 1993. Young Talk for young adolescents was launched in February 1998. STF produces other talk papers with important niches -- Tree Talk, Farm Talk, Teacher Talk and Straight Talks in Ugandan languages. However, Straight Talk and Young Talk remain STFs flagship products, accounting for 9 million (71.5%) of the 12.6 million copies of the print materials that STF produced in 2010. Overall, 2010 was a year of intense work for the print department. The seven journalists and four designers produced 71 different products -- newspapers, leaflets, posters, calendars, books, newsletters and more.
STFs high volume, low cost, talk rich, print model has been replicated by Straight Talks in other African countries. The key to STFs print model, as with its radio approach, is to create conversations with young people. So besides STF journalists meeting young people in the field, Straight Talk and Young Talk draw on the letters that young people send in -- a record 23,143 in 2010. A good example of this was the May 2010 Straight Talk on labial elongation. About 100 young people, mostly girls, wrote in with their stories about this widespread cultural practice, enabling STF to put together an informed and insightful paper. Pulling is valued for enhancing sex but also, upon reflection, seems to distract girls from their education. It is often done communally at school and seems to encourage girls into early sex.
Straight Talk and Young Talk

Straight Talk provides the full package of comprehensive sexuality education, addressing both abstinent and sexually active young people, and therefore covering issues ranging from delaying sex to family planning and preventing abortion. It takes the position that not having sex is the wisest choice for in-school adolescents but recognises that some readers are in relationships. Young Talk, for pupils in upper primary school, holds that 10-14 year olds are too young to ever have good sex to which they truly consent aware of all the consequences. So it provides sex-positive content on understanding body changes, sexuality and reproductive health. It encourages children to say no to bad touches, ask for help, speak out, have constructive friends and complete primary school. STF newspapers, particularly Young Talk, use puzzles and games to draw in readers. By posing questions, they probe readers knowledge. In the April 2010 Young Talk, readers were asked to advise Dan who wrote in to complain that there is a girl in my class who, when the teacher is teaching, puts her bums on my leg and shakes them. Readers advised him: That is bad manners. Ask her to stop it. If she refuses, report her to your class teacher. She is teasing you. Tell your parents about it. They can help you. This technique, called crowd sourcing, generates authentic problem-solving, taps adolescents experiential wisdom, and gives them exercises in critical thinking. Both papers make copious use of experts, such as doctors from the Ministry of Health, who provide input on complex subjects such as - how does male circumcision protect against HIV? And what is a CD4 count? Printed on newsprint at a cost of just 2-3 US cents a copy, each newspaper has four A3 pages -- enough to accommodate articles and illustrations as well as the stories and questions of about thirty adolescents. We include their messages and pictures too, says print director, Topi Agutu.
Deeply absorbed, a boy looks at a Straight Talk with articles on the first
time I had sex and protecting your fertility by avoiding STDs.
Although highly economical, STFs print model costs more per person reached than its radio approach -- about 25US cents a year versus 10US cents. But print materials can be shared, conserved and pinned up on walls for years. STFs 1996 calendar - Safer sex is respect - is still up at Arapai, Ugandas top agricultural college, 14 years later. Adults who work at STF sometimes feel drained by the constant re-working of the same themes: sex, HIV, menstruation, assertiveness, girl-boy relationships, resisting negative peers. Yet, that content is what young people seek: there is a new sexual generation every five years.
The above letter is from a boy, 13, in his last year of primary school. Twenty-five years into the HIV epidemic, it is only natural that children ask basic questions and need answers.
Print
Publications 2010
Publication title Calendars Young Talk Straight Talk Straight Talk in Ugandan languages Teacher Talk for Primary and PPET Farm Talk Tree Talk Braille Young Talk Braille Straight Talk STF Ngakarimojong Talking Points STF Print Guide STF annual report Scouts Voice Dongo Pacu paper + 3 e-newletters Everyday Health Matters: HIV prevention (Luganda and 4Rs) and child survival in English HIPS leaflets Book: NUREP best practice Batwa book Malaria Consortium manuals War Child Holland manuals Mvule Trust annual report Total No. issues 4 10 10 4 4 2 7 2 2 1 1 1 2 5 Print runs 150,000 YT; 150,000 ST; 1000 FT; TreeT 31,500 530,000/month Feb-June; 490,000/ month July-Dec 330,000/month Feb-June 300,000/ month July - Dec 100,000 copies of 4Rs and Luganda issues; 60,000 copies of the Lwo and Ateso issues 300,000 copies of each issue 150,000 copies of each issues 100,000 April Lwo; 100,000 July Lwo; 250,000 April English; 250,000 July English; GTZ bulletin 1500, GTZ leaflets 3000, Tree Talk book 2000 150 100 10,000 50 1500 60,000 Kenya version; 50,000 Uganda version 1500 English Dong Pacu; 6000 Lwo version 100,000 copies HIV prev 4Rs and Luganda; 300,000 English child survival; Child survival in Luganda/4rs camera ready but not printed On STDs 15,000 English, Luganda 10,000. On condoms 15,000 English, Luganda 10,000 1000 1000 300 Not yet printed Total printed 332,500 5,590,000 3,450,000 380, 000 1, 200,000 300, 000 706,500 300 200 10,000 50 1500 110,000 7500
Prior to printing, all STF newspapers are pre-tested with beneficiaries to check quality and comprehension. In 2010 STF conducted pre-testing in 20 schools and sites, such as Naguru Teenage Centre. In all, STF print journalists conducted interviews, pre-tested papers and/or ran journalist for a day in a total of 89 schools, coming face-to-face with 4655 young people in 42 districts. After printing, each primary school receives 28 copies of each issue of Young Talk, and each secondary school 46 copies of Straight Talk. One of the print departments proudest achievements in 2010 was publishing its style book and print guidelines. In many respects, this was long overdue. However, it took months of hard work to unpack how exactly STF builds a paper. There was much to get down, including the choice of fonts, colours and other design parametres for each different talk paper; policies on sensitive issues (if a girl writes in about being raped by her cousin, should we publish her name?); how to be relevant for both boys and girls and even gendertransformative; how to situate content for young people having sex side-byside with content for adolescents who are delaying sex; and how to talk about preventing HIV without stigmatising young people living with the virus.
500,000
4 1 1 2 2 1 71
50,000 1000 1000 600 300 12,641,450
Everyday girls get their first period and need to know that it is not a sign that they should start sex, says print director Topi Agutu. Every day a new school comes on board to get our papers, adds print manager Martha Akello. Since we have been producing Straight Talk since 1993, I often meet older people who say that the newspapers helped them to live better lives. It was a source of satisfaction for STF that in 2010 its print materials continue to show up in research Straight Talk Foundation Kololo P. O. Box parents0312-262030/1 Tel: and as vital references for adolescents, 22366 Kampala Ugandawww.straighttalkfoundation.org Email: info@straighttalkfoundation.org Web: teachers. (See page 42.)
Other newspapers
In 2010, besides ten issues of Straight Talk and Young Talk each, STF produced 30 issues of several other newspapers. Tree Talk and Farm Talk are discussed on pages 14-17.
Ugandan-language Straight Talks:

written for young people who are outof-school but literate in their mother tongue, in 2010 these newspapers were produced in Lwo (Lok Atyer Kamaleng), Ateso (Ener Eitena), Luganda (Twogere Kaati) and 4Rs or Runyakitara (Tusheeshuure). Out-of-school youth are highly diverse, ranging from young people who have not had sex to those who, usually girls, are married and already have children. STF tries to address the varied needs of these youth. In 2010 the local language papers looked at the importance of having friends and sub-topics such as enjoying love without sex; making sex safe from disease
PRINT GUIDE
Produced by Print Department, Straight Talk Foundation, 2010
In 2010 STF pursued its strategy of journalist for a day, which allows the young people to conduct interviews, suggest subject matter and determine the content of the papers themselves. Although this methodology involves lengthy upcountry trips and is too expensive to be used for every issue, in 2010 STF was able to work with eight schools in Kitgum to produce a Straight Talk on getting along with your parents and a Young Talk on violence is always wrong.
With UNITY-USAID and the Annex for the Blind reads a Teacher Ministry of Education and Talk about how to improve teacherSports (MoES), in 2010 STF student relationships. in Lwo. produced four issues of Teacher Talk, two for primary schools Young Talk and and two for post-primary Straight Talk in institutions. These focused on teacher pupil/student Braille: Concerned relationships, HIV stigma, helping teachers to understand com that visually-impaired and manage their own sexuality, supporting teachers rried. We are got ma u to be the bes and adolescents were with HIV, helping teachers to feel more comfortable g yo n suppor ti cut off from HIV and about adolescent sexual you. reproductive health (ASRH), and are with you arand creatingbsupportive e. e sexuality education, child-friendlyrteachingwho methods, futu e deve rm your u are will foenvironments forand ips ge you to STF started producing Straight Talk and Young Talk in yo young people. encoura ith boys and where relationsh irl two Watch totalyofu1.2 million Teacher Talks were printedWe ships w Braille in November 2009. In 2010lked producedby an STF to a g A eep o r and ug K friend d and thro ek, I ta n ch plac . with.distributeden 2010.es wecosts $12. (See angeon paged This issues of each. Each copy box talke 8.) in op in e right l, church people in e schoo o h guys has be
mikwano mikulu gyetuli. Batusanyusa. Okuba mukwano gwomuntu ffa nfe, kimatiza. Emikwano be bantu be twesiga era nga tubassaamu ekitiibwa. Tuba nebitusanyusa bye bimu wamu nempisa. Batuwa obuwummuliro, ne batubudabuda era batuwa namagezi. Omukwano omutuufu akuzzaamu amaanyi ngoyita mu bizibu. Twesigama ku mikwano era ne tusanyuka nabo mu ebiseera nga birungi. Emikwano gisobola okuba bakazi banno oba basajja banno, oba basobola okuba abakazi nga gwe oli musajja, oba nga basajja gwe ngoli mukazi. Musobola okubeera emikwano egya bulijjo naye ne munyumirwa enkolagana yammwe. ebyenjawulo. Mu biseera byange eby'eddembe, nsamba akapiira ne mikwano gyange. Nzannya katemba nokuyimba mu kwaya. Mukuume omukwano gwamme nga gwa maanyi. Mwogere awatali kukwekereza era mu mazima. Londa emikwano nga wegendereza.
than sex more terested in po, 19, "Is in M Aja anything. yi Girls SS, Jinja yon Nakan and early or unwanted pregnancies; d n using condoms; Orders a and HIV counseling and couple r listens testing before sex. A key neve talking point was that trust and specare good but do or re love ts ns not protect against HIV. Basedronecisio you d the testimonies of x. young people, the process of producing these papers is to delay se , alwoga12 males and 13 RN interactive. The Luganda paper featured e g mb K Rakai, o e females from Mpigi, Masaka,asan Kyotera, Kiboga and akasek Kyankwanzi districts. TheSS, N paper featured 23 young Ateso people. at the ediately Amos r sex imm lationship. Okok, 21, a "Asks fo of the re ll residents Twogere beginning accept, he or she te in Anaka trading centre, Amuru, sex with en you Wh had how they for left school after P6. everyone who rushes to ask Lwakiytubeera boy ou. A you." A devoted reader of si nemikwano?ot love , KamurAtyek Kamaleng, sex does n yi, 19 Lok a E Kabagen i O he says it helped him sind PTC, Ma to learn how to read
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Teacher Talk: STF launched
Teacher Talk in 2002 for teachers in primary schools. Since then Teacher Talk has become a key teachers resource, promoting the governments sexuality and HIV prevention programme, PIASCY; increasing the use of Young Talk; and helping to improve the quality of education and increase pupils persistence in school.
Kaati
Brenda Nakimbugwe ye mwanjuzi wa plogulamu Twogere Kaati ku ladiyo. wuliriza: Buddu FM Masaka, Sun FM Mityana, Radio Kiboga, Beat FM, Akaboozi Ku Bbiri, Kampala
s to leave "Threaten fuse to re you if you h them. e sex wit hav anga, R Byaruh ity College rin Kabale T ve. He or "Is secreti t want o she does n about know you to ily. his/her fam o, 15, ng B Nanto ys ar S3, St M o uwer SS, L
Okuba nabantu okumpi, okwewa amagezi nebirowoozo ebizimba
A partially-sighted teacher, Joyce Ajok, at Gulu PS
Lubega Steven 20, owe Rakai agamba: Londa
emikwano egikuwa amagezi agagasa era nga gikuyamba okwekuuma. Wewale emikwano egikugamba okubba, okunywa omwenge, enjaga, era egitassa kitiibwa mu bantu bakulu ne bazadde baabwe.
Ssenyondo Lawrence, 26, ow'e Senyange, Masaka agamba: Bizinensi ngikola ne mukwano gwange. Ntunda chapati ye natunda enkoko. Ssente tuzitereka ku akawunti eyaffe ababiri. Tugambana ensimbi ze tuba tutereseewo. Sirina muwala muganzi wange. Mpulira ngekiseera tekinatuuka. Nekuuma nga nenyigira mu bintu
Godfrey Kanuagyi 17, Kasansula, Rakai akoze okusalawo okutuufu. Agamba: Neewala emikwano egingamba okw'enyigiria mu by'okwegatta. Ndi mbeerera, nerekereza ebyomukwano. Ntya okukwatibwa siriimu. Lowooza mu bwegendereza ku ki mikwano gyo kye gigamba okukola. Tokola kintu olw'okuba mikwano gyo bakikola. Kiyinza okuba eky'omutawaana gyoli.
Amazima ku siriimu:
Abaana abamu abazaalibwa ne siriimu kati bavubuse

Edda nga kizibu abaana abazaaliddwa ne siriimu okukula nokutuuka okuvubuka. Kati bawangala ngensonga emu ku bibasobozesa bwe bujjanjabi obwongeddwamu amaayi.
Nyumirwa okwagala okutaliimu kwegatta
Naye era kimanyiddwa nti abaana abamu abalina siriimu tebalaga bubonero bwonna okutuusa nga bavubuse. Enkola entuufu yandibadde nti abaana abazaaliddwa nakawuka ka siriimu baweebwa eddagala eriweweza ku siriimu (ARVs) mu mwaka gwabwe ogusooka mu bulamu. Wekebeze siriimu, bazadde bo bwe baba nga balabika ngabalina siriimu. Okujjanjaba amangu kye kisinga. Kubiriza bazadde bo nabenganda zo nabo okwekebeza siriimu naddala nga bali embuto, era bazaalire mu ddwaaliro.
Nakanjako Olivia, 19, ow'e Mbizzinya, Mpigi agamba: Nina omulenzi gwe njagala. Enkolagana yaffe yatandika nga tuli ba mikwano, naye ne twagalana. Tetwegatta. Ntya okufuna embuto ne siriimu. Tetunaba kwekebeza ffembi siriimu, naye tuteekateeka okukikola.
Mwakola okusalawo okutuufu okugira nga mulinzeeko okwegatta. Tebeereza bazadde bo bwe bawulira ngofunye olubuto. Topapa. Lindako okwegatta. Mwongere okumanyagana okusingawo.
Okubeera mu mukwano tekitegeeza kwegatta oba kufumbiriganwa. Lindako okwegatta okutuusa ngosussizza emyaka 20. Kikukuuma ngobulamu bwo bulungi era nga weewaze akawuka ka siriimu.
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Print
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I was s ARVs when hey cou pregnant. Taby wa see if my b any ot or if I had hey al pressure. Tbirth me to give . This which I did aby produce a b I wa After birth, virap c y: my baby ne no ion toyoJao k s QueJatcky, did u g weeks. I didhan got ear D to reduce c ers you natal when women for ante They say advise mothnat l t? spita pregnan attend ante al. from the ho ho get help to babies who w from hospit birth can give HIV. M Amulen,18, DO YOUIO don't have y Girls SS, Soroti than S4, Be QUEST STF 2010 Annual Report 7 I JACKY?3 s S: Yetenmy decarr.e at AN a atal a PO BOX 22
Sexuality education for vision-impaired adolescents

have is to read hard and succeed in future. If we fall for girls, we shall be a useless lot because we shall have nothing to show. They read the Straight Talk Braille by feeling dots on the paper with their fingers. Each class receives one copy, which the students read in turn. At Friday club meetings, they write letters to STF. I had heard good things about STF newspapers in the past from friends able to read. Says Godfrey Joga, 19, in S3. When I read ST Braille, I learnt a lot. Janet Kwaga, 21, in S5, says, I learnt to be assertive and avoid walking alone or at night to avoid bad people. Teacher Maxi Akabway says Straight Talk Braille is important since teachers are too busy to provide sex education. STF journalist Jane Nafula, who manages the Braille issues, says people take advantage of blind youth, especially the girls, who are raped. They have low self-esteem and think abusers are doing them a favour by having sex with them.
Reading Braille: students at St Francis SS for the Blind in Soroti,

reading Straight Talk in Braille.
hree boys are having a hot debate at St Francis SS for the Blind. One says that a friend told him that if he does not have sex, he will become abnormal and never produce children. But his friend says that he read in the Braille Straight Talk that this is not true. Delaying sex protects us from HIV, helps us concentrate on studies and earns us respect from women. He says that he manages his sexual desires by reading books and Straight Talk Braille and playing sports. A third boy says, As disabled youth, the only pride we
tudents with limited sight also benefit from the ST radio show. Alice Ngobi, 22, in S5 at Iganga SS listens to it on Capital Radio. I learn about early marriage, AIDS and sex and relationships. It encourages us to pursue education for a better life. By Fred Womakuyu
Straight Talk clubs

t St Judes College in Bugiri, Juliet Mukisa, 15, is reading the latest Straight Talk. I am getting tips for our club. We meet every Friday. She has chosen the topic how to care for people living with HIV/AIDS. She tells the club that caring for people with HIV starts with getting rid of stigma. Esther Muzaki, 16, confesses that she thought sitting next to a person with HIV might infect her. She is avoiding them. Mukisa says, Look at what Straight Talk says. HIV is not transmitted that way. It is mostly Club activist Jane Mukisa looks at Straight Talk with classmates. Being in a Straight Talk transmitted by club is a way to become more assertive and gain sex. leadership skills.
A biology teacher adds, Caring for people with HIV helps them know that they are important like anybody. Muzaki acknowledges her misconception and promises to treat people with HIV better. Mukisa shifts to relationships. She says that Straight Talk says a good girl-boy relationship does not mean you have to have sex but in case you cannot control your feelings, you can use a condom. She explains to the 60 club members that, used correctly and for every round of sex, condoms can protect them from unwanted pregnancies and HIV/STDs. t Green Hill SSS in Bugiri, teacher Jimmy Kimumwe says Straight Talk helps teachers control sexual feelings. You may be tempted to have sex with students. Straight Talk reminds us to never do that.
Young Talk: teaching us about our bodies

ius Ngole, 13, is a pupil at Moroto Municipal PS. He wants to become a doctor but he knows he comes from one of Ugandas least developed regions, plagued by insecurity, poor schools and drought. But this has not stopped him from thinking and, through a Young Talk club, he has learnt about sexuality, body changes and HIV/AIDS. He has also made friends, gained confidence and can now speak to a large crowd of people without fear or hesitation. It is helping me to stay at school because, in my region, we value cattle not education, he says. But cattle are stolen and dying due to drought and diseases. We are also dying from hunger. Ngole says if he gets educated, he will get a good job and help his parents overcome poverty and survive Karamojas harsh conditions. The club has 50 members who plant trees and read Young Talk. Says another member, Peter Lomanio, 14, We are now good writers and my dream of becoming a journalist is being fulfilled. We request STF to continue advising us. Teddy Adungo, the club patron, says Young Talk has done a lot for her pupils. In Karamoja, nobody talks to children about body changes or sex education. They think it will encourage them to have sex. But through the club, members have learnt about their bodies and how to control themselves. t Kyengere PS in Wakiso, Kibirango Shafique says that Young Talk is teaching them about their bodies. He started growing pubic hair and he knows it is normal. He adds that Young Talk is advising him to abstain from sex. He manages to do this by reading his books, helping his parents at home and playing football. Esther Matoho, a teacher at Matutu Memorial PS in Wakiso, says that Young Talk is helping her to teach her pupils better. There are many things that I do not know as a teacher. But experts and students writing in Young Talk have opened my eyes. From each issue, I am learning something. At Lotukei PS in Abim, Francis Ojole, 13, says that when Young Talk comes, they first meet as members of the Young Talk club and then distribute the copies
Serious faces at a Young Talk club in Layoko PS in Gulu. STF is unsure how many Straight Talk and Young Talk clubs exist in schools because most form spontaneously and simply use the copies that STF sends the schools as a catalyst for talk. However, it has over 800 on its mailing list. Some schools use the newspapers as teaching tools in class. But doing both -- having a club and using the papers for teaching -- is ideal.
to the classes. At Bumatte PS in Bundibugyo, Joyce Mbambu, 15, says the papers discuss important issues like body changes and HIV/AIDS prevention. At VH Public School in Lira, Naizuli Martha, 15, says that Young Talk is like a textbook because what is taught in their science lessons also appears in the newspaper. By Fred Womakuyu
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Letter feedback
Newspaper Young Talk Straight Talk Farm Talk Tree Talk Teacher Talk Total Letters received 15,409 7734 567 422 122 24,068 44F 14,047F 78M 9254 M By gender 9127 F 4786 F 6192M 2984 M
Letters by districts
District 1. Adjumani 2. Amolatar 3. Amuria 4. Apac 5. Arua 6. Bubulo 7. Budaka 8. Bududa 9. Bugiri 10. Bukomansimbi 11. Bukwo 12. Bundibugyo 13. Bushenyi 14. Busia 15. Butaleja 16. Dokolo 17. Fort portal 18. Gulu 19. Hoima 20. Ibanda 21. Iganga 22. Isingiro 23. Jinja 24. Kaabong 25. Kabale 26. Kabarole 27. Kaberamaido 28. Kalangala 29. Kaliro 30. Kampala 31. Kamuli Total 128 46 54 196 452 2 4 45 1677 1 1 192 136 2789 2 116 18 120 121 7 99 6 431 4 304 9 133 45 60 2199 226 437 67 1134 57 10 32 23 143 17 187 27 District 44. Koboko 45. Kumi 46. Kyegegwa 47. Kyenjojo 48. Lira 49. Luuka 50. Luweero 51. Lyantonde 52. Manafwa 53. Maracha 54. Masaka 55. Masindi 56. Mbale 57. Mbarara 58. Mityana 59. Moroto 60. Moyo 61. Mpigi 62. Mubende 63. Mukono 64. Nakapiripirit 65. Nakaseke 66. Namayengo 67. Namutumba 68. Nebbi 69. Ntungamo 70. Otuke 71. Pader 72. Pallisa 73. Rakai 74. Rukungiri Total 32 186 6 93 1302 4 159 3 99 2 164 313 264 18 67 60 227 10 407 677 4 15 11 39 18 167 9 111 123 3 1079 5 25 41 30 531 372 388 47 9 372 2695 21645
etters are STFs main feedback system. The year 2010 saw a sharp surge of letters from pupils and students. In 2010 STF received 24,068 letters to its five main papers. Young Talk received 15,409 letters, an increase of almost 100% over 2009 in which it received 8040. Straight Talk received 7734 letters, more than doubling the letters it received in 2009. Print director Topi Agutu explains the boom in letters this way. We believe it is because we have a dedicated print team, who make sure that every STF trip up-country carries papers and pre-paid envelopes for young people. This has simultaneously improved distribution and made it easier for adolescents to write in. Adolescents have always had so many questions but have often not been able to send them to us. Girls write in to both Young Talk and Straight Talk more than boys. Making the papers appealing to both gender is a challenge. STF received letters to Straight Talk and Young Talk from almost every district. But learners in some districts are more engaged than in others. Top responding districts were Busia, Bugiri, Kasese, Lira, Rukungiri and Kampala. With a population of almost 2 million, Kampalas strong response is no surprise. But the high response from these other districts is partly due to STF monitors on the ground, young men with bicycles who track STF radio shows to make sure they are aired and visit the post and education offices to make sure the newspapers get out. STF is particularly concerned about large districts such as Kabarole and Rakai from which it receives almost no letters. Adolescents may be receiving the papers but not have means to respond. The post office network is weak in some parts of Uganda. In 2011 STF will embark on a renewed drive
32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42.
Kanungu Kapchorwa Kasese Katakwi Katooma Kayunga Kibale Kiboga Kiruhura Kiryandongo Kisoro
75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85.
Sembabule Serere Sheema Sironko Soroti Tororo Wakiso Yumbe Zombo Tororo Unknown
Grand Total
to make sure it hears from young people from all districts. Letters reveal the myths and misconceptions that young people hold about sex and their bodies. They also reveal young peoples struggles to manage love, relationships, school, money and family life. The following are recurrent themes. Culture: My friends tell me that if I dont pull (elongate my labia) I will not give birth in future. Pregnancy and STDs: If a girl swallows four panadol before having sex, can she get pregnant? I was raped when I was 12. When I urinate, I see pus.
from L to R, Aida Nanyonjo, Jackie Abongowath, Jane Nafula, Print Director Topi Agutu and Print Manager Martha Akello. Missing are Fred Ouma and Paul Kiwuwa, who were on an upcountry trip when the photo was taken.
The editorial team:
10 STF 2010 Annual Report
Body changes: When I was young, my breasts were small but now they are growing so big that I fear that clan leaders have bewitched me.; My penis is small. My friends say that when I marry, my wife will divorce me and I cant produce children. Relationships: I have a boy who loves me too much but I dont love him. He tells me that when I love him, he will give me everything. There is a teacher who wants to love me. I told him I am still young. Should I accept him or report him to the head teacher? Condoms: My friend is totally against condoms. He says it is indirect killing. Is this true?
Drugs and violence: My parents take alcohol. Then they burn clothes, break things and chase me from home. They want me to stop schooling.
The letter team: in 2010 these young people logged, categorised and
answered all letters to Young Talk and Straight Talk. They selected letters to appear in the papers and sent out prizes.
9000 8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 02
18000
Young Talk letters 2002-2010
7734
16000 14000
Straight Talk letters 2002-2010
15409
5168 4288 3625 2936 3530
12000 10000 8000 6000
8040
1638
1813 1070
4000 2000
2902
3278 1781 1995 1202 1114

07
2555
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
0 02 03 04 05 06 08 09 10
Years
Years
Distribution
About 35,000 copies of each STF newspaper are inserted into The New Vision. Others are delivered to NGOs in Kampala. The bulk of STF newspapers go out through the post. STF has 25,000 addresses on its mailing list. To encourage teachers to collect the bundles, STF sends texts reminding them to pick their newspapers two weeks after they are posted from Kampala. It has 6350 mobile numbers for primary schools, 3848 for secondary schools and hundreds of numbers for CBOs. Teachers responses show their desire for the papers. We spent a year without Young Talk because we changed our PO Box! St Noah Kampiri PS, Mityana Thanks for the notification. I am going to pick them now. Uganda Martyrs PS, Mbarara We always receive our monthly packages. They have helped transform my pupils. Oyamai PS, Amuria We need 1000 copies of Young Talk! Bubulo Mixed PS, Mbale We receive Straight Talk late, so we cannot participate in quizzes. Bamusuta SS, Kiboga
Category No.
Primary Schools Secondary School Straight Talk Clubs Young Talk Clubs Tertiary Institutions CCTs / Teacher Colleges District Education Offices District Inspector Offices Health Centres NGOs CBOs Baptist Churches Catholic Churches Church of Uganda Islamic Institutions Police Prisons Libraries MPs International addresses Farm Talk Institutions TOTAL
13,391 3272 715 103 553 598 80 80 1874 507 1532 73 118 806 45 120 57 81 306 266 175
A nurse at a clinic holds papers to distribute

to young clients.
You promised me a diary but I havent received it. Kirwala PS, Masindi
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Straight Talk at a glance 2010

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your
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HIV basics
Memory loss or forgetfulness is a
common condition among people living with HIV. It is caused by a condition called AIDS Dementia Complex (ADC) that affects the brain. ADC is usually caused by an infection that occurs because of a weakened immune system, as is the case with many HIV-positive people. Before the coming of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) many HIV-positive people suffered memory loss. But now it can be prevented and treated with ARVs. If you stay with an HIV-positive persons, it is important to always remind them to take their medicine on time.
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life
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the show's presenter.
Joyce Napeyok Nakia, 23,
Straight Talk radio show in Lebthur goes on air connecting Abim and Kotido. Meet
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Rise&shine
February Vol.16 No.2 2010
Newspaper for blind students Straight Talk Foundation has started producing a newspaper for blind students. It is called Straight Talk Braille. Braille is a method of communication used by blind people to read and write. It was invented in 1821 by Louis Braille, a blind
HIV basics
I share a desk with a friend living with HIV. Some students say I will also get HIV from her. Can I leave her? Boy, Kasese. NO. Don't leave her. You cannot get HIV by sharing a seat with someone who has HIV. It is sad that your friend is being stigmatised. People living with HIV need our love, care and support. Stigma is when people do not want to be near or share something with people. This can happen at school or in the community. Stigma can also come from people living with HIV themselves. This is called self stigma and is the worst form of stigma. Stigma spreads HIV as those living with the virus may deny to have it or fear to seek treatment and support. They may continue infecting the very people they love such as husbands, wives, girlfriends, boyfriends and children. Remember: HIV thrives on fear, ignorance and secrecy. Stop stigma today. Dr Stephen Watiti, Mildmay Centre.
Marc Vol.16 No.2
h 2010
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t is a New Year. Make the best out of every situation. Everyone is special and gifted and that includes you. Use that gift to rise and shine in everything you do. For instance, what do you want to be in future.
Deborah Watiti, 19, S6 vacist, Gayaza HS, dreams to be a paediatrician (childrens' doctor). I had a dream to be like my dad, who is a doctor. As a little girI I would escort him to the clinic. There was a feeling of satisfaction. When I told dad that I wanted to be a paediatrician, he was excited. However, on many occasions he asked me if I was sure about my choice. And I always said yes. In S5 I chose to do Physics, Chemistry, Biology and French. I believe I'm going to pass to go to the university. Matende Benard, 18, S4, Rena College, Mayuge, wants to be a lawyer. "I want to judge people fairly without favour. My favourite subjects are Agriculture, Biology and Geography. My friends say this course is expensive but I am
Make career choices carefully
determined. If I can't be a lawyer I will be a music star."
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These are Deborah and Bernards career choices. A career is a way of making a living. Some careers like medicine or law require specific training. Others, you learn through watching others do it, like music. If you are not sure about your career choice, talk to a career teacher, parents, your adult siblings or friends. Talk to people in the field you are interest in. If you want to be an accountant, talk to some accountants about their work and what it takes to become like them. Most people will be pleased to help you.
What is.... Good Sex I

t is now over 25 years of HIV and still thriving in Uganda. Why? Dr Stephen Watiti , working with Mildmay says it is because of three main reasons.1. SEX 2. SEX 3. SEX. Yes, we know you are curious about sex. So it is time to talk about good sex that will make HIV history in our lives, families, communities and country. Special thanks to to go to the 197 straight talkers who answered the Straight Talk October 2009 quiz on good sex. should be protected sex. If you really feel ready to have sex and you are sure the right time has come for you, before you take that step, test together with your partner for HIV/STDs. Akello M, Dabani Girls, Busia says: Good sex does not transmit diseases to your partner. Mawanda M, S3, Manchester HS, Bugiri, says, Good sex is done at the right time, in the right state of mind. It must be after your education. Good sex is not defiling or raping someone. It must be with someone you love. Someone ready to have sex with you.
Dr Kakoraki Alex of Murchison Bay Hospital, Kampala says, Good sex is the best. It is done after you have consented and agreed on the principles and values of having sex. Negotiate and agree on what you want to do. Know the HIV/STDs status of your partner. Should one of you be infected, protection should come in. Live sex does not necessarily lead to satisfaction. Even protected sex can be enjoyed. Dont go for sex during class time. Avoid having sex in unfinished buildings or bushes. You could be bitten by a snake or pierced by sharp objects. ed 197 interesting letters from
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Kenneth Lukwago, teacher from Makerere College, says, know

yourself and be honest about your likes and dislikes.
Ask yourself
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Stay a virgin If you are sexually active always use a condom. Unprotected sex is the biggest risk for young people.
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Acacia Avenue, Kololo, PO Box 22366 Kampala, Uganda. Tel: (256 31) 262030, (256 31) 262031, Email: info@straighttalkuganda.org, Website: www.straight-talk.or.ug
Straight Talk.indd 1 1/8/2010 11:03:32 AM
Hullo Straight Talkers in Bugiri, thank you, for working with us. In December 2009, Straight Talk journalists visited Bugiri. The big question for our visit was: What are we planning to be in future? Eight Straight Talkers from different schools were trained as journalists for a day. Afterward, they interviewed fellow Straight Talkers about what they plan to be in future. Read more inside.
for a day
Jo
t urnalis
What am I interested in and feel passionate about? Does the work require physical activity? Am I willing to perform at the level required? What knowledge, skills, training are needed in this work? How and where can I get the training? Will there be jobs when I complete training? Can I write, speak, relate with others and take personal responsibility? These skills will always be useful How much does this job pay? Can it earn me a living?
Nakia dressed in Loo, a Lebthur traditional attire. It is made of a goat skin and beads. Loo is used during weddings or when hosting special guests. Lebthur is a small tribe in Abim and Kotido. Nakia wants to be a journalist. She has a BBC certificate in journalism and hopes to get a diploma and degree. I lost my guardian in S4. But I believe this is not the end of the world. I will keep working hard towards my goal.
Straight Talkers.
Kisubi star is ST fan

Kyeyune Michael,17, is one of the students who scored 8 aggregates in 8 subjects in the 2009 O-Level Exams. He is now in S5 at St Marys College Kisubi,Wakiso. Kyeyune is humble, intelligent, friendly. He says: I have always worked hard. In primary, he got 4. My mother encourages me to work hard and I cooperate with teachers. Im doing Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics/Food! I took nutrition because I want to teach people how to eat healthy food. I enjoy cooking. I learnt from my mother. She has a catering company. Idont feel ashamed to cook. It is bad to despise work which can help you become a better person. Cooking is partly a source of my school fees. I want to become a cardiologist to treat people's hearts. Im, a fan of Straight Talk. In primary, I enjoyed reading Young Talk and it taught me the benefit of abstaining from sex. I hope to abstain till marriage. I don't have a gilrfriend. One of the of the interesting issues I have ever read is Girls are Equally Intelligent. It is true girls are intelligent. I encourage young people to read Straight Talk Newspapers
If both of you or one of you is not ready to have a baby, then, good sex
Denis Nabbi (Uncle D), one of journalists for the day interviewing Denis Mawanda of Bukooli College, S1, in his shop at Bugiri town. Both want to become lawyers.
Are you it circumcised? Where did you do from? Tell us your story and WIN. Write to Straight Talk PO Box 22366, Kampala.
Quiz:
abuse is on Quiz: Drugpeople. Sharethe with young
rise among us stories of how drugs are secretly and how brought in schools by students those who abuse drugs are affected.
Write to Straight Talk, PO BOX, 22366 K'la
rUHAAMA SS, NTUNGAMO, IS our STAr ScHOOl. Throughout 2009 we

received letters from Ruhaama SS. Make your school shine in 2010. Write to Straight Talk, PO Box, 22366, Kampala.
HIV basics: Good sex for HIV positives

Good sex is after studies and when you can handle sex outcomes such as a baby. Talk to your partner about your HIV status and test together. If you are sexually active, use condoms to prevent HIV reinfection, unwanted pregnancies and STDs. Nuru Nabumba
Don't allow to be used

Dear youth, we have also been in that stage. Dont let anyone abuse your body. If you are in school and want to be a doctor, concentrate on that. Try to do everything in its right time. Wagalukka Benah, a teacher at Nyenga SS, Mukono.
HIV basIcs
cides es Microbi tancagaithought nst are subs en obicides
More on good sex for HIV on pg 3 Students of St Lucia SS, Mpigi. Sometimes girls are forced out of school because of bride price. Boys may steal to raise bride price. This is not cool. Pick the good things about bride price and avoid the bad things.
April Vol.16 No.4
2010
Whya sex is such big deal!

Make your first time a great memory. Early sex could lead to unhealthy thoughts about sex as expressed by these straight talkers from Victor Hill SS, Kampala: "The first time I had sex I felt a lot of pain. I couldn't move properly. I felt like I had a serious wound down there. I swear, I will never practice it again," writes NN. "When I had Sex sex I was so at the right uncomfortable time, with the for over a right person week. I don't for the right reasons is want to do it again," fun. Ssenkubuge Benjamin. really expects you to abstain forever. Their only prayer is that you start sex when you are truly mature and practice safer sex.
Micr girls or wom not yet to protectg sex. They are still HIV durin . Researchers are effective and availablehard to find safe in gels, working des. They will come put be microbici creams that can can be foams and a. Microbicides at body to melt the in the vagin designed d in specially re when place microbicides temperatu e condoms, sex without vagina. Unlik ied before hen Watiti, be appl n. Dr Step could issio male perm Centre Mildmay
A NO is NO
June Vol.16 No.5 2010
HIV basics
Young people in Africa have taken the fight against HIV rather serious driving down the rates of the disease. They are choosing safer sex practices such as waiting longer before starting to have sex, choosing one sexual partner and using condoms. Join the new breed of young people to fight HIV.
BEAUTI
FU L:
Girls, Make your "NO" stronG and sincere. Boys, accept Girls' NO and never despise a Girl who says NO.
Jacky Ale r at voluntee
si
n.
datio is a Talk Foun Straight sented Uganda
Ahabyona Amos, Katooke SS, Ahabyona Amos, Kyenjojo says Hi! Katooke SS, Kyenjojo says Hi!
6 July Vol. 15 No.
2010
She repre HIV conference at the 8th Austria from a, in Vienn 22, 2010. At the t that July 13 , she learn conference ives have a : young posit But she asks sex. oms? right to using cond Are you ful? With Being faithyou having whom arethe right it sex? Is sex? time for
The Pokot are a small tribe of about 80,000 people who live in Karamoja.
ou are curious about sex. Maybe you feel like trying it out. But your parents, elders, teachers and Straight Talk encourage you not to have sex yet. Why? Because when, how, where, why and with whom you have sex can destroy your life forever. Before you start having sex, think about a time when you will have it without worries of getting pregnant, HIV/STDs and being arrested, your parents or teachers finding out, dropping out of school. If you are living with HIV, you will have no worries of re-infection. Yes, this time will come soon. Why hurry. Sex will always be there. It is fun and great after studies, after 20 years with a partner whose HIV/STD status you know.
Tune In Now to sT radio show

We speak 17 Ugandan languages. We would like to introduce to you new Lusoga and Rufumbira presenters Joy Namukuwe and Ronald Hakiza. 21, hosts the Straight Talk radio show in Lusoga (Twogere Lwatu). She replaces Susan Babirye. A student of Kyambogo Universtiy, Joy has a boyfriend but is waiting to have sex after studies. She says: Work hard towards what you want to be remembered for.
Alex says: "I'm a Pokot from Loroo village in Amudat district. My show gives people in my community important information. Some do not know HIV is a killer without a cure. I give them skills to survive despite challenges like cattle rustling, famine and lack of clean water, seeds and medicine for cattle. I talk about health problems like Female Genital Cutting (FGC), a common practice among the Pokot.
My girlfriend and I are virgins. I plan to marry her next year. I wanted to marry her this year but cattle rustlers took my father's 300 cattle. We pay bride price of about 40 cows. I encourage young people to stay virgins and demand for their rights. I demanded for my right to education. My father wanted me to stay at home and look after cows. I insisted to be taken to school. I joined P1 when I was 11. I worked hard and succeeded. I have a degree in Development Studies from Makerere University."
Joy,
Can be a sign of love, respect and seriousness

Bride price is an old tradition practised by many communities across the world. In Uganda bride price is known by different names, such as Enjugano or omukaaga in western Uganda, lim in the north, omutwalo in central Uganda. The husband-tobe takes gifts such as cattle, goats, cloths, local brew and money to the bride's family before marriage. In response to a quiz in October's Straight Talk, 98 of you wrote to us. We loved your letters. Here we start with positive ones. Napayo Caroline, Iganga SS, says: Bride price is open recognition of women as valuable members of society. It is the official stamp of marriage. Jackie Midiya, S6, Cityland College, Wakiso, says: Bride price shows a womans value. In the Bible, Adam had to be put to sleep and a part of him used to create Eve. He somehow paid. Asite Sunday, Maracha SS, adds: It is a token of appreciation and not a price tag. Buni Dission, S6, Wandi Progressive Arua says: "Bride price is a way of testing the boy's ability to take care of the wife and eventually children. In our community we are proud to show our in-laws that apart
can deny a woman dignity and safety in her marriage. She can suffer lack of freedom to speak and make decisions. from being of age and mature It can expose her to violence in thinking, we are materially and leave her stuck in an able to support a family." abusive relationship. To Vivian Naigaga, Some parents force S3, 15, Comprehensive their daughters to College Kitetikka, marry early so that Wakiso, bride price creates they can gain riches strong marriages. "It brings a sense of accountability into from bride price. This marriage, giving both families can deny girls the a say in it." right to study or a free choice of husband. Boys also face Bride price can also hardship as they back fire on young men and woman. Read struggle to pay. this Straight Talk and Sometimes they think seriously about miss marrying the the marriage you want. girl they love, who has been forced to Namatende Zaina, S3, marry an older often Kakungulu HS, Wakiso, says: polygamous man for Bride price is outdated and turns girls into property. Some men abuse their wives bride price. Atuki physically or emotionally. They feel wives are Turner, Mifumi purchased commodities; like cows or cars. Read more on page 2.
Bride price
Any behaviour or act that causes harm to someone is violence. It can be physical, emotional or sexual harm.
Violence is common in our homes and community. Yet it leads to death, injury, unhappy families, shame, fear, school dropout, poverty, disability and spread of HIV/STDs. Let's say NO to it.
REMEMBER: No adult
But watch out!
Mak e a thy heal start
QU IZ :
Straight Talk
dont If you are already having sex, been sit back and say: Well, I have point in doing it this way. There is no stop or changing my ways. You can every always use condoms correctly time you have sex. Make a healthy start, for you and your loved one. your It is never too late to change mind. Learn from your mistakes to become a better person. Life fun and without risks is simply more much safer. Jimmy Kimumwe, teacher, Green SS, Bugiri
What would you look out for in a marriage partner?
is the new presenter of Tuvuge Lwatu, a Straight Talk Lufumbira radio show. Ronald is very careful on matters of sex because he has grown up seeing boys in his village being forced to marry girls if they make them pregnant. He has also seen scary pictures and videos of people with STDs. Some STDs are terrible that they eat off the penis. Oouch! Keep safe, protect your penis.
Ronald,19,
, , Talk is the host of Straight says: He radio show in Pokot. and "Violence against women village. girls is common in my They are They are not valued. to beaten and not allowed say anything. I condemn violence."
Alex Limale 24
Sexual violence ranges from words, unwanted touches to forced sex. About one in four women between the ages of 19 and 49 had their first sex against their will. Boys too are violated sexually by either females or males. About 10% of males in Uganda have suffered sexual violence. Some were raped in the anus by other males. If you are sexually abused, ask for help. Emotional violence: Repeated lies, broken promises, withholding affection, extreme jealousy or humiliation, threats against a person and controlling a persons every move, including how to dress, what to eat or where to go. Physical violence is any act that is forceful, unwanted and harmful like tickling or hugging, pushing, pulling, slapping or holding someone down, punching, beating, kicking, burning and hitting someone. About 70% of women between 15 and 49 years have suffered physical violence. You too have witnessed violence as expressed in your 87 letters in response to a violence quiz in ST. Read Straight talkers' views on page 2.
President Museveni has signed the Domestic Violence Act. It punishes a partner who injures or endangers the health of the other. It also forbids repeated sending of abusive messages and letters. People who hurt their partners can be ned UGX 910,000 or imprisoned or both. The court may also order the offender to pay compensation. Domestic violence is against the law.
Send your stories and funky pictures to

PO Box 22366, Kampala
Straight Talk radio show is also in English, Luganda, Runyankole, Ateso, Lumasaba, Lebtur, Pokot, Ngakaramojong, Luo, Lugbara, Lusamia, Kupsabiny, Madi and Runyoro/Rutooro, Lukonzo.
Listen & Learn!
between June 11 and July 11. Thirty two countries participated. Of these six were from Africa. The football used during the World Cup was called JABULANI. This means celebration in Zulu language. Spain are the champions.They beat Nertherlands 1 - 0. The youngest player was Sergio Busquets, 21, from Spain.
The 2010 World Cup has just ended. For the first time in history, an African country, South Africa hosted it
Make use of your talents and shine.
Avoid HIV re-infection
You could be thinking: I already have HIV and don't need to protect myself. I can have unprotected sex. Wait a minute! You still need protection. Dr Sabrina Kitaka of Paediatric Infectious Diseases Clinic (PIDC) at Mulago, says: You may get more STDs like syphilis and gonorrhea or a pregnancy. You could also get re-infected with other types of HIV. There are different types of HIV. If you have HIV type 1, which is common in Uganda, you could get HIV type 2. These types have many sub types like A, B, C and D. When you have more than one type, your body weakens very fast and may develop resistance to ARVs. You may also develop AIDS very fast. Dont be a danger to yourself and others."
InSPIRATIon: "We are masters to our choices but slaves to our decision."
HIV BASICS
NO CHILD SHOULD BE BORN WITH HIV
About 140,000 children are living with HIV in Uganda. Many got the virus from their mothers.
InspIratIon: Not everyone who smiles at you is a friend. A real friend helps and guides you to stay safe and useful
HIV basics
Adherence: Some HIV positive young people are not taking their HIV medicine with a belief of having been cured of HIV/AIDS in church. Others are abandoning treatment due to peer pressure. Stopping treatment causes drug resistance and need for you to take much more expensive drugs. If you are HIV positive pray for healing but continue with your treatment. The missionaries knew better, they built churches and hospitals. Dr Stephen Watiti, Mildmay Centre
Champion MOSES KIPSIRO

He is a 24 year old Ugandas athlete. During the October 2010 Commonwealth games in New Delhi, India, Moses won gold medals in 5000 and 10,000 meter races. This was the rst time in over 70 years that an athlete was winning gold medals in the two races during the same games. To improve his talent Moses used to train on the hills of Bukwo, his home district. Discover your talent and use it well.
Safe male Circumcision

Reduces males' chances of getting HIV by 60% but it is not a cure
mong the Bamasaba (Bagisu), if you are born a boy, you can only become a man after you have been circumcised. Marked every even year, the Bamasaba circumcision ceremony (imbalu) got underway at Mutoto Cultural Centre in Mbale on August 6, 2010. Candidates faces were smeared with millet yeast. People danced to songs encouraging candidates to face the knife. Then, one brave boy came into the middle of the chanting men. After making his way through the thick crowd, he jumped onto the platform. Three surgeons held shiny traditional knives ready to cut the foreskin. A circumcision candidate at Mutoto. Each circumcision year in Bugisu is named after a significant event. In 1986 it was called Museveni because that is when he became president.This year it is called Omukolongolo Omukakha/Nametsi because the Bamasaaba elected their first Omukukha (cultural leader) and Nametsi after the Bududa landslide that killed over 250 people. Regardless of your culture or religion, studies show safe male circumcision is good for all males.
Augu Vol.16 No.9
st 2010
Students of Buhara SS, Kabale enjoy Straight Talk papers.
A research by the Joint Clinical Research Centre shows that HIV positive mothers on Prevention of Mother to Children Transmission (PMTCT) can produce babies without HIV if they use Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART). These include three types of ARVs instead of a single dose nevirapine currently being used. PMTCT is recommended for all HIV infected pregnant mothers.
r 2010 10 Septembe Vol.16 No.
students of Cambridge College, Wakiso, during a visit to stF offices in Kampala.
10 Octob Vol. 15 No.
er 2010
In less than 10 seconds, they had cut it and the boy now turned a man. By 10am, some people were drunk.
Peke Charles Walimbwa, an elder from Manafwa, says:
"Circumcision has been performed for centuries. It is a sign of identification and cleanness." Recent studies done in Uganda, Kenya and South Africa show that medical male circumcision reduces the chances of getting HIV by 60%. "I was circumcised from Arua Hospital. I read in the newspaper that males who are circumcised have fewer chances of getting HIV. I talked to a doctor who told me that it was true." Odama Millian, 16, S3, Lomunga SS, Yumbe
His grades have declined, he changes moods and does not talk to his friends. He has even stopped showing up for football practice. John's friends know he has been experimenting with drugs and now they are worried.
Yes, these days drugs are found everywhere. Many students are tempted by the short excitement or escape that drugs seem to offer.
About 20-30% of admissions cases to Butabika Mental Hospital are due to drug abuse. Majority of these are young people between 16 and 21 years.
"President Museveni said in Mbale: "Circumcision is

good but dont think your thing has become a metal so you can have sex with anybody and HIV wont catch you. Arent there Bagisu who have AIDS but they are circumcised? Cutting helps small time but the cure of AIDS is to stop prostitution."
CooL: students of Manafwa Hs, say: "We are cool and confident. We do not abuse drugs."
of people in The numberincreasing very Uganda is fast. We are now 32 million
Living a Good Life

How many children do you want to have in future? Start planning now
Mugoma Roggers, 16, S3, Kiyuya Seed School, Masindi who wants two children says:
Club Straight Talk SS, Kyamakanda ul, members of say: "To be successf Runkungiri, your help you turn have a plan to A life plan gives also a dreams into reality. destination, but you not just a way to get there."
Be Patient exercise self control

Our culture forbids a girl to have sex with a boy before she has officially introduced him to the family and gotten their consent. Those days, before the introduction, the boy and girl would sleep in the same room. They would be smeared with certain oil. In the morning, the two would be checked. If a trace of oil were found on the boy, he would not marry the girl. He would have shown that he is impatient. If no trace of oil were found, then the girls father would discuss bride price and you would get married officially. Adam Caku, Clinical officer, Barakala HC II
Dr David Serwadda, Makerere University School of Public Health says: "Being circumcised does not mean you can now sleep around with every girl or woman. You still have 40% chances of getting HIV and high chances of infecting your partner if you have HIV. Be responsible. Behave like the man you have become. Abstain from sex, be faithful and use condoms correctly every time you have sex."
here are thousands of drugs that cure, slow, or prevent diseases, helping us to lead healthier and happier lives. But there are also many illegal, harmful drugs like alcohol, marijuana that young people take.",
body, they find their way into your bloodstream and are transported to parts of your body, such as your brain. Although drugs can make you feel good at first, they can cause harm to your body and brain. Drug abusers often have trouble at school, at home, with friends, or with the law. The chances that someone will commit a crime, be a victim of a crime, or have an accident are higher when that person is abusing drugs.
me to sleep at night. There is a time I fell sick but the medicine I was given from the hospital could not work. The doctor said I had taken too much of illegal drugs and my body was not sensitive to the medical treatment.
people with 1.2 million babies being born every year, according to the State of the Uganda Population Report 2010. This high population weighs heavily on available resources, leading to poverty. But you can change this. As future parents, make the best decisions for your children. One of the important decisions you have to make is your family size.
Star
San Giovanni SSS, Kanungu; Pilkington College, Jinja; Kasubi SS, Kampala; Blessed Parents Vocational SS, Runkungiri.
Children are beautiful flowers. They need a lot of attention and care. Watch out for the factors pushing up our population: High teenage pregnancies. By age 16, one in every four girls is either pregnant or already has a child. High fertility rate. Ugandan women give birth to an average of seven children, the third highest fertility rate in the world. Low use of family planning methods causes unplanned and unwanted pregnancies. Low education, especially of the girl child Poverty Polygamy Desire to have boys or girls Pressures from the society.
We received more than 50 letters from each of these schools:
schools
Use of these drugs is against school rules and regulations. Focus on your books. We would not want to see you expelled from school."
So even if you are circumcised, first go for an HIV test with your partner.
"You still have 40% chances of getting HIV and high chances of infecting your partner if you have HIV."
"Drugs are chemicals or substances that change the way our bodies work. When you swallow, inhale, or inject them into your
When I was still chewing mairungi, it was hard for
"Drugs cause brain, heart, liver and lung diseases. Some affect your ability to make healthy choices and decisions. Young people who solve drink, are more likely think better or . dont make you problems to get involved in The truth is, drugs simply hide feelings and problems dangerous situations, problems they finished, the feelings and every such as driving under When a drug gets worse. Drugs can destroy toremain, or become Make a healthy choice the influence of drug or life. aspect of your drugs, says Edith Mukisa, having unprotected sex." day and stop Engender a counsellor with
Health.
Prof EN Sabiiti from Makerere University, says: Whatever we
Each school
do, we must understand that we will one day pay for it. Our population is ever increasing but the size of the country will never change.
up having a quality population that is skilled, gainfully employed and contributing to the national development. Guys, choose a manageable number of children and contribute to a developed Uganda and better quality of life for you, your family, community and country.
WINS
Dear headteachers, encourage your students to write to Staight Talk PO Box 22366, Kampala
Former Mityana Bishop Dunstan Bukenya is a father
a football & a netball
of four. He says: We should all give birth to children we can provide for so that Uganda ends
The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating
Calendar: Be the Master of Your Life ST Feb: Career choicesST March: What is good sexST April: Bride priceST May: Post-exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) and labial elongationST June: Why sex is such a big dealST July: Your right to education ST Aug: Safe male circumcision ST Sept: Drug abuse ST Oct: Living a good life ST Nov/ Dec: Make your parents your best friends
The design team: from L to R, George

Mukasa, Gordon Turibamwe, chief designer Michael Kalanzi, and Allan Dentine
Young Talk at a glance 2010

Young Talk, February 2010

Young Talk is FREE

Know your rights Stay in school Say No to sex Sex Education for primary schools
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Joshua, Nakasero PS, Kampala.
If PEP prevents HIV from multiplying in the body, why doesnt it cure HIV in an already infected person? Katushabe
HIV Basic
Young Talk is FREE

Know your rights Stay in school Say No to sex Sex Education for primary schools Vol 13 No 3 March 2010
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Stay a
Virgin
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Be friends Parents
with your
back from holidays. It WelcomeYear, as youthenotup manyis a New grow things happen and you may know what to do. Talk to your parents. They are good source of wisdom. They love and care about your wellbeing. Parents want the best for you. Talk to your parents about growing up, friends, body changes and studies. Counsellor Edith Mukisa says, It may not be easy to start talking but keep talking to them. When you talk to your parents, you:
PEP stands for Post Exposure Prophylaxis. This is medicine that prevents HIV infection, PEP is given to people who have been raped, defiled or come into contact with the blood of someone who has HIV. This can be in a road accident or if a health worker accidentally gets in contact with blood of patients with HIV. PEP doesnt cure HIV. It is only given to people who have been tested and dont have HIV. It must be given within 72 hours (3 days) from the time of rape, accident. After 72 hours it may not work. When HIV enters the body, it looks for a white blood cell with a CD4 cell. This cell has a special door that allows HIV to enter inside it. Inside the CD4 is where HIV can live and produce many other viruses. When someone who has been raped is given PEP it will stop HIV from entering , the CD4 cell. So HIV will die before producing other viruses. This stops infection of HIV from happening. If someone already has HIV, PEP cannot work. This is because the virus will have entered the CD4 cell and produced many other viruses. Teach your brothers, sisters, and parents about PEP You can get PEP . in: All district hospitals, Pediatric Infectious Disease Control (PIDC), Mulago, Kitgum Youth Centre and Gulu Youth centre
Who is a friend?
Boys, do you have friends who are girls? Those are your girlfriends. Girls, do you have friends who are boys? Those are your boyfriends.
Aunt Liz Okello, our counsellor says: It is normal for a girl to have a boyfriend, or a boy to have a girlfriend. Friends respect one another. Be yourself around friends of the opposite sex. Behave well. Boys, having a friend who is a girl doesnt mean having sex. Girls, having a friend who is a boy does not mean having sex.Young Talk visited Luwero district and talked to pupils about their friends.
Is it true that if you have sex once you cannot get HIV? Okware Peter, Al-Jama PS, Bugiri No. It is not true. Having sex once is enough to make you get HIV. If your penis gets into contact with infected blood and vaginal discharge, you can get HIV. The best way to protect yourself from HIV is to delay sex. Dr Semugoma Paul
HIV Basic
A friend is someone who likes the same things like you, someone you can trust and depend on. A friend is someone you can have a good laugh with and is honest. A friend can be a girl or a boy.
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Acacia Avenue, Kololo, P. O. Box 22366 Kampala, Uganda. Tel: (256 31) 262030, (256 31) 262031, Email , info@straighttalkuganda.org, Website: www.straight-talk.or.ug
Say no to bad touches, gifts, money and sex. Report anyone asking for sex. Stay Safe
Robert, Bwire Sitanga a parent from Namayemba in Bugiri says: I am a father of six. I am their first teacher. I talk to them about avoiding sex. Early sex leads to HIV/STDs and unwanted pregnancies. You have a right to talk to parents. My daughter feared to tell me when she got her first menstruation period. I got used pads hidden under her bed. I told her it is natural to get menstruation periods. It shows you are growing. Every woman experiences it.
voice
Parents
Edith Mukisa
morning and wish them a nice day. Welcome them from work with a smile. Give them something to eat or drink. Help with work at home Thank them for taking care of you. If you do something
wrong, say sorry
My friend Aisha is good. She does not tell me to steal. She respects teachers, does not tell lies and she encourages me to work hard at school.Fatum Shabra, Bembe Hills PS, Luwero
You can have a friend without having sex.I have a girlfriend whom I like. I share with her eats. I do not ask for sex. We exchange gifts on big days like on christmas and Idi. Juma Nasur, P7, Bembe Hills PS, Luwero
In life, we all need friends to:
Play with Help in bad and good times Give company Help in class Talk to Learn good things from
a professional counselor
Get the right information Have safer behavior like avoiding sex Some parents may not know how to talk to you. Help them start talking. Make them your friends: Greet them every
When asking say please Surprise them with a gift on their birthdays and anniversaries.
Do what they like, avoid what they dont like. Listen and only speak when your parent has finished talking
Flash back:
Have you heard?
How to handle defilers

defiler is an adult who plays sex with a boy or girl who is below 18 years. Both boys and girls can be defiled. A defiler can be someone you know, a relative or stranger. Walakira Godfrey a counsellor at Straight Talk Foundation says: If it is someone you live with, Speak out. Tell your parents/ guardians you are not comfortable being left alone with that person. Find a safe place like at your aunts place.
Parents want to be friends with you. Patricia Nyadoi, 10, P5, Hindocha PS in Bugiri, was one of the journalists, says: To make my mother my friend, I work hard at school, do house work and respect her.
Journalists for the day

In December 2009, YT visited Bugiri district in Eastern Uganda. We trained eight Young Talkers from different schools as journalists. They interviewed fellow pupils and wrote the stories about talking to parents in this paper. Abulo Isabella, P6, El Shaddhai Christian School says: I talk to my parents when they are free. We talk about school, behavior and any interesting things.
Girl kills a defiler Last year in November, a 14 year old girl from Bushenyi stoned to death a 40 year old man.The man was trying to rape her. The girl was alone in the house. Her brother had gone to look for firewood. This girl lived alone with her brother. Their parents died. When this happened, the girl was taken to Police. The Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) helped her. Now she is back in school. What she did was in self defense. She did not want to kill.
If someone tries to have sex with you, shout and scream for help you.
Protect yourself from defilement by: Walking in groups Avoiding lonely places Not moving at night Not talking and accepting gifts from strangers Some body parts to attack: Dig your fingers into the defilers eyes Hit the stomach hard with your elbow Lift your knee and push it as hard and fast into his testicles
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Vol 13 No 4 April 2010
In March, Young Talk journalists, visited children in Lira. After schools children walk back home in straight lines. They dont play on roads. This is good and helps you stay safe. Young talkers, learn from Lira pupils. Be disciplined.
Young Talk goes to Lira
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schools
Star
al-Jama PS, bugiri and butiru PS, Mbale
Vol 13 No 5 May 2010
Child headed families

Tororo Hospital for long. One of our aunties used to chase us from her home. My sister, who was 12 then was in charge of cooking. I would wash plates, sweep the house and the compound. During school days we go to the garden before going to school. Mummy is back home but she is still sick. So we are still in charge of our home.
Vol 13 No 6 June 2010
We have received over 50 letters from these schools. Congs, you win footballs and netballs. Headteachers, please encourage your pupils to write to young talk. Po box 22366, Kampala
Star pupils
Stella Arach, Adire PS, Apac; Jennifer Mbabazi, Kyanyuki PS, Kasese; Munga Jakisa, Agiermaah PS, Nebbi and Kule Naston, Bunyangule PS, Bundibugyo
ome children are taking care of their brothers and sisters because they have no one to help them. Most of these children have lost one or both parents. Their relatives may not be able to help them.
Alice Nantume, P6, 13, Busazi PS, Bugiri says, her
Mityana Public School, thank you for welcoming young talk to your school.
Pupils of Kiswa PS, Kampala. Alcohol is NOT cool, we say NO to it
Stay alive, say NO to alcohol
Alcohol can harm you

It also causes: Accidents Fights Rape HIV infection Unwanted pregnancy Loss of respect because of doing shameful things like urinating in your clothes. Bad smell.
dad died when she was 10 years old. Shortly after her fathers death Alices mother fell sick and moved away from home. My brother and I had to take care of six children. Our mother was admitted at
Many children are like Nantume. You can help these children. Find out how to do it page 3.
Nantume, is reading hard. She wants to become a nurse. Last term, she was 12th out of 75 pupils in her class. I dont miss school. I wake up very early in the morning and do housework before going to school. I want to be a nurse so that I can treat people.
Is it true that if you drink a lot of soda and have sex with an HIV infected Edotu person you can not get the virus? Moses, Katine Wera PS, Amuria
HIV Basic
o you know the dangers of alcohol? Well, when you drink alcohol, your behaviour changes. You cant think, walk, talk and see well. You even start telling lies and stealing. Alcohol can also cause diseases and death.
stopped. Girl, 13, P7, Aduku Road, SDA, PS, Lira
My friend fought with an He got a small cut on the HIV positive boy. hand when the boy scratched him with a finger HIV? Maguire Vianiey, nail. Can he get Valley PS, Kabarole 13, P7, Kisanga Your friend cant get HIV. HIV on the fingernails. It is active is not active in blood, vaginal fluids and semen. HIV is spread through: Unprotected sex with an HIV positive person An infected mother pregnancy, giving birth or to child during, breast-feeding Sharing sharp instruments like needles and razor blades.
HIV Basic
Drinking a lot of soda will not prevent if you HIV infection. You can get the virus who have unprotected sex with a person has HIV/AIDS or if infected body fluids if you like blood get into a cut, wound or are cut with infected sharp instruments
like needles and razor blades. HIV can also be got from mother to child during pregnancy, when giving birth or breast feeding. A programme called Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission can prevent this. Say NO to sex and wait until you are an adult who can make good choices to stay safe. Dr Paul Semugoma, International Hospital, Kampala
elcome back from holidays. We hope it was fun. This term Young Talk is waiting to receive your letters. Write to us. A special thank you goes to all of you who write to Young Talk. Many of you write asking about body changes: Menstruation and breast growth for girls Wet dreams, penis size and deep voices for boys Pubic hair growth and pimples for girls and boys You are confused and worried about what to do when these changes start. Some of you want to know if there is anything you can do to make your body start changing.
Body changes
W
congratulations. you win t-shirts, books, pens and pads. Prizes will be sent to your schools
Since the year started, these pupils have written more than six letters to Young Talk.
Not a sign to start sex

Ayabare Prossy, 14, P7, Nyamwegabira PS, Kanungu, asks: I dont have breasts yet. My friends says I should have sex to develop breasts. What can I do? This is usually between 10 to 16 years. But some children start even before ten or after 16 years. There is nothing you can do to make body changes start earlier or later. Everyone has their own speed and time to start. Before puberty starts, the brain produces different messengers called hormones. Hormones tell your body when and how to grow. During puberty these hormones move inside your body and start to slowly change the body from that of a child to an adult. So you start seeing body changes.
HIV CORNER
Mirembe Desire, 13, Bugolo Junior School, Kampala, asks: Can you get HIV through kissing? Yes, you can get HIV. Kissing involves exchange of saliva through mouth to mouth contact. HIV is found in fluids like blood, semen, vaginal fluids breast milk and saliva. In saliva HIV is very small but you can get HIV if you kiss an HIV infected person and both of you have wounds in your mouth. You may have a wound in the mouth and dont know it is there. Stay safe. Dr Paul Semugoma, International Hospital Kampala
HIV and kissing
Dr D Basangwa, of Butabika hospital, says: Alcohol leads to diseases of the brain, heart and liver. It also causes loss of water from the body, failure to have children.
I used to drink little alcohol with friends. My dad was tough. I wanted to show him that I was old. My friend was defiled when she was drunk. I learnt how bad alcohol is and
Alcohol also hurts families and communities.
My friend tells me that her parents take alcohol and they always fight. When they fight they break plates, furniture. R Auma, 13, P5, Elohim PS, Bugiri
n April 17, 2010, the worlds youngest King, Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, turned 18 years. He is now in charge of his Tooro Kingdom in western Uganda. His kingdom is one of the many kingdoms in Uganda with over
Youngest King takes charge of his Kingdom

2 million people. The young Oyo became a king at age three after his father died in 1995. I still find it a little uncomfortable when people bow, before me especially the older ones, said King Oyo then. When he started school, King Oyo said: My friends at school do not care that Im a king. They like me as a good person and I respect all of them. Even if he is a king, he is hardworking. He has stayed in school. He respects other children and elders.
Lesson we learn from King Oyo?
This is wrong. Having sex DOES NOT make you get body changes. Body changes ARE NOT a sign to start sex. Boys and girls start getting body changes during puberty.
Dr Paul Semugoma, International Hospital Kampala
Say No to sex and do not share sharp objects.
King Oyo encourages young people to stay in school.
Puberty is a sign that you are growing up and the body is preparing for the day in future when you might choose to have a baby.
Yt APRIL final 1.indd 1
4/8/2010 9:14:45 AM
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Vol 13 No 7 July 2010
Children with HIV

gnes, 14, from Amuru was born with HIV. She goes to school. Agnes shares with you her story: Every morning my mother packs my ARVS in my bag. I take them from school. My mother told me never to miss taking medicine. It is my life. Like Agnes, some children are born with HIV. Children can get HIV when they are still in the mothers womb, during delivery or while breast feeding. These children can live healthier lives if they start taking Antiretroviral (ARVs) medicines early. ARVs are medicines for people with HIV to help them live longer and healthier lives. BUT ARVs do not cure HIV. Not everyone with HIV needs ARVs. The doctor will check you to find out whether you can start ARVs or not.
Vol 13 No 8 August 2010
can live healthier lives

A
Faith Gune, P7, Kawempe Decourous School says: Avoid bad touches and bad groups that can lead to early pregnancy
Early pregnancy
HULLO THERE, in this Young Talk we look at early pregnancy. It is one of the problems caused by early sex. Some children have been given wrong information and deceived into sex.
Girl, 14, P7, from Nkoma PS, Mbale, says: A boy told me that if I have sex while bathing, the water can weaken his sperms and I cannot get pregnant. This is wrong.
Vol 13 No 9 Sept 2010

Pupils of Buhundu PS, Bundibugyo say: We say NO to early sex. It leads to early pregnancy.
Nyangoma Doris of Nyakasanga PS, Kasese says, sex is not good for young people.
If you have a friend or relative living with HIV, encourage them to:
dangerous to your life HIV

This girl and boy have dropped out of school. Besides a girl may die when producing a baby and a boy taken to prison.
N COR
ER
Is it true that when you wash your penis immediate sex, you cannot get ly after Opolot P, Soroti PS HIV? Is there anyone telling you sex? Washing your penis to have will not protect you from after sex have sex with some one HIV. If you positive. You will get the who is HIV virus.
HIV Basic
Take medicine following doctors advice. Always go to the doctor for check up. Treat any illness early. Sleep under a treated mosquito net to avoid malaria. Eat a balanced diet including foods like beans, eggs, fish, meat, vegetables and fruits. Do exercise like walking and sports. Do things which make them happy and not dangerous to others. Say NO to sex to avoid getting other types of HIV.
My friend tested HIV positive. She has never had sex. How did she get HIV? Naluwedde Annah, 14, P7, Butiru Christian Day and Boarding PS, Mbale.s
HIV can be transmitted from an infected mother to the child. Your friend may have got infected through her mother when she was still in the womb, at birth, or during breast feeding. Has she had any accident? During accidents people may get in direct contact with an infected persons blood. This can lead to infection. HIV may also be transmitted by sharing sharp instruments. HIV lives in the body fluids like blood, semen, vaginal fluids. If these fluids get in direct contact with your body, infection can happen. Dr P Semugoma,
International Hospital Kampala.
Say NO to early sex and work hard at your books.
Beware of wrong information
Always talk to an adult about what you hear. Beware and dont be deceived. A girl can become pregnant: The first time she has sex. Before she sees her first menstruation period. Having sex during menstruation. Even if she has sex while swimming, bathing, standing up or washes her vagina after sex. Dr Alex Kakoraki of Murchison Bay Hospital in Kampala says: Pregnancy happens when a male and female
some of you live or study with children living with HIV. Be friendly to them. If a friend tells you that they are living with HIV, do not talk about them. When you have something to eat, share with them.
Young Talkers,
types of HIV: HIV, or other To avoid getting sex. needles and Say NO to razor blades, Avoid sharing . any sharp objects touching blood or when Use gloves any person. body fluids of
How to avoid HIV
have sex. A sperm cell from the male meets with an egg from the female and fertilizes it. This is the start of pregnancy. A baby will take nine months to grow in the womb.
GIRLS, your bodies are still young to safely carry a pregnancy and produce a baby. BOYS, you can make a girl pregnant
if you have started releasing sperms. Boys and girls, wait to have sex until you are over 20 years, and after your studies.
Children in prison
things Children who do wrongandhomes. like stealing, fighting having sex can be jailed in remand Remand homes are prisons for children. Young Talk visited Mbale Remand Home and found 39 young people in prison. There were 38 boys and one girl.Some of them told us why they were jailed.
I used to live with my brother. One day he went to the village. I opened his bedroom and stole his clothes and shoes. I kept some in the nearby house. When he came back, he asked me who had stolen his things. I denied. He reported to police. When the police checked, they found some clothes that I was hiding. I was arrested. I regret why I stole. I miss school and my parents. I am very ashamed. My friends may fear to walk with me when I go back home. Boy, 14
compound after classes. Keep out of trouble by doing the right things at the right time. If it is time for games, go for games. If it is time to be in class, be in class. When time to go home comes, go home
FOOTBALL FOR GIRLS: Pupils of Majengo PS, Soroti play football in their school
Stay out of trouble
Star School
Remind them to take their medicine.
Buwerero PS Lumino, Busia, is the Young Talk star school for July. The pupils in this school sent in 29 letters to Young Talk in May. Buwerero PS wins one football and netball. All the 29 pupils win exercise books.
QUIZ:
Write to Young Talk, P O Box 22366, Kampala
Young Talk, October 2010 1
Headteachers and teachers, please encourage your pupils to read Young Talk and write to Young Talk: P. O Box, 22366, Kampala. Make your school a star school!
Do you live with someone who has HIV? How do you protect yourself from getting HIV while helping them.
Write and tell us what you are doing to avoid early pregnancy.
Write to Young Talk, P O Box 22366, Kampala
QUIZ
For Teachers
Dear teachers, you spend much time with pupils preparing them to be responsible people. Talk to them about the dangers of early sex and pregnancy. Give them right information about sex. Obanya Sylvia, teacher, St Francis School for the Blind, Soroti
Stealing
I fought my brother and cut off his left ear. I did not mean to do that. We were playing. He pushed me and I hurt myself. I got annoyed and cut off his ear. I regret it. My father does not like me anymore. He does not come to see me. It is only my mother who visits me. Boy 14 I was caught having sex with a boy. My parents arrested him. The boys parents also got annoyed and brought police to arrest me. My friends told me it was fine to have a boyfriend and have sex. It was my first time to have sex. I was in P6. I miss school. Girl, 15
Fighting
Keep out of danger

Lillian Kiwanuka, Senior legal officer, Uganda Law Reform Commission says: If a boy and girl below 18 years are caught having sex, they will be arrested for defiling each other. It is child to child defilement. It is a crime. The law says, defilement can be committed by both boys and girls. Alalo Christine, In charge, Family Protection Unit Police advises you to be in charge of your life. If you commit crimes, you will be imprisoned.
Defilement
WIN books
exercise
Pupils of Kikonda PS, Kiboga, say: One way of achieving our life dreams is to wait to have sex until we are married.
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7/29/2010 11:12:34 AM
Young Talk is FREE

Not for SALE:
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HIV Basic:
Young Talk is FREE

Not for SALE:
Rights and Responsibilities

Your
D
o you know your rights? Rights include basic needs, like food, clothes, education, medical care etc. Responsibilities are your duties or what you are supposed to do. For example you have the responsibility to bath and be clean, work hard at school and do work at home. When you have your rights and take on your responsibilities, you: l Grow and develop well. l Have a better life l Be a happier person. Having rights does not mean being bad mannered or indisciplined. says: Some children are given too much freedom by their parents. This has spoiled them. A child cannot do anything at home because of rights. When they are told to do something, they tell you that they have a right to play. Sulaiman Kyambadde,13, P.6, Lugazi PS, Buikwe Ketty Nandi, Regional Children and family protection officer, Kampala Metropolitan Police says, Much as you have rights, you also have a responsibility to do good things and listen to your parents and guardians. If it is the right to play, dont forget to do work and study. Namuwonge Joyce, 13, P7, St Paul PS, Kiboga: I have a right to education, food, sleep in a clean house and protection from defilement and being sacrificed. I also have the responsibility to be obedient, to do work like cleaning the compound; the house, washing plates and not coming back home late.
Pupils of Kitgum Public PS say rights and responsibilities go together
You could be thinking you donot you already have HIV, This is need to protect yourself. protection. not true. You still need Paediatof Dr Sabrina Kitaka Clinic ric Infectious Diseasesyou do not says if (PIDC), Mulago will get more protect yourself, you gonorrhea or a STDs like syphillis, You can also get other pregnancy. has many types. types of HIV. HIV more than one When you have very fast type, your body weakens may not and the medicine (ARVs) develop may also work on you. You AIDS very fast.
iolence is any behavior or act that causes harm to someone. Violence can hurt your body and feelings. Sexual violence can be bad touches which can lead to sex and defilement. Boys too can be sexually abused. If any one does it to you, ask for help. Violence can be lies, threats and not keeping promises. Other forms of violence include beating, kicking, pulling, slapping, burning and hitting someone. Violence is common in our homes and community. It leads to death, injury, unhappy families, shame, fear, school dropout, poverty, disability and spread of HIV/Sexually Transmitted Diseases. For example if you are defiled, you can get HIV.
Pupils of Decorous PS, Kawempe sys, It is cool to live in violent free environment
Congratulations. You did a great job.
Young Talk travelled to Kitgum and worked with pupils from Kitgum Public PS, Kitgum Prison PS, Centenary PS, Akworo PS, Opette PS and Pandwong PS to collect stories on violence for this Young Talk.
JOURNALIST FOR A DAY:
SMILING: Issa
Ochola Richard interviewing Aken Brian from Kitgum Public PS

pupil. Have you seen this happen? In our school some big boys fight the young ones. Others fight on the way home and they injure their friends. One day a boy beat me and I bled through the nose. I reported to the teacher and he was punished. Mugalu Malcon, 14, Wakitaka PS, Jinja If you or your friend is facing violence, report to an adult. Geoffrey Ongom, Officer in charge of Family and Child
SCIENCE CORNER
STDs stand for Sexually Transmitted Diseases. These infections are spread through having un protected sex with an infected person. You cannot know that a person has an STD just by looking at them. Both boys and girls can get STDs.
Kilama, Mulunzi Huzaifa and Olok Benjamin of Walukuba West PS, Jinja.
Protection Unit, Kitgum Police says: Many children report cases of violence to the police. We help them. You too can report. You deserve to be treated with love and care.
Say NO to violence
Having the right to play without a duty to work is wrong!
Violence can be from adults like teachers, parents/guardian, aunt or uncle. It can also be from a pupil to another
Signs of STDs:
Small wounds on private parts, l itchiness, l Bad smelly discharge which is like pus, l Pain when passing urine. Girls and boys who have STDs may not produce children in future. STDs damage reproductive parts. The germs which cause STDs live in body fluids like semen, vaginal fluids and blood. Gonorrhea, syphilis, genital warts and HIV are examples of STDs. Stay safe, say NO to sex. Dr Alex Kakoraki, Murchison Bay Hospital,Kampala
Watch out for people who want to touch you in the wrong places like the private parts, those who want to be with you in lonely places or those who visit when your parents are not around.
Watch out for
Bad touches
HIV Basic
hy is it that there is a high rate of females who get HIV than male? Manga George, Moyo Boys, PS. Dear George, HIV knows no sex or age. It gets anyone, whether young or old, male or female. Females face rape and defilement which put them at a higher risk of HIV infection than males.
Such people may want to sexually abuse you.
Polygamy in which females suffer more put them at risk of HIV infection more than males. The female organ (vagina) is created in such away that it has a big surface area where the virus enters easily than males. This exposes them to HIV infection more. Dr. James Ojom, Soroti Regional Hospital
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Print
Avoid getting other types of HIV that because
Vol 13 No 10 Nov - Dec 2010
VIOLENCE is never right
Be helpful to your parents. Avoid bad friends, says Kevin Aloyo, 14, P6, Pandwong PS, Kitgum
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Calendar: Stay a Virgin YT Feb: Be friends with your parents YT March: Who is a friend? YT April: Alcohol and its impact YT May: Child-headed families YT June: Body changes not a sign to start sex YT July: Children with HIV can live healthier lives YT Aug Early pregnancy is dangerous to your life YT Sept: Children in prison YT Oct: Rights and responsibilities YT Nov/Dec: Violence is never right
9/21/2010 10:29:35 AM
Tree Talk planted 21 species in 2010: hardwoods, trees for poles and firewood, ornamentals, and multipurpose trees.
Seedlings raised in 2010 by species
Species Teak Neem Gmelina Melia Musizi Orange/ lemon Mahogany Senna Jack fruit Markhamia Albizia Jambula Delonix Afzelia Eucalyptus Mvule Mango Fig Tree Avocado Guava Grevillea Total Number 42,275 88,279 28,140 30,395 17,392 8,000 81,883 13,537 621 248,747 812 1,532 1,252 1,034 242,836 19,948 408 405 155 433 450 828,534 % 5.10 10.65 3.40 3.67 2.10 0.97 9.88 1.63 0.07 30.02 0.10 0.18 0.15 0.12 29.31 2.41 0.05 0.05 0.02 0.05 0.05 100
Seedlings purchased by Tree Talk from its commmunity groups in 2010

District Amuru Adjumani Adjumani Adjumani Adjumani Community Gweno Oywe Avi-Unzi Ojigo One Amandrea Chakpa Okutulu Tree Nursery Seedlings procured 6,090 18,416 1,000 4,100 11,070 40,676 Unit Price 103 181 150 225 151 Cost UGX 627000 3,341,600 150,000 922,000 1,671,000 6,711,600
Trees/acres planted in 2010 by district

District Adjumani Amuru Kitgum Moyo Gulu Pader Total Trees 145,581 223,020 247,599 105,042 27,000 80,134 828,376 Acres 324 497 551 234 60 178 1,845
TREE TALK & FARM TALK

Forester Lucy Edea at the Moyo central nursery with a young casual labourer. Insert: a child signs after a day of putting earth in
plastic pots, as Lucy pays another child. Pupils earn money for exercise books and pens during the potting season.
Tree Talk
In 2010 Tree Talk was in its ninth year. What started in 2002 as an eco-newspaper that distributed tree seed to 18,000 schools had expanded to include a large tree growing programme. In August, Tree Talk celebrated the planting of its symbolic one millionth tree under the USAIDs WILD project. It was a joyous event. The T shirts said, Tree Talk working for people and trees. Why does a sexual health and communication NGO busy itself with trees? Partly, because it wants to -- tree growing is a mobilizing activity and a favourite of Straight Talk and Parent Talk clubs but more fundamentally because there is dual causality between the environment and HIV. Loss of trees, the drying of water sources and soil depletion intensify poverty and vulnerability to HIV; population growth and poor sexual health place immense strain on the environment. Unicefs State of the Worlds Children report 2011 states, If water, food and fuel insecurity intensify as a result of climate change, adolescents, most often girls, can expect to bear the brunt... Tree Talk estimates that it has caused the growing of 2.2 million trees since 2002. The target is another 5.25 million by the end of 2012. Tree Talk plants mainly indigenous or indigenized trees. Its model is to work with schools to plant woodlots of fast-growing species and compound and boundary trees that are more ecological, such as mahogany and Mvule. Markhamia lutea, an indigenous tree, constituted 30% of trees raised and planted by Tree Talk in 2010. The aim is to remove pressure on natural forest and help schools meet their colossal wood needs for desks, teacher housing, cooking, shade, shelter
from wind, and beauty. Increasingly, Tree Talk works with prisons and barracks, both big consumers of fuel wood that have the manpower and land to grow vast numbers of trees. In 2010 Tree Talk ran central nurseries in six districts, capable of producing on average 125,000 seedlings a year (a figure that will jump to 200,000 in 2011). It also supported almost 80 community nurseries. The concept is that Tree Talk will buy their excess seedlings after communities have planted all they want. In 2010 Tree Talk bought 40,676 seedlings from five nurseries at a cost of about UGX6.7 million or $3024. In 2010 Tree Talk employed an estimated 400 casual labourers in its six nurseries. The WILD project focuses on the conservation corridor north of Murchison Falls National Park; areas of high biodiversity in East and West Madi along the Nile; and vital conservation landscapes along the Sudan border such as Agoro-Agu mountains in Lamwo. Since the project began in 2008, WILD-Tree Talks nine young foresters have raised and planted almost 1.5 million trees in 427 schools and 141 communities in Amuru/Nwoya, Moyo, Adjumani and Kitgum/Lamwo districts. In early 2011 Tree Talk heard that the project had been extended for another 18 months, during which Tree Talk aims to grow 750,000 more trees.
In January 2010 Tree Talk began three years of work with DANIDA. Called Tree Talk Plus-Greening Uganda, this collaboration will allow Tree Talk to continue growing trees in northern Uganda and produce its newspaper for the entire country. For the first time for Tree Talk, the project document focuses on increasing the resilience of local people to manage climate change. In year 2010, Year 1 of the project, a central nursery was set up in Pader district and 32 schools and six community groups enrolled. In September 2010 Danida began to support work in Gulu, Amuru, Adjumani and Kitgum districts.
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Tree/Farm
seedlings from Tree Talk? I will cost share if needed. It is a must that each household plant trees. In 2010 Tree Talk newspaper was produced in Lwo and English, addressing climate change, watershed conservation, and restoring degraded areas. Each secondary school receives 12 copies of the English issue and each primary school ten. Letters to Tree Talk have poured in. Each is answered and requests for tree seed honoured. Countrywide, Tree Talk dispatched 528 kg of seed in 2010: Markhamia lutea 8.5 kg; Eucalyptus grandis 6.5 kg; Grevillea robusta 17 kg; Araucaria cunninghamii 45 kg; Terminalia brownii 48 kg; Podocarpus usambarensis 56 kg; and Maesopsis eminii 387 kg. By volume, 86% of the seed was indigenous. Tree Talk had an income of $463,000 in 2010 -- $228,000 from WILD and $235,061 from Danida. Having planted almost 800,000 trees, this translates as $0.56 a tree. Tree Talk seeks to minimise cost per tree and maximise survival rates. A challenge is indigenous tree seed: returning displaced people are felling mother trees. In 2011 Tree Talk will green tree-less schools; strengthen its nurseries; offer communities a menu of trees; engage prisons, barracks, churches, mosques and womens groups; and obtain some carbon financing. The year will be tough. The target is 2.6 million trees, three times what Tree Talk planted in 2010.
environment in the Ministry of Land, Water and Environment, plants WILDs one millionth tree in Aug 2010, while (above) Ujhazy Juraj of Wildlife Conservation Society makes a speech.
Left: Gershom Onyango, director of
Despite the large numbers of Tree Talk seedlings in the ground, however, social change and economic forces are exerting enormous pressures. In the north, trees are being burnt for charcoal for Juba and southern Uganda; cleared for agriculture; cut to rebuild homes; and burnt for bricks. Hunters set raging fires to drive wild animals; these ravage trees. Therefore, helping people to think about their relationship with trees is as critical as planting trees. Which trees should they burn for charcoal? Can they hunt without fire? When they clear a field, can they leave some trees? In 2010 Tree Talk broadcast 1408 radio spots and held 41 interactive radio shows on TBS FM in Moyo, Choice FM in Gulu, Pol FM in Kitgum and Luo FM in Pader; much air time was offered for free. Among others, the call-in shows hosted forest and environment officers, Tree Talk staff, farmers, former poachers, and charcoal burners. They addressed where to get seedlings; trees, poverty, famine and health; environment ordinances; why we need forests; and guarding against wild fires. One caller said, Whoever wants to burn a field should get permission from the authority or prepare fire lines before setting the fire. Another said, How free are the
formerly a primary school teacher, is now the assistant Tree Talk coordinator for Adjumani. Here he marks out a woodlot with a teacher. He has a talent for seed collection.
Dennis Sidonyi,
Muge PS in Masaka grew 80 eucalyptus trees from Tree Talk seed. They prune them three times a year for firewood for cooking school meals. GREAT WORK! Write to Tree Talk PO Box 22366, K'la for tree seed so you can grow trees. We have seed for Musizi, Lusambya, Grevillea, Mahogany, and more.
Birds are spreaders of tree seed. Many types of seeds will not germinate unless they have passed through the gut of a bird. Forests are created by the interaction between birds, animals and seed. Let birds live to do their work.
Started in 2002, Tree Talk is a national newspaper and treegrowing drive. With this Tree Talk, your school will receive seed for Albizia or Terminalia. Set up a school tree nursery in 2010 and "green" your school.
Right: a pupil with Lusambya seed in Tree Talk's Moyo nursery.
Trees for greener Uganda

Ugandas forests and woodlands are disappearing. The Ministry of Water and Environment says trees on private land are likely to be exhausted within three to five years. This is very bad for humans and animals.
The Kampala, Wakiso and Entebbe forests have been replaced with houses. And, because city people need charcoal, trees are being cleared in nearby districts like Mubende, Nakasongola and Masindi. In Eastern Uganda, bush has been replaced with crops. "We no longer have enough firewood. We fetch it from far. My mother says we used to have a forest where we would collect it but it was cut. Now they are growing crops on that land, I am raising these trees for firewood." Owori Ernest, 13, St James Boarding PS, Tororo Mayuge district has lost 100% of its tree cover. All forest land is cultivated. In Bududa, a family has just 0.5acres (half a football pitch) to live on. So people have to cut trees to dig on Mt Elgon. This caused a terrible landslide, in which many people died. In western Uganda, woodlands are being turned into land for subsistence agriculture. Sector Performance Report estimates Ugandas timber needs at 750,000m3 per year (a very big muvule can have only 2m3 of wood). The report says that sustainable harvesting of timber from Central Forest Reserves can only provide 53,000m3 The search for firewood is tiring for women and girls. per year for We need small woodlots for the next 30 firewood around our homes. years. Less trees means less water in form of rain, poor soils, less water in our wells, lakes and rivers, no firewood, less fish. This will make life for people, animals and plants almost impossible to live. To have enough rain, firewood and good climate, we need to plant trees and not cut natural forests.
ust No.2 Aug Vol. 10
2010
Keep trees on your watershed

Vol. 9
No.2
April
2010
This tree in Semliki holds tonnes of carbon. Its roots allow water to percolate deep into the soil and flow to your borehole! Report illegal tree cutting to National Forestry Authority PRO Moses Watasa on 077-2-976398. Protect your watershed.
From 3 to 6 November, Tree Talk and environment clubs held five climate change debates. Here Nakyanzi Rose, S2, in Makerere College gives her opinion. Entebbe SS has a vibrant environment club with 160 members. They meet every Wednesday. Their motto is "nature is gold". Climate change is aggravating severe floods in Kampala.
Novem
0 ber 201
These hills in Bundibugyo need more trees to remain stable, avoid landslides and keep the watershed full of clean and plentiful water for people and animals. Photo: K Tadie.
Even if you stay far from a river or lake, you still live in a watershed because the rain that falls on your home will find its way to some stream, lake, swamp or aquifer. Try this: take an open umbrella and turn it upside down in the rain. All the rain that hits the umbrella will gather at the bottom in the center of the umbrella. An umbrella is like a watershed, collecting all the water that falls into it and bringing it to one place. A watershed has three key functions:
e all live in a watershed. A watershed is simply land and the water that runs through it, ending up in a river or lake. Trees are an extremely important part of watersheds. Without trees, water will flow too quickly and not have time to slowly enter the ground and fill your groundwater. Streams will run dry and water bodies will become dirty. So let us learn more about watersheds! When rain comes, some falls into streams and flows away. Some rain falls on hard surfaces, such as rock or tarmac, and washes into rivers as "run-off". Some rain falls on the soil and enters or infiltrates it and becomes "groundwater".
1. receive water from the atmosphere (rain); 2. store water in the ground so that we can get it from wells and bore holes; 3. move water through the soil until it reaches a river or lake. Healthy watersheds bring us clean water for drinking, cooking and bathing. A healthy watershed is created by trees. Protect trees and grow new ones.
limate change is a dangerous long-term change in weather patterns. Human beings are causing climate change by burning carbon that is stored in the form of fossil fuels -- coal, petrol, diesel-as well as wood.
Let us fight climate change
Special on climate change: Kampala students and teachers speak out!
We need trees
Ugandas forests support the livelihood of both the towns and villages. Trees or forests provide clean and healthy environmental conditions, helping to form rain, preventing floods, refilling underground water and providing support for wildlife which is good for tourism. The Water and Environment
Once water infiltrates the soil, it moves downwards through "percolation". Percolation happens because of gravity, the force which pulls all things from high places to lower ones. Gravity is why water always flows from a high place, like a mountain ridge, to a lower place like a valley. Groundwater also moves through the soil. Some water ends up in streams, while some joins underground water bodies called aquifers. Water from aquifers feeds your bore hole.
Soil has pores that allow it to absorb water. Soil that cannot hold anymore water is "saturated".
The gases released such as carbon dioxide are forming a blanket around the world, thus trapping the heat from the sun and causing the world to heat up. This is sometimes called "the greenhouse effect". One of the symptoms of climate change is global warming -- the increase in the world's average surface temperature. This is very serious for humans, animals, plants and all living things. In Africa, global warming is increasing the number of floods, droughts and famines. Africa is the most vulnerable
Climate forms the basis of human life. It dictates how we live -- where we build our homes, what food we can grow and how much fresh water we have to drink.
Why are we worried about the climate?
Protect the world from climate change by becoming an activist against environmental damage.
continent to the effects of climate change. One expert described climate change and global warming as "threat multipliers". They intensify already existing problems such as water shortages and conflict. Climate change means dangerous weather. Together we can fight it by protecting wetlands and forests, growing more trees and avoiding burning bush. As people who live in town, we especially need to separate our garbage, recycle plastic, compost our kitchen waste and use energy-saving stoves. There is a lot schools and families can do.
Schools and Tree Talk take action

Gayaza HS, Entebbe SS, King's College Buddo, St Kizito SSS Bugolobi, and Makerere College have joined together to fight climate change. Supported by GTZ and Tree Talk, they are writing essays, conducting debates and planting trees at Kitezi, Kampala's landfill. "Climate change is the greatest challenge facing humans," says Solomon Asea, Club Patron, Gayaza HS. "So we are finding solutions." "The poor are the hardest hit. We need to shape the minds of the youth to respond to climate change," says Mwaka Emily, Entebbe SSS. Read more inside!
One million trees in the north are just the start!

On 10 August, 2010, Tree Talk joyously celebrated its 1,000,000th tree under WILD, a project of Wildlife Conservation Society and USAID. Schools, communities and dignitaries flocked to the event in the newly-created district of Lamwo.
(L) Gershom Onyango, Director for Environment in the Ministry of Water and Environment, plants a mahogany, tree number 1,000,000 helped by forester Lucy Edea. R) War against climate change: Performance of Otole dance at the event. Otole is a war dance.
Trees bring fast results

Good income from sale of seedlings: UGX 500-700 for an indigenous seedling, UGX 450-550 for a pine seedling. Right: a Tree Talk women's group in Adjumani. Jobs for foresters. Tree Talk's Immaculate Chelangat holds a diploma from Nyabyeya Forestry College in Masindi.
A couple leaves with seedlings of Afezelia africana, a precious northern hardwood. Tree Talk gave out 9,460 seedlings from its central nursery at Paloga PS during the event.
Money from tree seed. This young girl in Moyo made UGX 100,000 from selling 20 kg of mahogany seed to Tree Talk.
Healthy wetlands full of fish and water.
Greenhouse gases include water vapour, CO2, methane, nitrous oxide and man-made gases such as halocarbons. When we burn charcoal, we release CO2 into the atmosphere.
Tree Talk thanks GTZ and Kampala City Council for the opportunity to plant 550 trees at Kitezi landfill, 27 Nov 2010!
The 2010 Tree Talks (left and middle) address tree-growing and protecting watersheds. At right is an A4 newsletter that Tree Talk produced for GTZ for a project on climate change with five secondary schools around Kampala. This culminated in the planting of 500 trees in the inhospitable environment of the city landfill.
Farm Talk
Over 80% of Ugandas population depends upon farming. Since 2002 Danida has funded Farm Talk to inspire excitement about agriculture in schools and improve nutrition and incomes. Farm Talk consists of a newspaper, seed distribution and school visits. In 2010, Farm Talk staff worked with 40 schools in eastern, central and western Uganda to set up ten new demonstration gardens and maintain 30 from 2009. The gardens are living labs, invaluable for teaching. Headteacher Annet Kabasinguzi of Karambi PS in Kabarole said, absenteeism has reduced since teachers started taking pupils to the garden for lessons. Out-of-class lessons reduce the boredom that make some kids get tired of studying. The Farm Talk team produced two issues of Farm Talk (print run 150,000 each) -- one on farming as business, the other on gender and northern Uganda. Farm Talk is a teaching aid, simplifying science and helping children to learn by doing. Eight copies were sent to each of 12,000 primary schools and four copies to each of 3000 secondary schools. With each issue, every school receives a sachet of cabbage or onion seed. Farm Talk is avidly read. In 2010, 567 students wrote in: 56% girls, 44% boys. Farm Talk answered every letter, sending the keenest letter writers seed, calendars, pens, T-shirts or agriculture text books. Wrote one pupil, Nakalanzi Norah from Ntungamo SS, We have learnt that by growing many types of crop, balanced diet is achieved. Pupil Apili Eunice from Adjumani wrote, My mother is a single mother. She raises our school fees by selling dried potatoes and cassava in souther Sudan. With knowledge from Farm Talk, she is now more successful. The 40 selected schools enjoyed strong harvests, which helped feed pupils and teachers. Pupils boiled or roasted their maize; the balance was milled into flour for porridge. Many schools and pupils who just received the newspaper and seed also had good yields. Wrote Isiga Safala from Pallisa Modern PS, Our teacher told us to grow crops in our homes. I planted maize and beans, which I sold and bought books and a geometry set because my parents are poor. Finally, Farm Talk built the capacity of 97 teachers 62 males and 34 females -- to improve school gardening. With Kyembogo and Iki Iki DATICS and St Jude
gardens in three different schools, and teacher Hasha Namuseregwe with the fuelsaving stove that she built after her Farm Talk training.
Pupils in Farm Talk
In 2011, Farm Talk hopes to continue this work with a focus on gender and post-war northern Uganda.
Making agriculture rewarding and fun f o r pupils & teachers Vol.10 No.1 APRIL 2010
TALK
Making agriculture rewarding and fun f o r pupils & teachers Vol.10 No.4
TALK
Make farming a business

You love animals or plants, or both. And maybe you have a small piece of land and wondering what to do with it. Waste no time. Farm produce are a major source of food for people and raw materials for industries. Besides, 80% of Ugandans carry out agriculture. Farming as a business is a good source of income. Maybe you are doing farming as a business but you don't know. Find out. Make a simple plan Every business needs careful planning. List all possible enterprises and choose the best. Eva Nakitenge, a teacher from Kasangati Muslim PS, Wakiso, says after choosing what you want to produce, make a simple plan. A plan is like a road with different signposts. It helps you to see advantages, disadvantages, and how to avoid possible dangers," she says. A plan includes things you need and thier costs to start production such as seeds, land, tools and pesticides and workers. . While making a plan ask are yourself these questions: Who else is producing what I have chosen? Who will buy? Why should they buy from me and not from others? What equipment will I need? How many workers will I need? Will I need transport? What price will I sell my products for? Whatever you choose to do, it should be what you can manage. Measure the costs correctly and look at the market prices before beginning the business. Dr Florence Kabugo, from the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) Adero Mercy, 13, VH Public School, Lira, grows potatoes as her enterprise. I grow potatoes. They are easier to cultivate than tomatoes and there is ready market. I don't need pesticides or watering. I get free planting materials. I sell a basin for sh5000.
With this Farm Talk, we send you vegetable seeds. Learn about passion fruits on p 4. They are delicious!
With this Farm Talk, we send you Onion seeds. Learn how to grow onions.
elcome to yet another issue of Farm Talk. Find out what Farm Talkers in northern Uganda are doing after 20 years of war. For protection during the war, over two million people, including pupils, lived in internally displaced persons camps. Most had no gardens. They depended on food from the government and charities like the World Food Programme. Now that peace has come, people are leaving the camps and going back home to buld and clear land for farming. Because they were raised without gardens, many young people lack proper farming skills. Teacher Akello Margaret of Pagen PS, Kitgum, says: "Many are orphans who have grown up in camps with limited education and farming skills. They need everyone's help to live a better life." Farming for survival Ocan George,17, is an orphan in P7 at Laminolawino PS, Amuru.
Farming in northern Uganda

Onions are spicy!
Plant quality seeds. Always weed your garden. Weeds compete with your crop for soil nutritents. Weeding reduces pests and diseases. Rotate your crops and mulch to keep the soil fertile. Healthy plants fight off plant disease better than weak ones. Contact your subcounty NAADS office to learn more about farming and quality seeds.
Have you ever grown onions at home or at school? In this paper, find onion seeds and follow the instructions on page 2.
Pupils carry their bean harvest.

He lives with his sisters. They grow and sell onions. I want to become a businnessman. We have grown cassava and beans for our third term school fees. I also burn charcoal. Life is not simple. I want to be a good farmer but I lack skills to produce enough harvest for food and sale. As explained by teacher Akello, many young people are like George. It is important that girls and boys work together. This makes work easier. To get a big harvest, you usually need to farm in a modern way. Prepare land early before rain starts. Don't use fire to clear land It kills humus and useful organisms in the soil.
Pupils of Dabani Boys PS in Busia weed their maize garden. They plan to process the maize into flour and sell it to the school.
How to find market

Before starting production, first find out if there are interested buyers. Do not just produce and hope you will be able to sell. You may waste time, energy and money. Prof Julius Zaake, Makerere University, says: Finding market is not difficult. Move from house to house, local markets, schools, shops and restaurant. Talk to people to find out what they want. Listen to radio, read newspapers for markets and prices of goods. I first asked owners of nearby restaurants if they were interested in potatoes before I started. It has been 2 years now and the business is good. A sack fetches between sh60,000sh100,000 and a heap goes for sh10,000. Inginy Filda, 13, P6, VH Public School, Lira
Boys and girls support each other

omen and girls make up over 80% of people who work in agriculture. They grow most of the food and work for more hours every day than men and boys.
Market
But females have little control over land and power to make decisions in their homes. Men make most decisions about what to sell and how to use the money. They often spend the money on unproductive uses such as alcohol. This is a serious problem causing poverty among many families. You can change this culture. Women and girls make good decisions
about what to grow, where to sell and how to use the money. Boys, let girls and womem make decisions. Respect their views. Girls, speak out. Talk to your parents to give you equal chance in education and decision making. Equal participation helps girls and boys to: Benefit equally. Discover their full abilities. Share work/get better results. Take on responsibilities and do same work without gender bias. Develop confidence. Learn to respect one another.
Farming for everyone Atim Joyce, 13, and Opoka David, 15, P5, Rwot Awich PS, Pader, say: At school we grow different crops. Girls and boys uproot and carry them to the main hall. After sun drying, we put the harvest in sacks and keep in school store where cooks pick some to prepare lunch for us. No complaints Fred Wilobo, 15, P7, Goro PS, Amuru, says: At home girls and boys equally participate in farming. This makes work easy and increases cooperation among family members. I advise boys and girls to work together and avoid complaining."
Restuarant
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Adero Mercy
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Tree/Farm
Organic Training Center Masaka, it conducted three trainings in backyard organic farming, poultry keeping, soil, water and energy conservation, and gender. After the training, Pallisa Township PS teacher Adowa Hakim constructed a fuel-saving stove; Hasha Namuseregwe, chair of the Pallisa Moslem PS Young Farmers Club made a nursery bed and kitchen garden; and Iganga SDA Light PS and Victory Border Point PS (Malaba) set up poultry units. At Kitamba PS in Kalungu, two pupils grew cabbages from Farm Talk seed at their homes.
RADIO
Wilberforce Musimama, in charge of STFs youth show in Lusamia, interviews a young man in a fishing village. Communities on the shores and islands of Lake Victoria have HIV prevalences up to seven times higher than the national prevalence of 6%. Some islands have no female inhabitants; young men say they masturbate. Other islands have very few women, who are often shared. Condoms tend to be in short supply. Since joining STF in January 2008, Wilberforce has built up a dedicated listenership: 2744 young people wrote to him in 2010. He has also become one of two STF studio technicians, mixing 48 radio shows a week for other language streams.
TFs work in radio reaches more people than any other STF channel, probably about seven million 10-24 year olds and three million adults every month. This is based on the knowledge that 34% of the population is aged 10-24, of whom 85% have access to a Straight Talk radio show in their mother tongue, of whom 70% listen regularly. The calculation for parents is that they constitute 27% of the population (people aged 24-64), of which 65% have access to a Parent Talk show in their mother tongue of whom 60% listen regularly. These calculations are conservative. STFs first radio show -- its English youth show -- was launched in 1999. In 2010 STF produced 26 different prerecorded radio shows a week, in nine languages for parents and 17 languages for adolescents. Each show lasts 30 minutes. They are talky, multi-faceted, and full of stories and different voices. They are two way communication -- not one way messages beamed out in spots.
centres and sources of other help like PEP and family planning -- the antithesis of a one-way spot. STF also seeks to constantly measure listenership. In its surveys in 2010, STF found that in most communities over 70% of adolescents listen to the local language STF youth show. Among parents, ever listened to Parent Talk is also high: 79.6% in Apac, 62.2% in Soroti and 60.5% in Busia. Because STF uses letters for instant feedback, if the population were to start ignoring an STF radio show, STF would quickly know and rectify the problem. STF also traces letters according to which station the listener heard the show on, so if a station looses popularity or often goes off air, STF can discern it. The radio department has 26 radio journalists, each of whom are in charge of young people or parents in their respective language area. Nine linguistic areas receive both a Straight Talk and a Parent show in their language. The department also has two managers, a studio technician and a letter manager. Straight Talk youth shows received 38,519 letters and Parent Talk shows
Language Radio shows for adolescents/youth English Straight Talk Lwo: Lok atyer kamaleng Runyankore/Rukiga: Tusheeshuure Ateso: Einer Eitena Lugbara: Eyo eceza tra ri Lusamia: Embaha Ngololofu Lumasaba: Khukanikha Lubuula Luganda: Twogere Kaati Lukonzo: Erikania Okwenene Lusoga: Twogere Lwattu Kupsabiny: Ngalatep Maanta Karimojong: Erwor Ngolo Ediiriana Lufumbira: Tuvuge Rwatu Runyoro/Rutooro: Baza Busimba Madi: Tajoka gbo Lebthur: Twak natir both lwak Pokot: Ngal cho momi kewiny Sub-total/wk Radio shows for parents 4Rs: Eriaka Ryomuzaire Lugbara: Nzeta Tipikaniri Lukonzo: Omukania owa babuthi Lusamia: Embaha ya bebusi Lumasaba: Inganikha iyi basaali Luganda: Eddobozi lya muzadde Lwo: Lok pa Lanyodo Ateso: Einer Aurian Karimojong: Erwor Angi Kaureak Sub-total/wk TOTAL 2005 2005 2005 2005 2006 2006 2006 2007 2008 9 shows 26 shows 5 3 3 2 2 2 4 2 4 27 93/wk 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004 2005 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2009 2009 17 shows 15 6 5 3 3 2 2 5 2 4 4 4 2 4 1 1 2 66/wk Launch B/casts
Kween district, displays a radio from ST Kupsabiny journalist Charity Cheptoris. This club has many young positives with babies and a lot of FGM, says Charity. They thought family planning destroys their cells. We shared correct information with them.
Patron of Ngenge ST club,
In 2010 Straight Talk radio shows for youth were produced in the following languages: Madi, Lufumbira , Lugbara, Lebthur, Pokot, Ngakarimojong, Luganda, Lusoga, Runyoro/Rutooro, Runyankole/ Rukiga, Kupsabiny, Lwo, Ateso, English, Lukhonzo, Lumasaba and Lusamia. Parent Talk radio shows were produced in Lwo, Luganda, Ateso, Lukhonzo, Lusamia, Lumasaba, Runyakitara (4Rs), Ngakarimojong, and Lugbara, 2010 was the first year since 1999 when STF did not add on a new language or new radio show. Funding permitting, it would like to start broadcasting in the few remaining languages that cover several million people still unreached by communication for better sexual health through radio. These are particularly the Japadhola, Kakwa, and Alur populations. Not doing radio is not an option. In a country with poor roads and a population that is 87% rural, living not in villages in the European sense but dispersed on landholdings, radio is the essential medium of communication. According to the Demographic and Health Survey of 2006, just 14% of young people aged 10-24 had watched TV or read a newspaper during the previous week. In contrast, 75% of females and 85% of males had listened to the radio at least once. Uganda now has almost 200 radio stations, up from three when Straight Talk started in 1993. Unlike young people in a discussion group, radio listeners cannot be physically counted. This can worry funders keen to know exactly how many people their resources have made it possible to reach. For some donors and national bodies, work in radio has also been discredited by radio spots, which have the potential to be powerful, but are often poorly crafted one-way messages that populations quickly ignore. STF is aware of these reservations and distinguishes itself by producing interactive radio shows that humanise the HIV epidemic, stimulate social dialogue, and highlight treatment
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Radio
Listenership 2005-2010
Social group Population Council data 2005-6 n=2013 Adolescent males n=1070 Adolescent females n=1067 In-school adolescents n=1700 Out-of-school adolescents n=279 Primary pupils n=1350 Secondary students n=348 Parents (listening to youth show) Population Council data 2005-6 by district Adolescents Apac n=367 Adolescents Arua n=351 Adolescents Kamuli (English show) n=351 Adolescents Kisoro (English show) n=366 Adolescents Ntungamo n=351 Adolescents Soroti n=351 Karamoja data 2009 Adolescents to ST show Parents to PT show Kisoro data 2009 Adolescents 10-14 n=144 Adolescents 15-19 n=123 Youth (20-24) n=108 In-school n=181 Out-of-school n=162 Male n=167 Female n=176 Parents listening to Parent Talk 2009 Kumi n=51 Masaka n=51 Gulu n=51 Mbale/Siroko n=176 Arua n=118 Ntungamo n=115 Apac n=126 Ever listened (10-24) to ST youth radio show 2010 Busia n= 231 Soroti n=235 Kamuli n=241 Apac n=235 Koboko n=xxx (no local language show) Madi and Adjumani n=200 Nebbi n=xxxx (age?) (no local language show) Kabarole n= 221 Arua n=245 Kapchorwa n=332 Parents ever listened to Parent Talk 2010 Apac Soroti Busia Kamuli n= 121 (listen to English ST youth show) 79.6% 62.2% 60.5% 45.8% 81.2% 70.2% 70.5% 80.4% 32.7% 73.3% 9% 52-72% 60-78% 65-82% 94% 51% 51% 71% 79.5% 70.6% 88.3% 86% 87% 93% 90% 88% 87% 90% Moroto/Nak n=309 Moroto/Nak n=120 72.3% 80% 64.5% 84.3% 13% 13% 75.1% 80% 60% 50% 57% 52% 51% 82% 40% Ever listened
5453 letters in 2010, an increase of 1108 letters over the 42,864 received in 2009. Thus, a total of 43,572 letters had to be answered and sent out with calendars, tree or vegetable seed, talking points, and Straight Talks or Young Talks. STF utilizes a communication for social change approach -- which means that much of the content of shows is determined upcountry. Instead of STF journalists imposing their views, local people explain how they understand an issue, such as rape. They provide real stories of what they have seen and suggest remedies and responses. The main role of the journalist is to solicit for this knowledge and insert information and ideas that the community may not have -- for example, that post-exposure prophylaxis can prevent HIV infection after rape and that rape can occur in marriage. STF radio guidelines require that each show mention five health units by name, contain 20 dedications and answer three listeners questions. The five-day trips to collect interviews are intensely interactive. Each journalist makes four a year, carefully mapped to reach schools, clubs and villages that were not visited on earlier recent trips. The journalist is accompanied by two counsellor/field workers. Between the three of them, they counsel and create dialogue with hundreds of people per trip. Thus there is a powerful face-to-face element to radio work. Every contact is recorded in log books that are treasure troves of information about what worries ordinary people. One morning on a trip to Buhweju district in 2010, Parent Talk 4Rs journalist Catherine Abeneitwe (left) noted in her logbook the age and sex of 26 parents and their questions, which included: how can positive parents have a negative child? Why dont I get an erection anymore? What kind of family planning is suitable for me? My husband beats me all the time - what can I do? And, if one uses a particular sex style, can one avoid HIV? On his trip to Pallisa, Phil Orinyo, STF youth journalist for Teso, logged questions, such as, from a girl, 18, Twice he attempted to rape me. Should I end the relationship? And, from a girl, 14, Boys disturb me on my way home from school. Who should I tell? In 2010 youth radio journalists and their field assistants visited 224 secondary schools, 68 primary schools and 112 out-of-school groups, many of them Straight Talk listener clubs. They held over 700 condom demonstrations. Radio staff also distributed STF newspapers and talking points. In total, the youth radio journalists distributed
70,000 Straight Talks and Young Talks and met 25,025 people face-to-face. Parent Talk journalists saw a further 2725. In 2010 the 48 radio stations aired the STF shows. Most are local FM stations with dedicated listeners and a signal that cannot go much beyond 90 km. Thus, to cover a large linguistic region like the Lwo area, in 2010 STF broadcast its Lwo youth show on six stations and its Lwo parent show on four. Due to these multiple broadcasts, STF aired 93 shows a week for a total of 4836 radio shows in 2010, less than its 5096 shows in 2009. Fifteen radio stations gave STF free air time. A study by Family Health International in 2007 found that STF spends about 10US cents to reach an adolescent with radio shows for a year.
Doreen Muhumure, STFs Runyankole-Rukiga youth journalist interviews a young mother. STF radio shows address the drivers of HIV and reinforce protective behaviors, such as positive gender norms, delayed sexual debut, and disclosure of HIV status to partners.
Radio stations in 2010

No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Radio Station Apac Fm Beat Fm Bunyoro Broadcasting Services Buddu Bushenyi Fm Capital Fm Akaboozi Continental Fm Eye Fm Kamwenge Fm Karamoja Fm KBS Kiboga Fm Kanungu Bs Kapchorwa Trinity Radio Liberty Fm Luo Fm Mega Fm Messiah Fm Muhabura Fm Nabeta Broadcsting Services Nile Fm Show Broadcast Luo ST Luo PT Luganda ST Runyoro Rutooro ST Luganda ST Luganda PT Runyankole-Rukiga ST 4Rs PT English Luganda ST Luganda PT Ateso ST Ateso PT Lusoga ST Runyankole-Rukiga ST Ngakarimojong ST Ngakarimojong PT Lusoga ST English ST (Free) Luganda ST Luganda PT Runyankole Rukiga ST Kupsabiny ST Runyoro- Rutooro ST Luo ST Lebthur ST Luo ST English (Free) Lukhonzo ST Lukhonzo PT Rufumbira ST Lusoga ST English ST (Free) Lugbara ST English ST (Free) Ateso ST Lumasaba ST Lumasaba PT Lusamia ST Luo StT Luo ST Luo PtT English (Free) Runyoro-Rutooro ST 4Rs PT Day & Time Sat: 7:30pm Sun: 7:30pm Sun: 7:30pm Fri: 6:30pm Sun: 2:30 Pm Sat: 1:00pm Sun: 2:00pm Sat: 3:30pm Sun: 8:00pm Sun: 11:30am Fri: 3:30 Pm Sun: 6:00pm Fri: 6:30pm Sun: 7:30pm Sat: 4:30pm Sat: 6:30pm Sun: 10:30am Sun: 6:30pm Sun: 6:30pm Sat: 6:30pm Sun: 6:30pm Sat: 6:30pm Sat: 6:30pm Sun: 5:30pm Sat: 6:00pm Sun: 3:30pm Sat: 6:15pm Sun: 6:15pm Sun: 3:30pm Sun: 6:30pm Sat: 6:30pm Sun: 6:30pm Sat: 7:30pm Fri: 8:30pm Sun: 6:30pm Sat: 7:30pm Sun: 7:00pm Sun: 5:30pm Fri: 7:30pm Sat: 6:30pm Fri: 7:30pm Fri: 7:30pm Sun: 7:30pm Sat: 4:25pm 40 Veritas Fm 37 Voice of Teso 36 UBC 35 Trans-Nile Fm 29 Radio Rukungiri No 27 28 Radio Station Radio Wa Radio West Show Broadcast Luo PT Runyankole-Rukiga ST 4Rs PT English ST (Free) Runyankole-Rukiga ST (Free) 4Rs PT English ST Luo ST Luo PT English ST Free Lugbara ST Lugbara PT Luganda ST Ngakarimojong ST Ngakarimojong PT Kupsabiny ST English ST Lugbara ST Madi ST Lumasaba PT Kupsabiny ST Lumasaba ST Ngakarimojong ST Ngakarimojong PT Rufumbira ST English ST Ateso ST Ateso PT Runyoro-Rutooro ST 4Rs PT English ST Lukhonzo ST English ST Free Runyankole-Rukiga ST 4Rs PT Kupsabiny ST Ngakarimojong ST Ngakarimojong PT Lusoga ST Lusamia ST Lusamia PT English ST Free Lusamia PT Lukhonzo PT Lusoga ST English ST (Free) Luo PT Pokot ST Lugbara PT Ateso PT Day & Time Sun: 6:30pm Sun: 2:30pm Sat: 7:30pm Sat: 8:30pm Sun: 8:30pm Fri: 7:30pm Sun: 7:30pm Sat: 7:30pm Fri: 7:30pm Fri: 7:30pm Sun: 4:30pm Sun: 8:00pm Sat: 6:30pm Sun: 5:30pm Sat: 8:30am Sat 4:30pm Sat: 6:30pm Fri: 4:30pm Sat: 4:30pm Sat: 6:30am Sun: 3:30pm Sun: 8:30pm Sun: 5:30pm Sat: 4:30pm Wed: 4:30pm Fri: 7:30pm Sat: 7:30pm Sun: 1:15pm Sun: 8:30pm Fri: 3:30pm Sun: 11:30am Fri: 7:30pm Sat: 5:30pm Sun: 12:30pm Sun: 4:15pm Sat: 5:30pm Sun: 6:30pm Sat: 1:30pm Sun: 6:30pm Sat: 6:00pm Sun: 6:00pm Sun: 5:30pm Fri: 7:30pm Sun: 6:30pm Sun: 6:30pm Sat: 7:30pm Sat: 6:00pm Sun: 6:30pm Sun: 7:30pm
30 31 32 33 34
Rhino Fm Smart Fm Spirit Fm Sun Fm Step Fm
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Voice of Tooro
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48
Eastern Voice Victoria Fm Better Fm Voice of Busoga King Fm Bugwere Fm Pacis Radio Etop Radio
23
Open Gate
24 25 26
Paidha Fm Polo Fm Radio Hoima
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Radio
39
Voice of Kigezi
A Straight Talk radio trip: hectic and people-rich

hil Orinyo, 24, runs STFs Ateso youth show. Trained as an environmental health officer, he joined STF in December 2009. Since then he has been mentored in journalism and trained in positive dignity, health and prevention; STIs; rethinking masculinity; and family planning. In his first year at STF, he put the voices of 182 young people and 15 health workers on air, distributed Young Talks and Straight Talks, held group talks reaching 3568 young people, and conducted 20 condom demonstrations: 3759 adolescents wrote to him. In Soroti over 70% of young people aged 10-24 listen to his show. These photos from August 2010 show the people-richness of STFs approach. Phil is accompanied by two young counselors, Deborah Mbulanyina and Saul Walugembe, who between then conduct dozens more one-to-one counselling sessions and small group dialogues.
Saul counsels in a sideroom as outside Deborah notes down students questions. Below: Phil interviews a pupil for his show.
Above: Phil takes questions from pupils and hands papers and a prize to teachers; Deborah talks with students. R: Phil demonstrates condom use and fields queries. Above R: the
headmistress of Pallisa Girls PS with her prize, a school radio.
Straight Talk radio brings changes
Pokot journalist Alex Limale interviewing a youth in Amudat, near the Kenya border. Inset: Mark Lonyangiro, 21, a devoted listener to Alexs show.
n a Saturday evening, Mark Lonyangiro, 21, is impatient to listen to the Straight Talk show in Pokot on 97.2 Bugwere FM. Since I started listening in December 2009, my life has changed. It has become our voice for development because since independence, no government has ever empowered the Pokot with information like this. Lonyangiro says one day he was looking after his cattle when he heard someone in his language discussing AIDS on the radio. The voice said the disease is killing many people and it is hard to know who is infected until they test. He told us this disease is caused by unprotected sex. I did not know much about HIV/AIDS and was worried because I had had unprotected sex. I went to a relative, who is educated, who advised me to go for testing. Lonyangiro tested HIV negative as did his girl. The health workers advised us to stop sex or use a condom. Many Pokot people think condoms are for immoral people. But I use them without any problem. The show has taught Lonyangiro to communicate with his girlfriend. When we have a problem, we listen to each other, says Lonyangiro, who has no education at all and whose father wanted him to spend his life as a cattlekeeper. It has also encouraged him and 50 other Pokot youth to form a savings scheme to which each member contributes UGX5000 a month. He has been able to buy school materials for his brother. Lonyangiro is such a fan of Straight Talks Pokot show that he travels 10 km every
Saturday from his home to Amudat trading centre to listen. In my village, almost no one owns a radio set. We are very poor. uma Otwani, 18, in S4 at Bukooli College in Bugiri, listens to Straight Talks English show on 91.3 Capital FM every Saturday at 6:30pm. I was a reckless youth having pre-marital sex. But the moment I heard Tendo (the presenter) telling us that sex greatly increases your risk of HIV and making someone pregnant, I chose abstinence, although at first it was hard to stick to. Otwani has also joined a Straight Talk Club at school and, when they meet, he gets hope to abstain for another year. n the dusty plains of Moroto in Karamoja, Cecilia Itai, 55, says people did not value education. We knew that when one had cows, there was nothing to worry about. But over the years, our cattle died of drought and diseases or were raided. In 2008, STF donated a windup radio to her village. Itai was elected to keep it and allow people to listen in turns. I heard Straight Talk shows encouraging us to take children to school. They said we can earn income to buy books and uniforms since the government will pay fees. Itai started breaking stones; she makes UGX3000 daily and saves half. This money accumulated, and I took my three children to school. One of my girls is in boarding school. I believe in STF radio shows because I am growing wiser. We still have the radio, and many people have changed. By Fred Womakuyu
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Radio
Parent Talk: testimony to parliament on HIV Bill
Women in Busia: They were welcoming Straight Talk with a song, and I recorded it, says Parent Talk Lusamia journalist
Resty Nabwire. This Parent Talk club at Nagubimbi does farming.
TF started broadcasting for adults in 2004. Now in nine languages, Parent Talk is Ugandas most innovative effort to address adult sexuality, an urgent matter in a country where 75% of new infections are occurring in the over 25s. Although the shows provide a lot of the nuts and bolts of HIV education, the greatest lesson that parents cite from the show is the need to talk about sex with their partner or partners. STF submitted the following recording to Parliament in 2010 when MPs were considering criminalizing HIV transmission. In the recording a widow describes how she was inherited and despite explaining repeatedly to her new husband that she was living with HIV, he insisted on sex which was not always protected. The recording was collected by Resty Nabwire, the senior STF journalist who runs the Lusamia Parent Talk show. It provided powerful evidence to Parliament on the injustice of criminalising HIV. Clearly, if transmission were criminalised, this mother of nine would be liable for arrest. The interview was also the basis for a compelling radio show about the risks of wife inheritance and the importance of couple communication.
Resty: This baby you have, did you marry again? Mary: When my husband died in 2004, we did the funeral
ceremonies. My culture practises wife inheritance. My brother-in -law inherited me and insisted on marrying me. I explained to him that I had HIV but he said he was HIV positive too. I asked him if he is willing to always use condoms. He said yes. So I told him he needed to get tested. He went and tested negative. But he insisted on marrying me. We used not to have sex often, so the condoms had expired. So when we used the condom on that fateful day, it burst. That is when I got pregnant.
Resty: So how many children do you plan to have with Mary: Only this one and I am going to do my best to
him? ensure that she is HIV negative. I need to take care of myself so I can raise my children.
Resty: What if the man who inherited you needs an heir? Mary: Pregnancy will make my health poor. I have nine
children. I cannot have more.
Mary: I have nine children. Their father died, so I work
hard to make sure that I raise them. We farm food to eat and also some surplus we sell.
Resty: Have you ever tested for HIV? Mary: When my husband became bedridden, I told him
that we needed to test. He refused and accused me of bringing HIV. I pleaded with him because the radio was encouraging us to test. I went alone and was told that I have HIV. I joined TASO and started getting treatment. I told my children that I have HIV but that it does not mean that I am going to die soon. I am getting stronger.
Zaitun Nabateregga, senior STF journalist in charge of the Luganda Parent Talk show, interviews a young adult. Zai has tried to address sexual satisfaction in her radio shows as her ethnic group has a long tradition of sexual coaching by aunts or sengas.
Parent Talk: creating clubs, saving marriages
Felistus Lunyolo, 35, who believes that the Lumasaba Parent Talk radio show healed the rift with her hsuband.
Lunyolo asked her parents to advise him but they failed. One day I was listening to the Parent Talk show. It was encouraging couples to have dialogue. I thought this was the solution. I assumed that my husband knew that I was tired because of my job. While I was thinking that he was cheating on me, he also thought I was cheating on him! After discussing their troubles, the two are living happily and listen to Parent Talk together.
Makutano
Parent Talk club has cabbage patches and cattle.
bim district does not have a Parent Talk show. But parents listen to the Straight Talk show in the local language. Franco Ogwang, 45, says the Lebthur Straight Talk radio show on Luo FM has helped him and his wife to listen to each other when one of us is not ready for sex. Before, when one partner said no, they suspected each other of infidelity. Now they know that a person can decline sex for physical and psychological reasons. His wife, Jane Ogwang, says, My husband maybe sick or I maybe in my periods or one of us may not be in the mood. I have also learnt that good sex needs closeness and preparation. By Fred Womakuyu
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Parent Talk
he hills of Magale in Manafwa district are normally quiet but not today. Makutano Parent Talk club is meeting. It is one of 36 Parent Talk clubs and 20 Straight Talk clubs in Manafwa district. The meeting is about what time their daughters should be inside at night. There is rape. Our daughters must not stay out late, says a member. Then club member Alice Nabulobi, 31, accuses her husband of assaulting her. The club sends for him so that they can listen to both sides of the story. Michael Wanzala, 35, admits that he came home at midnight and, when Nabulobi complained that he had stayed out late without informing her, he beat her. Wanzala says that as a man, he thought a woman is not supposed to ask where he went. But members of the club advise him strongly. You are supposed to be each others keeper. Suppose you get a problem, how will your wife know? It is also good manners to respect each other, says Abunel Wangina.
The Makutano Parent Talk Club was formed in 2005 after Straight Talk started broadcasting Parent Talk in the local language, Lumasaba. It meets every Sunday and has 150 members, each of whom contributes UGX10,000 a month towards a savings scheme which helps them in bad times. The club grows vegetables and keeps livestock. Chairperson Grace Nandudu believes that defilement and domestic violence have reduced because the perpetrators have been sensitized and also fear to appear before the club to answer. Another club member, Felistus Lunyolo, says the Lumasaba Parent Talk show healed her marriage. Her husband had become intolerant and often slept away from home. I travel for my business. When I came home, my husband would go somewhere else to sleep. I suspected he was having an affair.
Letters to Straight Talk shows in 2010
Chart Title f the radio shows that STF broadcast in 17 languages for young people, the English Straight Talk youth show brought in the most letters (4022). It was broadcast on2% stations (seven paid for, 15 eight for free). For letters, it was closely followed by the shows for Ateso and Lwo-speaking youth, 14% which received 3759 and 3654 letters respectively. In terms of response per capita, the best performing shows were the smaller languages-- Lukhonzo, Lumasaba and Lusamia. In 2010, almost equal numbers 6% of girls and boys wrote in, and letter writers were overwhelmingly secondary school students. Tertiary Chart Title
Gender of letter writers

Year 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Male 82% 79% 79% 70% 61% 52% 54% Female 18% 21% 21% 30% 39% 48% 46%
Educational status of letter writers

Year Tertiary 5.3% 2ndary Primary Out-ofschool 44% 51% 67% 75.3% 78% 10% 8.8% 6.5% 6.3% 6% 41% 35% 22% 16.1% 14%
78%
6% 14%
2%
Secondary Primary Out of School
2006 5% 2007 2008 4.6% 2009 2.3% 2010 2%
Te
Se
Pr
Ou
78%
Letters to Parent Talk radio shows in 2010
Letters to Parent Talk shows by language
Letters to Parent Talk shows by gender
dults are less literate, self-absorbed and time-rich than adolescents. So it is not surprising that they write less to their radio shows than youth. Nevertheless, letters to Parent Talk increased from 1113 in 2008 to 3884 in 2009 to 5453 in 2010. Men sent in 63% of letters. In Uganda they have higher literacy rates, greater mobility and more wealth than females. However, letters do not precisely reflect listenership. STFs research teams found that men and women listen in about equal proportions: 80% of men and 77% of women had ever listened to their Parent Talk show in Apac, for example.
The 17 linguistic areas covered by Straight Talk youth radio shows 2010
In every district, STF radio shows -- both for young people and parents -- are always cited by listeners as the leading and often only radio source of information on HIV and sexual health.
The nine linguistic areas covered by ST F Parent Talk radio shows 2010
ost of Ugandas indigenous languages fall into one of three groups: Bantu, Sudanic, Nilotic and Nilotic-Hamitic. Within these groups, populations can often understand each other, although they would still want their own radio shows. Across these groups, however, the languages are often not mutually understood and have few shared words. Thus broadcasting in local languages is essential. By thinking of the country linguistically, STF is also reminded to think of people culturally.
27
Parent Talk
ganda has many languages: the Constitution recognises 56, and the National Curriculum Development Centre recognises 23 as having an orthography and dictionary. English seems to be spoken by about 25% of young people across the country - those who have completed some secondary education.
Radio partnerships 2010

HIPS - Training private sector peer educators on malaria, HIV/AIDS; recording programs UNFPA - Training community groups on SRH Media Focus Africa - Radio spots on democracy Uganda Watch - scripts/spots for elections IPA - Radio club research Malaria Consortium - Spots
Parent Talk shows in 2010

arent Talk was funded in 2010 from four sources: Civil Society Fund, PACE, UNITY and Unicef. The following is a composite list of topics. 1. Decisions around parenthood when you are HIV positive 2. Gonorrhea 3. Diabetes 4. HIV positive parents: how many children? 5. Parent-teacher communication 6. Syphilis 7. Sexual trust 8. Multiple concurrent partners 9. Family planning 10. Miscarriages-causes and how to avoid them 11. Domestic violence 12. Couple HIV testing 13. Infertility 14. Single parenting for men 15. Couple communication on sex 16. How to manage sexual feelings 17. Raising girl children 18. Pregnancy and sex 19. Showing love for men 20. Showing love for women
Joy Namukuve, 22, is STFs radio journalist for Busoga, a region of dense
poverty east of the Nile. STF journalists role is as much about interpersonal communication as it is about mass media. Like many STF staff, Joys attends evening classes, studying for a Ba in development. She is almost a peer to high school students, being just two or three years older than most of them.
Topics of Straight Talk youth radio shows in 2010

ike all STF interventions, Straight Talk youth radio shows carry out highly-active and combination HIV prevention. They address a mix of biomedical, social, rights and justice, and care and treatment themes. Themes for 27 shows are pre-selected in Kampala; 13 arise from listeners; 12 are doctor shows. Below is a composite list. 1. Stigma towards VCT 2. Stigma towards disclosure 3. Stigma towards ARVs and adherence 4. Stigma by community 5. Stigma among health workers 6. Stigma among HIV positives 7. Reading of letters 8. Alcohol 9. Day scholar life 10. Alcohol and decision making 11. Candida 12. Syphilis 13. Gonorrhea 14. Bride price
15. Parent child communication 16. Marriage and HIV 17. Early marriage 18. Family planning 29. My first Boyfriend 20. My first girlfriend 21. Many boyfriends 22. Deciding sex in relationship 23. Showing love 24. Handling misunderstanding 25. Parent to child communication 26. VCT and relationships 27. Seducing words 28. Meeting places 29. Fears and secrets in a relationship 30. Dealing with crush 31. World AIDS Day 32. Christmas high lights 33. New Years resolution 34. Income generating activities-girls 35. Income generating activities-boys 36. Cross generational sex 37. Dropping partners after sex 38. Offers and sex 39. Doctor shows
21. Breast feeding and sex 22. Polygamy and HIV 23. Managing STDs 24. Financial management for men 25. Financial management for women 26. Styling up in marriage for women 27. Medical male circumcision 28. Malaria treatment for children under five years 29. Malaria treatment for pregnant mothers 30. Child abuse 31. ARVs 32. Discordance 33. Handling defilement 34. Parental role 35. Parents and visiting children at school 36. Parents and career guidance 37. Pregnancy and HIV 38. Quiz review-How do you discuss sex with your partner 39. Parent child sex talk 40. Fears and secrets in marriage 41. Sex during Christmas season 42.-52. Doctor shows
Biira Gedi, veteran Lukhonzo STF journalist, in a Parent Talk

conversation with a young mother.
A man listens intently at a community fair in Bududa. High risk behaviours among adults, especially the common male norm of multiple concurrent partnerships, are driving Ugandas HIV/AIDS epidemic.: 75% of new infections are in the over-25s. Ugandan women have slightly more than two life-time partners, while men have about ten, similar to the number for men in rich countries like the US and UK. However, many Ugandan men are faithful. (UHSBS, 2004-5)
FACE-TO -FACE
Outreach and training
Above: Drawing the body: Manila paper hangs on a wall on an STF visit to a school in Amuru. The words show students concerns, such as wet dreams and other body changes. Right: a peer educator displays her skills to her age mates.
TFs outreach and training interventions follow its ecological model, which means that they address adolescents in their totality and also address parents and teachers. STF is acutely aware that the environment in families, communities and schools largely determines adolescents ability to stay in school, protect themselves from unwanted consequences of sex, and manage social expectations around gender and early marriage. Face to face work or interpersonal communication is STFs third channel, complimenting print and radio. In 2010, STFs outreach team reached 6745 people directly through parent dialogues, community dialogues, on call visits, teacher sensitizations, peer education training and teachers fairs. STFs outreach approach is interactive; it engages adolescents, parents and teachers through talk. It also strives to be sex positive and gender transformative. Outreach was conducted particularly intensively in three districts - Adjumani, Moyo and Bududa. Fairs and parent dialogues were held in Bukedea, Amuru and Budada districts. STF also ran four youth centres. Excluding the
youth centres, STF spent UGX242,654,665 ($112,862) on its outreach and training in 2010. This averages out at UGX35,975 or $10 per person. Contact time ranges between three days for peer education training, to two days for teacher training, to a day for a teachers fair, to half a day for a parents dialogue or on call school visit. Size of group worked with ranges from hundreds of adults (teachers fair) to about 60 for teacher or peer educator trainings.
Teacher sensitisations
STF started intensive work with teachers in 1998. Since then its teacher workshops have promoted positive dialogue on adult and adolescent sexuality, including gender roles, domestic violence, love, marriage, maintaining satisfying sexual relationships within marriage, reducing or avoiding multiple concurrent partnerships, helping adolescents manage body changes and sexual feelings, and helping young people avoid bad touches. The first day of the two-day workshop is devoted to teachers own sexuality issues, the second day to helping teachers better understand and support adolescents. One aim is to increase retention of learners and reduce drop-out due to pregnancy and early marriage. The workshops support the Ministry of Educations HIV and sex education programme (PIASCY) and always conclude with teachers developing school-specific action plans to improve adolescent well-being. Teachers usually say that they will form Young Talk/peer educator clubs, conduct health and life skills talks in class and at assemblies, distribute and encourage reading of Young Talk, and encourage the writing of Young Talk letters. Many teachers who attend the workshops say that this is the first such sensitization that they have received in their professional lives. In 2010 STF sensitised 217 primary teachers: 78 teachers from 20 primary schools in Adjumani, 81 teachers from 20 primary schools in Moyo, and 60 teachers from 15 primary schools in Bududa. STF also worked with 143 teachers from 34 secondary schools in the same districts.
All eyes glued - STF knows that its staff facilitate meaningful conversations when it finds photos like this in their cameras. The pupils in this classroom are listening with rapt attention.
STF teacher sensitisations have the same dual aim of addressing both adult and adolescent sexuality, explains STFs Jerolam Omach. We open up talk about sex, gender and marriage to help teachers have satisfying marriages and sexual relationships. Due to culture, few men talk about such issues with their wives. The teachers separate into groups of men and women. We pose questions. What is satisfying sex? How can a husband and wife have a good sexual relationship? As facilitators, our role is not to judge, but to try to harmonize differences, Omach says. Teachers then discuss qualities that make a good marriage, such as openness. Omach says that unfortunately when women want to talk, men usually say they are in a hurry. Teachers are hungry for the chance to talk about themselves. Jackson Mbabazi of Mutunda SSS in Dima says STF builds family values because the teachers learn to communicate to their partners. Omach agrees. Teachers request us to hold workshops several times a year to save their marriages. On day two, STF addresses adolescence. The teachers may tell learners that body changes are normal. Fine they are normal but they present challenges, explains Omach. Menstruation is normal but a girl needs to know how to use pads so as to attend class. Erections are normal but boys may think that they mean that they need sex. We train teachers so that they can help young people, concludes Omach.
Sarah Kundu, HCT Counsellor , Bududa Hospital , Bunakhayoti Church of

Uganda at a dialogue with parents in Bududa.
at their homes during odd hours. A third girl, 19, said, I had sex through peer influence. It happened when I visited my friend. He gave me some alcohol. It was very painful because he was 24 and I was 14. My advice is to avoid drinking alcohol. Because girls are disproportionately affected by HIV and other SRH crises, STF trained more girl than boy peer educators: 240 girls versus 110 boys in primary schools and 162 girls versus 122 boys in secondary schools.
Community fairs
In 2010 STF conducted ten community fairs for adults. These were attended by over 1200 people of whom 721 underwent HCT. In Bududa only one adult out of 248 tested positive, 0.4%. In Moyo, five out of 465 were reactive (1%). These events also made condoms, pill plans, injectables and implants available. Men were particularly interested in condoms. Parents were interested in family planning, although many said that they first needed to discuss it with their partners.
Peer educators
STFs work with peer educators aims to strengthen and encourage learner-driven life skills and ASRH efforts in primary and secondary schools, including the formation of Young Talk and Straight Talk clubs. The overall objective is to increase pupils access to ASRH knowledge and services, build their confidence, efficacy and life skills, and help them establish and maintain safer behaviours. In primary schools, STF peer-educators lead music, dance and drama. They also help organize debates and group readings and discussions of Young Talk newspapers. In 2010 STF trained 330 peer educators from primary schools in Bududa, Moyo and Adjumani. The three-day trainings covered, among other areas, growing up, the challenges of being a girl/boy, HIV/AIDS and life skills. Peer educators were coached to counsel and refer peers. STF also trained 284 secondary school peer educators from eight schools in Bududa, 12 schools in Adjumani and 14 schools in Moyo. In the trainings, many of the girls recounted harrowing stories of sexual coercion. One girl trainee said, I had sex through rape when coming back from a disco, so I felt very bad. I advise my fellow students to avoid moving at night. Another girl peer educator, 18, said, My boy friend invited me to his home. We enjoyed a little. He later demanded for sex. I gave in but I felt guilty afterwards. My advice is never to visit boys
Parent dialogues
Working closely with district leaders, village health teams and CBOs, in 2010 STF held 13 community dialogues for parents at sub counties in Bududa (Nabweya and Bukigai), Adjumani (Ciforo, Ofua, Adropi and Dzaipi), and Moyo (Lefori, Metu, Moyo and Moyo Town Council). Attended by a total of 1503 adults, these were conducted around the schools that in which STF had trained peer educators and teachers.
The dialogues generated talk on parent-child communication, how to improve husband and wife relationships in marriage, overcoming fear of HIV counseling and testing (HCT), combatting HIV/AIDS stigma, preventing early marriage and pregnancy, dispelling myths and misconceptions about condoms, and modifying or doing away with the practice of wife inheritance. One of the aims was to increase parents access to reproductive health information and services such as contraception and HCT. STF supported counselors
31
Outreach
STF supports parents in these six critical roles/tasks. It helps them articulate and find solutions to the adult sexuality, marriage, HIV, poverty and parenting challenges they face.
and health workers from local health centres to provide HCT: 1271 parents underwent testing, of whom 18 tested positive, 1.4%. while they generate activity around ASRH in schools and the community. The initiative, by and large, worked well. STF oriented 46 CBO staff to reporting formats and approaches to working with adolescents. The CBOs, in turn, conducted monthly visits to schools, held monthly meetings with STF peer educators, and distributed its newspapers. STF provided each CBO with about UGX400,000 a quarter.
Collaboration with CBOS

Besides sending newspapers to about 1400 CBOs, STF has MOUs with selected CBO/NGOs, which receive a larger quantity of papers and have a Straight Talk Available Here sign at their premises. In 2010 STF worked particularly closely with CBOs in Bugiri (YEFAAP), Moyo (AIDS Heroes Association), Adjumani (Youth Anti-AIDS Services), Kaberamaido (Save the Needy KOSAN), Arua (Kuluva HIV/AIDS Programme), Rakai (God Cares), Bududa (Bukigai Child Development Centre) and Kotido (Warrior Squad). Because STF cannot be everywhere on the ground in Uganda, these like-minded and credible CBOs act as STF franchises at the grassroots. STF builds their capacity
On call visits
In 2010 STF responded to numerous invitations from schools, reaching 2323 young people. The visits were informative yet fun: the students watched educative films and engaged in group talk. A young person living positively was usually part of the STF team. There was always time for one-on-one counseling. In 2011 STF will generate talking points for both parents and teachers and document each of its face-to-face approaches.
Above: Letters to Young Talk from girls aged 12 and 13. Even very young adolescencts have lives which are often far more complex and sexual than might be expected.
Laying the ground: STFs Jerolam Omach (in blue striped topback to camera) meets with local officials and lets them take the lead in planning a teachers fair.
ST F teachers package: Teacher Talk, fairs, sensitisations
Left top: Pastor Mwenge talks about sex in marriage as STFs Ruth Achope translates at the Bukedea fair: the theme was managing sexuality for positive change. Left bottom: a girl with special needs demonstrates how she writes with her foot; teachers cheered in awe. Above: a teacher living with HIV testifies about his sexual choices.
ames Okotal, 38, vividly recalls the day he went for the Teacher Talk fair in Bukedea. He expected little; instead it saved his marriage. I was a wounded man, says the father of four, a teacher at Kanyimu Comprehensive SSS. He had heard that his wife was seeing another man, and he had revenged by having an affair. Later he learnt that his wife was not being unfaithful but had been visiting her uncle. Unfortunately, by this time, she had learnt I was having an affair. We fought and she refused to share the bed with me, says Okotal. His wife threatened to divorce him and fled with her belongings and the children to her parents home. Okotal tried everything possible to save his marriage - all in vain. But at the fair Pastor Mwenge talked about sexuality. He told us that families fall apart because of loss of communication between partners. He encouraged wives and husbands to know each others likes and dislikes. The reverend also encouraged the teachers to initiate good sex based on love and tolerance. When Okotal went home, he sent a message to his wife through the elders. Within a week, she was back. Our marriage is now strong and stable because we listen to each other and share our concerns.
Ugandas largest group of civil servants, most working under hardship conditions. So the fairs are celebratory events that honour teachers. There are games, like tug of war, bike races and music. NGOs and schools exhibit their materials or work under tents. Teachers are deeply appreciative of this refreshing break from the isolation of the classroom. I enjoyed myself, said Ajilong Jane from Kakere PS. I wish you could hold such a fair every term. I learnt from the exhibitions of other schools how they are implementing PIASCY and the thematic curriculum. The fair made me relax, and I used it think about my family and own health, said Eurien Margaret from Kachumbala PS. I tested for HIV. The result was good. I am going to tell my husband so that we remain healthy. But the counselor said that my negative result may not be true of my husband. I liked the testimonies from pupils and colleagues with HIV. It made me felt bad that some teachers stigmatise colleagues who are living positively. Otingole Cuthbert from Malera PS said, Today was so wonderful in a teachers life. I feel encouraged to talk about my HIV status in case I am positive. The fair respected those living with HIV/AIDS. I saw them talking about their lives and community discrimination. By the way, we teachers appear friendly here, but some headteachers are part of the discrimination. I hope that todays fair has marked the end of that. Thanks for bringing free HCT and reminding us about PIASCY. It has been long since we saw support to PIASCY. Now we have got new energy. I wish STF could produce Teacher Talk every month like Young Talk.
Teachers fairs
Funded by UNITY/USAID, STF held three fairs for teachers of P5-7 in Bukedea, Amuru and Bududa, reaching a total of 992 primary teachers from 306 schools. Only 30% of the teachers were female: many schools have no female teachers. About 1450 community members also attended. Fairs allow teachers to share testimonies and experiences through group learning. The fairs usually provide opportunity for one-to-one counseling and HCT. Their questions show that teachers, like many adults, suffer large information gaps on sexuality and HIV. Teachers are
A total of 595 teachers underwent HCT, of whom 222 were female. Five (one female and four males) were reactive 0.8%. Over 300 people were counseled on family planning. By Fred Womakuyu
33
Outreach
Straight Talk working with partner CBOs
Grace Mwesigwa, Coordinator of Peer Education, and a colleague at the YEFAAP offices.
n a fresh morning in Bugiri town, Grace Mwesigwa, Coordinator of YEFAAPs Peer Education Programme, goes through a tray entitled Straight Talk Foundation. STF calendars and logos are pinned on the wall. A young girl, aged about 13, rushes in with a letter. With a smile, he assures her it will be delivered to STF and encourages her to write again. The letter is from a Young Talk club. He then dashes to the post office to collect the latest STF newspapers and delivers them to the district education and health offices. It takes him ten minutes. Then he is back in office to telephone teachers from some schools to pick up copies. He will deliver the rest to other schools physically. The district education officer of nearby Namayingo district comes in. Mwesigwa called him yesterday to pick up his copies. Mwesigwa is a busy man. Because of the huge burden of adolescent needs, STF cannot do everything by itself. In 2009-10, STF partnered with CBOs with a similar agenda, says STF outreach worker Jerolam Omach. We built their capacity and trained peer educators to conduct one-to-one or group talks. YEFAAP is one of the best performing, helping STF to distribute Straight Talk, Young Talk, Teacher Talk, Tree Talk and Farm Talk and collect feedback from young people. Mwesigwa says they work with 20 primary and 15 secondary schools in Namayengo and Bugiri. We visit each school twice a term,
interact with them and learn their challenges. It follows up peer educators, collects monthly reports and forwards them to the STF headquarters in Kampala. The CBO also stages drama, music and dance shows four times a month in the communities on early marriage, HIV, relationships, sex, condoms and abstinence. STF pays them a stipend for the job. Mwesigwa says youth come to their office for condoms and want to know their HIV status. We receive about seven a week who want to test. We refer them to testing centres and counsel and guide them through the testing. Some youth have formed Straight Talk clubs and meet about health and adolescent issues. He says the biggest challenge in working with STF is lack of transport and having to deliver newspapers to schools along often impassable roads. Also, each day, they receive new schools wishing to join STF, yet copies of the newspaper are few. Bugiri and Namayengo districts have over 50 STF clubs in schools and the community. Ismail Malinga, 17, a S4 student at Bukooli College, Bugiri, belongs to two. He says the purpose is to keep him busy. I want to have sex when I am married. We discuss it during our weekly meetings. YEFAAP Director Innocent Matyoli says STF has strengthened them by giving them funds for activities and training in how to manage them. It has also helped us lobby for more financial assistance since our accounts are somehow facilitated by STF. We are also popular and respected by society. By Fred Womakuyu
ST F peer educators supervised by KOSAN, STFs

partner CBO in Kabermaido.
Youth Centres
The entrance to Gulu Youth Centre with inspiring health messages. Right: Faith Falal
Rubanga, GYC manager, at a youth centre soccer game
Gulu and Kitgum Youth Centres (GYC and KYC) provide clinical services; Amuru and Adjumani Youth Centres are mini centres with just three staff each. They focus on talk and referral. The centers employ a total of 37 staff, including a clinical officer in Gulu, and nurses and lab technicians in Gulu and Kitgum. They are overseen by STFs Director for Northern Uganda and STF head office, which supports them in financial management and monitoring and evaluation The centres hold dialogues in schools and communities and reach adolescents (in and out of school) and adults. The youth centres have writers groups, young positive clubs and savings groups for young mothers. They engage young people in sports, games, educative videos and drama. KYC receives 40-60 young clients a day, GYC 50-70, Amuru 40-50 and Adjumani 30-40. Thus in 2010 the static sites received about 42,524 visits from young people: many are repeat or regular visitors. In 2010 the centers also conducted hundreds of outreaches to the community to provide SRH services, such as HCT, family planning, STI treatment, and PEP after sexual assault; to sensitise adults on genderbased violence; and to raise knowledge
In 2010 the four centres reached an estimated 80,000 young people on outreaches to the community. GYC alone made 41,477 contacts (19,128 male; 22,348 female) on trips to the community. In the community, the youth centers work with STF- trained peer educators, who mobilise fellow young people to seek the youth centre services.
Thus, in total -- combining visitors to centres and people reached in the community -- the youth centres had 122,000 contacts with young people and adults. In 2010 the youth centers operated in the following sub counties: in Kitgum Lokung, Mucwini, Kitgum Town Council and Orom; in Amuru - Purongo, Anaka and Koch Goma; in Adjumani, Adjumani Town Council, Ciforo, Dzaipi, Adropi, Pakele and Ofua; and in Gulu - Gulu Municipality, Palaro, Bungatira, Lalogi, Patiko, Bobi, Amuru-Atiak and NwoyaAlero The youth centres are open six days a week. In 2010, the youth centers gave out 22,350 condoms up from about 8500 in 2009. There are frequent stock outs of condoms in many districts. However, in 2010 GYC was able to obtain a considerable quantity from the UPDF.
A young mother holds her baby and a

copy of Straight Talk. She met GYC staff on a community outreach.
35
Youth Centres
TF has four youth centers in northern Uganda in Amuru (Nwoya/Lamwo), Gulu, Kitgum and Adjumani districts. Safe havens for young people, the youth centres adhere to STF core values and beliefs.
of HIV prevention, care and treatment. The centres often conduct community camping, staying overnight in villages, which allows much time for talk, including Boy Talk and Girl Talk sessions.
Youth centre achievements

Clinical services Number of HCT tests conducted (or number of referrals) Individuals diagnosed and treated for STI Individuals treated for ailments Individuals who received contraception Individuals who were referred for and received PEP Non-clinical services Individuals counselled Individuals (out-of-school) reached with community dialogues Individuals reached through school visits Individuals reached through group talks Individuals reached with video, sports, games Individuals who took part in a Boy or Girl Talk Young mothers who regularly attended youth centre meetings Young positives who regularly attended youth centre meetings Individuals with disabilities reached Other outputs Radio shows BCC materials (e.g., ST/YT) given out
Kitgum
5894 4062 3879 751 14 8672 9715 1080 3750 2028 1304 738 18 948 6 68,553
Amuru
(351 referrals) --0 -5?? 3020 1440 6284 3436 31453 2157 1569 5 34 5 118,861
Gulu
5056 793 1793 376 12 3406 7750 4299 8704 3500 2839 1165 736 35 268
Adjumani
(182 referrals) 0 0 0 0 254 1784 6813 8865 1497 2750 125 41 105 13,057
Total
10,950 4855 5672 1127 31 15,352 20,689 18,476 24,755 38,478 9,050 3,597 128 1326 6 200,471
A total of 10,829 HIV tests were conducted by GYC (5056 tests) and KYC (4062 tests). This was less than half the number conducted in 2009, when GYC executed 13,906 and KYC 9804. This decline was caused by delayed disbursement of funds and a shortage of test kits. The centre managers estimate that about 30% are repeat tests. A further 351 young people were known to have tested at Anaka hospital following referral by Amuru Youth Centre referred. An estimated 182 tested at Adjumani Hospital after referral by Adjumani Youth Centre. Worryingly, HIV prevalence may be rising, at least among females in Gulu. Out of the 2530 tests conducted on females in 2010 in Gulu, 6.1% were reactive up from 5.1% in 2009. The GYC manager believes this may be caused by girls going to Sudan for stints of sex work and then returning to Gulu. Of the 2526 tests conducted on males by GYC in 2010, 3.8% were reactive compared to 2.8% in 2009. At KYC, there was little change: 2.67% of the females and 1.8% of the males tested HIV positive in 2010, compared to 2.8% and 1.6 % in 2009. GYC supported 12 young people to access PEP; KYC supported 14 and Amuru five. Disappointingly, this was fewer than the 48 the youth centres assisted in 2009. Almost 5000 young
people were treated for STIs and over 1000 young females received family planning at KYC and GYC. Amuru Youth Centre began referring boys for safe male medical circumcision. In 2010 Civil Society Fund provided core funding of UGX309,266,840 for the youth centres. NUMAT, Save the Children and UNFPA/PACE provided a further UGX 446,714,705.
HIV counselling and testing on an outreach.
Amuru Youth Centre: sex-positive, talk-rich and safe
Youth Centres
t Amuru Youth Centre (AYC) in Nwoya, northern Uganda, youth come with a challenge and leave with a smile. The counselors address each case. AYC is a beehive of activity and a trusted friend of youth, who often prefer talking to AYC counselors than their often harsh parents. Bobby, 17, was having sex with a woman, 38, who promised to pay his tuition. They had been using condoms, but then one burst. I feared HIV. I came to get counselling. He had heard about AYC on the radio. I had heard them advising youth to know their HIV status so that they can get treatment if positive or prevent HIV if negative, says Bobby. He tested HIV negative and was supported to get post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to minimise chances of infection. He is now abstaining and a frequent AYC visitor. I act in the drama club and learn life skills with other youth. There is no time for me get involved in sex. When Jane lost her parents, her uncle took her in. He demanded for sex and when I refused, he beat me and threatened to stop paying my fees. He raped me and told me never to tell anybody. But she told a friend, who told her about AYC. AYC called her uncle. When he declined to come in, the police arrested him. AYCs Charles Ochanga says they helped her to re-locate to other relatives and are supporting her at school. She tested HIV negative. Through Anaka Hospital, AYC provides HIV testing once a month. AYC has no lab. We only counsel, Charles
explains. It also does HIV outreaches, camping in communities for three days, counselling and referring to Anaka hospital.
There is a lot of sexual violence because of the war, Charles says. Each month we refer about 30 cases for HIV testing. We also work with the police to arrest culprits. Since AYC opened in August 2009, ten rapists have been arrested and five prosecuted. AYC uses talk to reinforce STF newspapers and radio shows. Its two counselors, one peer educator and two volunteers group youth into boy and girl talk clubs. Young mothers have a Bolicup savings and loan group. Bolicup means just drop it in Lwo.
Jackie, 17, left school in P6 due to pregnancy; later her boy friend abandoned her. I felt betrayed and wanted to abort. But a friend told me about AYC. It received me with both arms. I tested HIV negative. I have enrolled in the drama group and Bolicup. Arach saves UGX5000 a week from selling maize. Jennifer, 17, is the family bread winner. Her parents are sick. These responsibilities are a burden and at times I feel like suicide, she says. I heard about AYC on the radio and when I went there, they counselled me. AYC helped her to get ARVs for her parents at Lacor hospital and taught her how to care for them. By Fred Womakuyu
37
Youth Centres
Wilfred Oyenga of Amuru Youth Centre (main photo) counsels a girl at school. Left: youth gather on the centres steps. Centre: Stephen Okello, who manages the centre, at a training.
Staring at the camera with steady dignity, these brothers in Minakulu, northern Uganda, have had a lot to bear. Aged 14, the boy on the left in blue has a learning disability. The boy in the wheelchair, aged 15, suffered polio during the war. The LRA rebels killed their parents. They were butchered with pangas, says Gulu Youth Centres Jackie Akong, who visits the boys, who now live with an uncle who feeds them. They only sporadically attend school. Jackie is trying to organise a new wheelchair for the older brother and help them both reengage in school. They are in P3 and P4, third and fourth grade, respectively.
SPECIAL NEEDS & BATWA

n 2010 STFs special needs programme matured and gathered expertise. Started in 2009 with funding from the Dutch NGO Cordaid, it reached not only young people with disabilities (PWDs) but also the Batwa. Formerly known as pygmies, the Batwa were once forest people but now live on the margins of society in south west Uganda. This incongruous pairing works well; the STF team visits both special needs schools and Batwa communities three times a year on visits to Kisoro. Quinta Apiyo, a teacher with a degree in special needs education, runs the programme. A motherly figure, in 2010 she reached an estimated 560 people -- parents, teachers, children and teenagers -- around the issue of special needs as well as 240 Batwa. Her two assistants in the north reached another 1216. Thus in total in 2010 this programme for the extremely vulnerable reached about 1940 people.
SPECIAL NEEDS and the HIGHLY VULNERABLE BAT WA
People with disabilities

Although there is no data on HIV prevalence among PWDs, they are known to be often sexually exploited, particularly the females. UNFPAs guidance note on SRH for PWDs states that considered in society as less eligible marriage partners, females with disabilities are more likely to live in a series of unstable relationships. PWDs are also likely to be poorer and less literate than the general population. They may not be able to reach school or health units and often suffer discrimination if they do. Females with disabilities are made to feel grateful that anyone might desire or love them and are particularly likely to experience harassment, rape, and abusive relationships. Ugandas National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan 2007-12 notes that while disability increases vulnerability to HIV infection, HIV infection can also cause various kinds of disability. Jacki Akong from Gulu Youth Centre and Beatrice Munduru from Kitgum Youth Centre support Quinta to reach PWDs in the north. Jackie reached an estimated 268 people, of whom 38 were pupils who were sight impaired and another 38 who were hearing impaired. Of these young people, 214 were out of school. In Kitgum, Beatrice Munduru conducted health dialogues in special needs schools and with out-of-school youth with disabilities. She reached 237 PWDs every quarter in schools in Lamwo, Mucwini, Ngomoromo and Kitgum town and an additional 689 out-of-school youth over the year. She gave particular support to three young PWDs. She helped a boy, 19, who had suffered polio, to raise school fees by planting cabbages. Thomas, 7, is being taught sign language. And a girl, 20, with mental challenges was helped to take her drugs for pelvic inflammatory disease after sexual abuse by neighbouring boys. Her
In Bobi, a community just south of Gulu town, Jackie Akong sits with a girl child, who suffers from epilepsy and is also deaf and mute. We were conducting HCT and I decided to walk around and look for young people with disabilities. Thats when I found her.
grandmother brought her to KYC after hearing about it on the STF youth radio show, Lok Atyer Kamaleng. In the north, Quinta reached 20 parents of PWDs in Gulu and 45 in Kitgum through community dialogues. They want walking aids for the lame and treatment for epilepsy for their children, she says. They are also concerned about sexual abuse of their girls. Parents have to go away from home looking for food, and boys take advantage of the girls. They want family planning for the girls so that even if they are abused, they will not get pregnant. Also, the mentally handicapped cannot read STF papers, and parents want to know what STF can do for them. In a moment of drama, which drove home the difficulties that families face, one of the adolescents collapsed in an epileptic fit at the community dialogue in Kitgum.
Additionally, Quinta met with special needs teachers -- eight in Gulu and 14 in Kitgum. We discussed sexual health and how to support HIV positive learners with disabilities, says Quinta. In northern Uganda, STF worked in Gulu Primary Annex for the Blind, Laroo Adra Unit for the Deaf, Glory Special Needs PS, Kitgum Girls Annex for the Blind and Kitgum PS. The blind schools want more copies of our Braille newspapers, says Quinta. In all STF worked in 11 special needs schools in 2010. Besides those in the north, around Kampala, these were Wakiso SS for the Deaf, Namirembe Vocational School for the Deaf, and Immanuel Bible School, Mulago and Ntinda PS for the Quinta talks to children in a Deaf. At Mulago PS for the Deaf, Quinta special needs school in Kampala.
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Special needs
(third grade). Lack of food is a major obstacle to schooling even with universal primary and secondary education. One young Mutwa told STF, We leave home in the morning with our parents. As we head for school, they go to peoples homes to beg for food or ask for a job. When we come home for lunch, there is nothing to eat because our mother didnt succeed in finding any money or food or because they found a party and didnt care about coming back. How can we go back to school with all that hunger? The Batwa marry early and are often discriminated against by the majority Bafumbira who are reluctant to associate with them. Quinta and local health workers conducted SRH dialogues in four Batwa communities, addressing such standard fare as HIV/STDs and family planning. Few Batwa knew their HIV status and most of the women had not heard of PMTCT: 240 Batwa attended. These dialogues needed careful handling. The Batwa reacted negatively to open talk about sex and had had little previous exposure to talk about HIV. One Mutwa said, If any of us is positive, we shall kill them. They argue that all Batwa live according to their tradition of faithfulness in marriage. Health workers offered HCT, and 41 Batwa tested, of whom one female, 24, tested positive. The counselors were very conscious when giving her the results, recalls Quinta. But it seemed she already knew her status. She had lived away and returned to the community. The counselors helped her to go to the Health Centre IV. There was a furore when condom use was demonstrated, with Batwa showing disgust. A Batwa leader said, How can I use a condom when I see beautiful girls who dress smartly and put on cosmetics which smell nice. They are very tempting. Condoms make me sick! One woman shouted, If I find condoms in my husbands pocket, I will cut him into pieces. Condom use is for prostitutes, and pocketing it means he is having sex with them. So before he infects me, he will be the first to die. They were spitting saliva, and we felt we were offending them, so we stopped, says Quinta. Later she spoke with young Batwa, who explained that condom use was strange to them and that it was sinful to expose sex organs or talk about sex in public. Their culture is very strong, says Quinta. I asked them if they would like us to train them as peer educators, and they said yes. STF supported the youth to form a Straight Talk club. With 20 members, they are growing crops on an acre rented by STF for UGX200,000 a year. The youth hope for three harvests a year. In 2011 STF will sensitively feel its way forward with the Batwa.
Quinta tackling the emotional and physical changes of adolescence

with a group of hearing impaired children. talked about the disadvantages of early sex. Some of the children said they are forced to have sex by people who give them gifts which they cannot refuse because they are desperate. But others say that there is peer-topeer sex. Their peers influence them to have boyfriends and girlfriends. In the southwest, STF worked in Kisoro Demonstration School and held a well-attended workshop on special needs for 40 district leaders. In 2010 STF met quarterly with the 60 peer educators from the NGO Deaf Link that it had trained in 2009. Each of these young hearing-impaired people reach dozens of other deaf youth with conversations on ASRH, including personal hygiene, sanitation, abortion, management of sexual feelings, HIV/ STDs and skills for self reliance. Quinta trained all the staff of GYC (20) and KYC (15) in provision of SRH services to young PWDs. Both youth centres provided adolescents with special needs with HCT, contraception, treatment for minor ailments and opportunistic infections. They also referred PWDs for specialised services such as palliative care. Life is tough for young PWDs in Uganda. Generally, their parents do not care about them but see them as wasted children who will not help them in future, observes Quinta matter-of-factly.
Working with the Batwa

In 2010 STF worked with Batwa in Kisoro. Former hunter gatherers who do not own land, they are almost entirely illiterate and destitute. No Mutwa that STF met in the course of its work in 2010 had gone beyond P3
Batwa women examine a condom. They find condoms obscene and ridiculous. Top: a Mutwa woman with her children.
National interns and volunteers
n 2010, STF hosted 14 young Ugandans as interns and volunteers, six in Kampala,two in Kitgum and six in Gulu. The interns in Gulu came from three different universities and Nsamizi, a respected social work institute. Kampala volunteer Doreen Ninsiima, 23, was a Straight Talk club member at Immaculate Heart Girls School but was unable to go on to university. In 2010 she joined STF first in outreach, then in the research and evaluation department, where she logs data. Irene Musiime, 21, and Alex Mwine, 30, worked in the print department in 2010, answering letters.
Saul Walugembe, 22, a development student at Kyambogo University, talks with pupils of Pallisa Primary School. Saul had attended many sexual health and peer education trainings before interning at STF. A total orphan, he supports himself and pays his own university fees.
Irene is acquiring a diploma in guidance and counseling. Alex has a Ba in counseling. Jobs are scarce for university leavers in Uganda. STF interns earn UGX 10,000 a day, are constantly mentored, and have opportunities to travel upcountry and attend conferences in Kampala.
TF is a Ugandan NGO but it has important international links. Julie Wiltshire was STFs executive director from July 2009 through September 2010. An Australian nurse with long-term ties to Uganda and a passion for family planning and safe motherhood, she left at the end of September to honour family commitments. Stuart Campo worked at STF, first as a Princeton fellow and then as Director for Special Projects. Among other projects, he developed a large mobile phone-based health information collaboration with Google and Grameen. He left STF in August 2010 to work in Madagascar with Unicef. Sara Benipoor joined STF in September 2009 as a Swedish bilateral expert supported by Sida. With a masters from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, she provides technical assistance on sexuality and gender. International volunteers also spent time at STF in 2010. Elena Coleman from Mt Holyoke College worked at Gulu Youth Centre with young people living positively; Susanna Julian from Melbourne University gave support on gender. There were also volunteers in the Gulu and Amuru youth centres from Sweden, Germany and the USA. Phil, Hans and Anna from Germany were young DED volunteers who, among other things, designed question boxes for youth centre clients.
STFs executive director for most of 2010.
Julie Wiltshire,
Sara Benipoor
at a Straight Talk training in northern Uganda.
Stuart Campo
focused on Tree Talk, projects with pastoralists in Karamoja, and recovery after war in northern Uganda.
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Volunteers
International colleagues
Research and Evaluation
The Research and Evaluation team from L to R: Evelyn Namubiru, Florence Kyokusima, Emily Awour and Isaac Kato.
TF is committed to being evidence-informed. Thus in 2010 it conducted intensive research into its programmes, especially core activities funded through the Civil Society Fund (CSF).
Mass media: listenership, readership and impact
surveyed thought that girls who carried condoms were loose. This had fallen to 44% in 2010. Also, the proportion of young people believing that buying a condom is the responsibility of boys alone fell from 53% in 2005 to 35% in 2010. In a similar exercise STFs R&E team assessed STFs mass media work in Kapchorwa, Kabarole and Arua, interviewing 850 adolescents. In Kapchorwa, 65-82% of young people had ever listened to the Kupsabiny ST youth radio show, depending on the sub-county. In Kabarole, the figure was 52-72%. In Arua, it was 60-78%. In 2009 with funds from PEPFAR, STF started broadcasting for adolescents in the Madi language, which is spoken in Moyo and Adjumani districts. Followup interviews with 200 Madi-speaking youth aged 10-24 found that 73.3% had ever listened to the show. This was a considerable increase from the 2009 baseline prior to the shows introduction, where STF found that only 45% of 10-24 year olds had ever listened to any STF radio show (at that time their options were the English, Lwo or Lugbara show). With 136,477 youth aged 10-24 in the two districts, STF is reaching over 99,000 young people with its Madi show. A separate piece of research with PEPFAR funds found that 80% of youth who had attended Kitgum Youth Centre had listened to the STF youth radio show in Lwo. In 2010 STF evaluated its CSF-funded Parent Talk radio shows, interviewing 515 parents in Apac, Soroti and Busia. In Apac 76.9% of parents (80% of fathers, 76.7% of mothers) had ever listened. In Soroti
Research by Population Council, conducted in 2005-6 and published in 2007, found a positive association in adolescents (10-19) between exposure to STF newspapers and radio shows and greater ASRH knowledge. In 2010, STF surveyed 900 young people (10-24) to see if exposure remained similarly impactful. The research was conducted in Kamuli, Apac, Soroti and Busia: 70% of young people interviewed identified Straight Talk and Young Talk as their most important print source of ASRH knowledge: 80.1% of primary pupils had ever read Young Talk, of whom 77.8% had read it in the preceding 12 months. Among 15-24 year olds, 88% had ever read Straight Talk, 86% of whom had read it in the previous year. In all four districts, STF shows were the only radio shows that specifically addressed adolescents: in Kamuli 70% of 10-24 year olds mentioned an STF show (English or Lusoga youth show or Parent Talk) as their most important radio source of ASRH information. In Busia, Soroti and Apac, the figures were 90%, 77.8% and 85.2% respectively. In Kamuli listenership to STF youth radio shows jumped from 13% in 2005 -- when the district had only the English show -to 70% in 2010, by which year the district had had a Lusoga STF youth show for four years. Increased exposure seems, again, to be associated with more positive attitudes. In 2005, for example, 74% of adolescents
ST Fs Achope listens to adults in a trading centre prior to conducting interviews. She spent over two hours with them, answering questions and conveying Parent Talk talking points. For some in the group, this may have been a turning point in their lives. It is not simple, however, for STF determine what happened after it left.
and Busia, the figures were 62.2% (64% of fathers, 61.5% of mothers) and 60.5% (62% of fathers, 59.2% of mothers) respectively. Knowledge was significantly higher among those who had listened to the Parent Talk show. Parents who listened regularly were significantly more likely to talk to their children about sexual and reproductive health than those who do not listen -- 79% versus 64%. Parents who listened were also significantly more likely to agree with the statement that condoms can be effective in protecting against HIV transmission if used correctly than non-listeners -- 88% versus 72%. Those who tuned in to the Parent Talk show were significantly more likely to agree that a person who looks healthy can be infected with HIV than non-listeners -- 90% versus 74%. Parents who listened to the show were also significantly more likely to know than non-listeners that HIV can be passed from a pregnant mother, if she has HIV, to her unborn baby -- 81.2% versus 69.2%. Overall, 80% of parents disagreed with sex before marriage for both male and female children. Less positively, only 43% disagreed with the statement that women should tolerate abuse from husbands to keep the family together (ie., 57% agreed with abuse). STF youth radio shows in Ugandan languages cover about 80-85% of the country linguistically. Local language broadcasting is critical as far less than half of adolescents comfortably comprehend shows in English: the figure is probably 15-30%. Also, radio is the most important mass media source of information in Uganda. STF is, therefore, interested to know how young people fare in areas with no local language STF radio show. In 2010 its researchers travelled to Nebbi and Koboko. The population in Nebbi speaks Alur, a form of Lwo. In Koboko, the population speaks Kakwa, a Sudanic language not related to any in which STF currently broadcasts. Researchers interviewed 330 young people aged 10-24, finding clear gaps in exposure. In Koboko, only 9.1% of 10-24 year olds interviewed had heard a Straight Talk radio show in any language. In Nebbi, listening was higher than in Koboko but still lower than in areas with a local language show: 32.7% of 10-24 year olds interviewed had heard an STF youth show in English, Lwo or Lugbara. (The latter two languages seep into Koboko and are understood by some multi-lingual young people.) Furthermore, of young people in school, only 20.6% in Nebbi and 14.3% in Koboko had ever listened to the English youth Straight Talk show. This lack of exposure to STF radio shows seems to account for knowledge deficits. More than half of young people aged 10-24 surveyed (66.1% in Nebbi and 54.8% in Koboko) did not know or were not sure if a girl can get pregnant the first time she has sex or having sex while standing up. In a district like Apac, where a STF local language radio show has been airing for almost a decade, the proportion is considerably lower at 41.7%. STF would like to scale up to these districts: of young people aged 10-24 interviewed, 52.1% in Nebbi and 40.4% in Koboko had had sex.
Nebbi, Arua, Koboko, Moyo and Adjumani. It found that 84% of schools sampled (52/62) received papers in 2010, although all complained of delays. About 67% of the schools that received papers collected them from the post office, and 29% from the district education office. At 60% of schools, head teachers take sole responsibility for collecting the papers; at 21%, deputy heads take that role. These encouraging figures contrast with less-thansystematic use of the papers within schools, just 38% of which have a specific person in charge of STF materials. Schools mainly gave the papers to individual pupils (92.2%) or individual teachers (32.3%); 23.5% placed copies in the library. STF will encourage schools to use papers more systematically. Ideally, whole classes and clubs should read and discuss the content as a group.
Face-to-face
In March 2010 STF held FGDs with 78 parents to assess the parent dialogues it had held in late 2009 in Moyo and Adjumani. The most significant change appears to have been heightened parental involvement. One parent said: When Straight Talk came, we discussed the problems of our youth. I saw that we parents do not play our role well. We think teachers will do everything. Since then, I go to the school to help the teachers help our children and make sure that they do not get pregnant.
Committed to counting every person we reach face-to-face
RADIO K OG BOO L
Radio Logbook.indd 1
Jan - Dec 2010

Staff member name:____________________________________ Department/youth centre:________________________________ Telephone:____________________________________________
The log book into which the radio journalists document every encounter with
young people. On the cover is Radio Director Annette Kyosimiire with students at St John High School in Isingiro. STF aims to work with groups of 30 or less, but this is often impossible in schools. Head teachers say, Talk with the whole student body. There are about 80 students in this picture.
2010-02-23 14:31
Mass media: distribution of newspapers
In-school adolescents are unlikely to read STF newspapers unless their schools receive them, and STF invests considerable resources in distribution. In August 2010, therefore, STF investigated distribution in 65 schools in
STF also assessed the peer education training it had conducted in the same schools. The key finding is that peer educators ease teachers burdens. One teacher said,
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M&E
In June-July 2010 STF looked at the two-day teacher sensitisations that it had conducted in 33 schools in Moyo and Adjumani in 2009. It interviewed one teacher per school. The key finding was that teacher sensitisations ignite schools commitment to address SRH. A teacher in Moyo told the researchers, We have improved our creativity in reaching the youth. They have drama, songs, poems and sensitisation during sports. Often we are told to do something for children but we are not told what to do. From the training, we picked out ideas we can use. Children have benefitted.
After the training, teachers sat together and agreed on weekly assemblies where the pupils take lead in talking to the rest. It helps us because we are few, and the pupils like it when fellow pupils talk to them.
Youth centres
Youth centres are a key STF strategy. In 2010 it conducted three studies into its youth centre work. In 2009 PEPFAR granted STF UGX 697,198,427 to start mini youth centres in Moyo, Adjumani and Amuru and to boost its already existing youth centres in Gulu and Kitgum. Records show that, by the end of this one year project, STF youth centres had reached more than 100,000 youth with services and/or outreach. Using FGDs, centre records and interviews with 300 adolescents, the STF R&E team looked at benefits to youth, challenges to utilization and youth-friendliness. Adolescents described STF youth centres as more youth friendly than other providers: they were noteworthy for being free and providing edutainment. One older adolescent male said, The youth centre is contributing a lot. We get better services such as entertainment. Staff gives you time to relax. They tell you someone will attend to you. The nurses are good mannered, loyal and talk with us with good tone as if they are talking to their brothers. They talk to us for 15 minutes and then start serving us. There is intense unmet need for clinical services in Adjumani and Amuru. The location of youth centres, their limited operating times and low staff-client ratio remain challenges. In December 2010, STF also assessed the non-clinical services offered by Gulu Youth Centre. Using a
his rainbow shows STFs conceptual model. STF addresses individuals in their environment with interventions at all the layers of influence around the individual. The adolescent is at the core of the model, under the first arch of the rainbow, benefitting from STF newspapers, radio shows, youth centres and faceto-face work. At
participatory and qualitative approach, STF researchers met with over 120 adolescents, a quarter of whom were from the most-at-risk groups of young positives, young mothers, youth with special needs and young people in conflict with the law. Said one youth, GYC has done much to talk to the community on HIV and STDs at the same time giving free family planning. In 2010 STF implemented a project with UNFPA and PACE in Amuru and Kitgum to reduce young peoples risks and vulnerability to SRH problems. About 80% of project targets were achieved. As follow-up, STF researchers interviewed 120 youth aged 15-24. Young people were pleased with the youth centre. A girl, 19, in Anaka said For me the main place for help is the Straight Talk centre, because no one barks at you or blames you for your poor conduct. Instead they advise you. I think I will always go there.
Capacity building
Throughout 2010 STF R&E team strengthened the capacity of STF staff to monitor and document their work. Data on people reached and with what is now up-loaded directly online for CSF. R&E staff conducted three support supervision trips to the youth centres in northern Uganda. CSF also helped STF to think critically about how to validate its data.
The Population Council study of STF is on the Population Council website. STFs mid-term evaluation of its 2006-10 Strategic Plan -- It works! Communication for HIV prevention and social change in adolescents -- is available on Scribd at: http://www.scribd.com/Straighttalkfoundation. STFs 2009 study of its intervention in Kisoro district is available on Scribd at: http://www.scribd.com/Straighttalkfoundation.
the next layer, STF addresses parents and teachers, the most important adults in the lives of adolescents. For them STF produces Parent Talk radio shows and Teacher Talk newspapers and conducts face to face work in schools and communities, l i ke p a r e n t d i a l o g u e s . F i n a l l y, S T F r e a c h e s out to thousands of CBOS, health units and faith groups as well as MPs.
Finance and Administration
The finance and administration team from L to R: Patricia Amito, Christine Abbo, Patrick Lubowa, Robert Tumwijukye, Nicodemus Ogwech and Stella Olaboro . Accounts assistant Dorcas Arayo and cashier Cecilia Kandeke were not present when the photo was taken.
Finance
In 2010, STF had a total income of UGX 7,595,244,288,
slightly more than its income of UGX 7,465,284,500 in 2009. However, the shilling weakened against the dollar, standing at an average of UGX 2215 to the dollar for most of the year. Almost 60% of STFs income -- about UGX4.53 billion -- came through the Civil Society Fund, which manages funds from a basket of European donors as well as PEPFAR. CSF itself is funded by USAID, and its financial arm administered by Deloitte. The CSF grant funded most of STFs core work -- 12 radio shows for youth, two for parents, Straight Talk and Young Talk newspapers to schools and communities, Gulu and Kitgum Youth Centres and the mini-youth centers. It also supported a considerable portion of STF overheads and some research and evaluation. With funding of UGX 175,125,500, Unicef supported three Straight Talk radio shows for youth -- in Lepthur, Ngakarimojong and Pokot -- and the Ngakarimojong Parent Talk show as well as face-to-face activities in Karamoja. Cordaid, the Dutch NGO, supported the Lufumbira youth radio show and profoundly impactful outreach with adolescents with special needs. STF received slightly less funding from USAID compared to 2009: UGX1, 036,449,360, lower than UGX 1,057,301,729 in the previous year. Within this was a sum of UGX333, 782,129 from the UNITY project. This was deeply appreciated by STF as it was used for its work with teachers (Teacher Talk and teacher fairs) as well as funding for the Parent Talk radio shows in Ateso, Lwo and Lumasaba languages. The other USAID funds went to produce behaviour change and information materials for the HIPS, AFFORD and SPRING projects. Separate to this was the USAID funding for the WILD project which supported Tree Talk. The WILD funding, to the tune of UGX303, 386,275, combined with a grant from Danida worth UGX517, 135,035, to give the Tree Talk effort a total of UGX820, 421,310. This gave Tree Talk the honour but also responsibility-laden position of being one of the best-funded tree projects in Uganda. It received a further
UGX 23,239,194 from GTZ for advocacy on climate change. STF received funding for small, mostly communication, projects, from War Child Holland (research into adolescent sex workers), Uganda Watch and Media Focus (civic education), IPA (financial literacy for youth) and Nurep (to produce a book on its work in northern and eastern Uganda). The Google SMS health tips texting project continued with funding of UGX63, 719,100. STF began a five year collaboration with Malaria Consortium worth UGX 108,970,000 in its first year, 2010. Numat, Save the Children and UNFPA/PACE gave funding that totalled UGX 446,714,705 for youth centre activities in the north and Karamoja. It was the last year of collaboration with PACE and Path to produce Parent Talk radio shows and newspapers for scouts and guides in Uganda and Kenya respectively. With respect to expenditure, as in previous years, the biggest share of the spend for activities went to radio (22%), followed by print (14%), followed by 11.5% on faceto-face activities, including special needs. The bulk (64%) of the UGX738, 099,874 spent on face-to-face activities went to support the youth centers.
STFs research and evaluation budget in 2010 was modest at just UGX93,619,302. Staff costs consumed about 22% of the total budget; STFs work is very humanresource intensive. Capacity building expenditure was a meager UGX18,111,285 in 2010. Administration and the acquisition of capital equipments (mostly the purchase of a pickup for Tree Talk) constituted about 15.6%. In 2010, STF completed a successful audit of its 2009 finances and management. It continued to engage in improved financial and procurement procedures, which saw the introduction of Navision in the Gulu and Kitgum youth centres for faster accounting reporting.
Administration
STF presently has a staff of 125, including 74 in Kampala, 14 in Gulu, 18 in Kitgum, three at each mini youth centre,
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Fin/Admin
four in Karamoja, and 11 with Tree Talk. All human resource and administration functions are centralized in Kampala. There were altogether 29 departures and 12 recruitments in 2010. The Moyo youth centre was closed, and GYC underwent a restructuring that reduced staff from 24 to 14. STF continued to give its staff medical insurance and workmans compensation. In 2009, STF decided to redo its ICT system at the head office and, subsequent to this, improve the use of programmes to capture data in the field. This required STF to rewire its Kampala building for telephone and electricity. The system is much improved and has allowed for introduction of Navision in the Gulu and Kitgum centres for faster accounting reporting. The staff, both at the centres and head office, have been trained on online
data entry, allowing for faster and more efficient data capture and analysis. The staff had continuous learning and sharing programmes where leaders in fields such as STDs, sex and sexuality, family planning, and gender-sensitive programming were invited to discuss with the staff. There were also specific staff trainings on topics such as working with young positives; young people and how they handle sex and sexuality; management; writing and communication skills; and gender violence and its relation to HIV infection. These capacity building exercises were funded by donors. However, many partners and helpful individuals volunteered their time for no charge; for this, STF is very grateful. In 2011 STF will have more trainings with emphasis on areas that STF wants to grow its work in -- such as working with young people with special needs and young positives. STF also hopes to have more regular learning and sharing programmes as these allow staff to update themselves. Knowledge management is a daily challenge.
Expenditure by activity or department of funds received by STF in 2010

Particulars Print Radio Outreach department GYC KYC Mini Youth Centers Natural Resources Disability Activities Research and evaluation Partnerships Personnel capacity Building Capital equipment Administration Loan repayment Total amount 1,026,879,645 1,656,879,645 242,645,665 258,057,868 220,163,341 120,366,652 495,910,574 17,233,000 93,619,302 437,450,835 1,574,508,011 18,111,285 181,854,726 985,195,181 146,540,152 7,475,415,882
Pie chart of STF Expenditure 2010
Straight Talk Foundation staff in Kampala at the end of 2010. At far left is board chair Aggrey Kibenge, under-secretary in the
Ministry of Education and Sports. Next to him is board member headmistress Olivia Muhumuza.
ST F Annual report finance table

YEAR KEY DONORS CIVIL SOCIETY FUND CSF-PEPFAR UNICEF - KARAMOJA CORDAID DCI DFIDD SIDA Sub Total USAID UPHOLD CORE UNITY HIPS SPRING AFFORD WILD NUMAT YEAH Sub Total OTHERS MVULE -TRUST SAVE THE CHILDREN GYC SCIUG-Karamoja GRAMEEN/GOOGLE DANIDA FARM TALK TREE TALK DANIDA UNFPA /FAO WORLD LEARNING KYC MAIA PEP/SGBV PSI (PACE) SFS-PATH ENGENDER HEALTH ARC HCP in 2007/FHI in 2009 PARTNERSHIPS MLK - SCHOLARSHIPS WFP-Tree Talk DANIDA MDG 3 DFID MONEY WORLD HEWLETT/TIDES SSHIPS/TREE BOTTLE TOP - SCHOLARSHIPS Sub Total Total Funds Received 2007 UGX 867,500,000 259,288,093 76,515,000 84,315,000 582,914,388 594,208,000 2,464,740,481 185,000,000 62,010,450 93,831,050 216,245,490 206,297,165 763,384,155 210,234,000 95,296,880 69,400,000 168,000,000 142,856,050 35,741,991 17,718,750 63,256,922 5,083,000 74,975,000 782,686,455 65,949,420 16,483,688 1,747,682,156 4,975,806,792 2008 UGX 4,094,761,318 522,068,345 82,950,000 391,857,157 5,091,636,820 81,697,875 173,758,565 154,125,000 163,288,354 436,574,400 40,652,700 149,653,105 1,199,749,999 29,000,000 49,611,811 100,827,038 17,350,000 53,156,300 462,547,778 86,672,667 580,000,000 1,460,863,469 7,670,552,413 2009 UGX 4,143,668,915 402,234,214 616,558,934 181,660,000 166,320,000 5,510,442,063 189,938,869 241,164,975 192,290,495 102,564,403 480,090,500 19,339,000 1,225,388,242 5,804,385 105,926,494 29,014,200 45,636,808 32,418,970 41,500,000 453,810,,515 144,072,562 858,183,934 7,594,014,239 2010 4,330,288,840 200,129,607 175,125,200 137,500,000 4,843,043,647 333,782,129 57,967,800 287,968,144 303,286,275 53,445,012 1,036,449,360 30,300,000 242,472,013 44,800,000 63,719,100 110,412,750 517,135,035 105,997,680 23,591,023 201,549,565 66,416,082 297,167,783 12,190,250 1,715,751,281 7,595,244,288
DANIDA
Department for
International Development
47
Fin/Admin
ST F committed to comprehensive sex education

Comprehensive sex education (CSE) is the provision of accurate, factual and developmentally appropriate information on a broad set of topics related to sexuality, including relationships, abstinence, contraception and disease prevention. It helps young people develop skills. It understands sexuality as a positive part of life and teaches behaviour that is respectful. CSE begins with parents as the primary sexuality educators of their children. For parents, STF provides Parent Talk shows in nine languages and parent dialogues.
STF produces CSE materials for young people of all ages and social situations. Young Talk is for children in upper primary school -- aged 10-14 in theory but often as old as 17. For young people (15-24) who are not in school or not comfortable with English, STF produces radio shows in 16 Ugandan languages.
For adolescents fortunate enough to complete primary school and go on to secondary school, STF produces Straight Talk: they can also listen to the English language youth show as well as the local language shows. For older adolescents no longer in school and possibly not able to read English, STF produces Straight Talk in several local languages.
The school environment is improved for young people by Teacher Talk, which helps teachers be more HIVcompetent, more at ease in addressing ASRH, more selfaware, and more committed to retaining adolescents in school and helpig them avoiding early sex and marriage. STF also holds teacher trainings and fairs.
In 2010 STF sadly said farewell to Charlotte Kanstrup when she returned to Copenhagen. Seen above with clients at Gulu Youth Centre, Charlotte was Counsellor of Development at Danida in Kampala from 2005 to 2010. She was an ardent supporter of STFs model, and STF is immensely grateful for the guidance she provided.
STF Board of DirecTorS
Chair: Aggrey Kibenge, Under Secretary, MoES
Charles Odere, Advocate, Lex Uganda
Rev Gideon Byamugisha, Christian Aid
Mondo Kyateka, Assistant Commissioner for Youth, MoGLSD
Anne Akia Feidler, Chief of Party, USAID Communications Support for Health, Zambia
Catharine Watson, President, STF
Oliva Muhumuza, Headteacher, Railway Childrens PS Dr Frank Kaharuza, Director, Research, CDC/UVRI Justina Kihika, Freelance Consultant Susan Ajok, Executive Director, STF Olivia represented the board at Tree Talks one millionth tree event in August 2010. She is seen here with a Muvle seedling.
STF sends its materials to 17,000 schools, 1870 health centres, 1040 churches and mosques, 1530 CBOs and 500 NGOs. STF creates conversations to address the drivers of HIV epidemic and bring about social change.
In 2010 Straight Talk Foundation (STF) produced over 12.6 million newspapers and 4836 half-hour radio shows for adolescents and adults. It trained 614 peer educators and 217 teachers and provided clinical sexual and reproductive health services to about 10,000 youth. It further reached 126,345 young people, parents and teachers directly through its face-to-face work. Through its radio shows and newspapers it reached about ten million youth and adults every month. STFs materials are the main and often only source of a rming, values-based and scienti cally-accurate knowledge on HIV, sexuality and growing up in most Ugandan communities.
Paulo Freire is the founder of communication for social change. The famous Brazilian educationalist wrote Pedagogy of the Oppressed in 1970. Even if many of the young people who work for STF have not read this classic, Freires ideas permeate the NGO. Freire argued passionately for dialogue and education based on problemsolving. He called for educators to be humble and truly committed to liberation.
Plot 4 Acacia Avenue, Kololo, PO Box 22366 Kampala, Uganda Tel: (256 31) 262030, 262031 Fax: (256 41) 534858, Email: info@straighttalkuganda.org Website: www.straighttalkfoundation.org http://www.scribd.com/Straighttalkfoundation
Design: M. Kalanzi (MeBK) and G. Turibamwe

Straight Talk Foundation Annual Report, 2010

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Straight Talk Foundation Annual Report, 2010

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2010

* Listening * Telling true stories * Addressing adolescent and adult sexuality

STF 2010 Annual Report

Message from the President

STF 2010 Annual Report

Message from the Executive Director

Straight Talk and Young Talk

50,000 1000 1000 600 300 12,641,450

Ugandan-language Straight Talks:

STF 2010 Annual Report

taste sex ongo, go. J Od aba c 20, S3, A , Oyam SSS

Okuba nabantu okumpi, okwewa amagezi nebirowoozo ebizimba

A partially-sighted teacher, Joyce Ajok, at Gulu PS

Lubega Steven 20, owe Rakai agamba: Londa

Abaana abamu abazaalibwa ne siriimu kati bavubuse

Nyumirwa okwagala okutaliimu kwegatta

p o s i t i ve a yo u n g d i a ry o f D4 coun The child. My C ed me n ca doctor advis son now. I

k ky s ll :dThan achaswhoacyaseJacki, I was so impressed by J ll SInce 2009 Straight Talk

Sexuality education for vision-impaired adolescents

Reading Braille: students at St Francis SS for the Blind in Soroti,

Straight Talk clubs

STF 2010 Annual Report

Young Talk: teaching us about our bodies

STF 2010 Annual Report

The editorial team:

10 STF 2010 Annual Report

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Young Talk letters 2002-2010

Straight Talk letters 2002-2010

5168 4288 3625 2936 3530

12000 10000 8000 6000

3278 1781 1995 1202 1114

A nurse at a clinic holds papers to distribute

STF 2010 Annual Report

Straight Talk at a glance 2010

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

the show's presenter.

Joyce Napeyok Nakia, 23,

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

Marc Vol.16 No.2

Make career choices carefully

determined. If I can't be a lawyer I will be a music star."

What is.... Good Sex I

Kenneth Lukwago, teacher from Makerere College, says, know

Kisubi star is ST fan

abuse is on Quiz: Drugpeople. Sharethe with young

rUHAAMA SS, NTUNGAMO, IS our STAr ScHOOl. Throughout 2009 we

HIV basics: Good sex for HIV positives

Don't allow to be used

cides es Microbi tancagaithought nst are subs en obicides

April Vol.16 No.4

Whya sex is such big deal!

Jacky Ale r at voluntee

datio is a Talk Foun Straight sented Uganda

6 July Vol. 15 No.

Tune In Now to sT radio show

Can be a sign of love, respect and seriousness

But watch out!

Mak e a thy heal start

What would you look out for in a marriage partner?

Send your stories and funky pictures to

Listen & Learn!

Make use of your talents and shine.