In one village, the village community got together and built a shelter for a person living with HIV, who was thrown out of his family.
In another village, village leaders got together and ensured that the property of a HIV positive widow, which was being usurped by her brothers in law, was restored to her.
In another village, a woman has ensured that a child who had discontinued Anti-Retroviral Therapy is connected back to the services, and she has mobilized the community resources to help the child's grandmother provide nutritious food for the child.
In many villages, the people acknowledge that they may be at risk of HIV. They openly stock condoms, and encourage people to use them, if needed.
For an effective HIV response, it is not just individuals who need to change, but the social and community norms which determine the behavior. Therefore it is only when these communities get together and start critically thinking and discussing the issue, that these norms and behaviors can be changed. These are a few communities, which have managed to change their behavior, following the NamBaduku Programme.
NamBaduku programme is a series of processes, which engage the community in critical discussions on the issue of HIV, on who is at risk of HIV and on stigma and discrimination. This helps in building a perspective on HIV. Through these processes, social cohesion is promoted because communities realize that HIV is an issue which affects all of them, not just specifically targetd at risk or affected groups. As a group they start promoting safe practices, and they also extend care for the people affected by HIV among them. Ultimately, they start owning the issue of HIV, and planning and responding to it, after understanding their own strengths.