JUNTOS

JUNTOS (Jovens Unidos No Trabalho para Oportunidades e Succeso) is a project focused on promoting positive behavior change in male and female Mozambican youth to reduce HIV/AIDS incidences through cultural expression.

What is JUNTOS?

Jovens Unidos No Trabalho para Oportunidades e Sucesso (JUNTOS), formerly known as JOMA (Jovens para o Mudança e Aççao), is a project geared towards educating adolescents about important quality of life issues such as HIV/AIDS, and gender equality through community-based workshops, projects, training, and exchanges of arts and culture.

Since 2006, this project has provided resources and knowledge to hundreds of Mozambican youths on the topics of gender equality, HIV/AIDS propagation, domestic violence, teenage pregnancy, [...] health, etc. JUNTOS has worked to educate and help young Mozambicans make healthy decisions in the interest of their futures. This is done by equipping them with the knowledge and the tools to improve their leadership skills, decision-making, and self-esteem; thus making them more motivated and effective students and community members.

JUNTOS approaches the important issues mentioned above in an interactive manner. Instead of solely educating Mozambican youths about the dangers of HIV/AIDS, the group participants are given-guided resources to help them discuss, learn, and precipitate the information in an alternative and more creative way, using communication media and performing arts. This charges the groups to become spokesmen for healthy behavior.

JUNTOS groups are created on the basis of extracurricular activities related to communication: journalism, theater, photography, art, dance, and music. These extracurricular groups use these technical areas to communicate important issues to their schools and communities. Youths participating in these groups gain new technical skill sets, self-esteem, and become active and productive members of their communities. JUNTOS groups alongside offering creative outlets also encourage students to stay in school and dedicate themselves to their education. This project gives Mozambican youths the resources and opportunities to help them work towards success.

History

JOMA (Jovens para o Mudança e Aççao) was implemented by Peace Corps Volunteers in 2006 as a project to effect healthy behavior changes in young Mozambican men. It focused on developing such life skills as critical thinking, communication, project management, civic responsibility, [...] health, and self-esteem, all while striving to promote productive dialog on gender inequality and stereotypes on the community level. Its innovative approach was designed to enable a more personal processing of information regarding healthy behavior. It also aimed to provide participants with more effective communication skills to strengthen both their own understanding of these life skills and to promote this discussion with their communities and peers. Peace Corps Volunteers formed groups in secondary schools and focused them on one of the four specific areas of communication: theater, journalism, photography, or art. More recently, theatre was expanded to include other performing arts, such as music and dance.

In its first year, JOMA held a national conference in Maputo, at which two student representatives, a Peace Corps Volunteer, and an adult Mozambican counterpart (usually a fellow teacher at the school), participated from each group. Over the course of the conference, participants attended sessions on HIV/AIDS. In the months that followed the conference, the students took their new understanding on HIV/AIDS, risks of transmission, and proper prevention, and started community-based projects to share what they had learned.

In more recent years, the project began offering free and voluntary HIV testing and counseling by trained professionals at the conferences as well. In the first four years that testing was offered, the number of conference participants utilizing this resource has continued to increase. In 2009, 113 Mozambicans were tested for HIV and more people participated in the conference. In 2010, the number of individuals tested increased to 138. In 2011, the number increased to 158. Unfortunately, the necessity for on-site HIV testing was not communicated to regional coordinators in 2012, and most Workshops did not provide this service. Therefore, the number decreased to 24. In 2013, the number of HIV tested attendees remained strong at 109. The officers of JUNTOS 2014 will continue the increasing trend of the number of participants being tested during workshops.

In 2008, the project expanded to include three regional conferences in Maputo, Chimoio, and Nampula, instead of a single national conference in Maputo. Also in 2008, the project developed manuals for each project area that integrated comprehensive guides to the technical skills with gender inequality awareness and HIV/AIDS prevention messages. The manuals also included activities, exercises, educational resources, project ideas, and administrative advice on how to run a strong club. These manuals were produced in both Portuguese and English so that they can be fully utilized by both Peace Corps Volunteers and Mozambican Counterparts.

JOMA conferences divided even further in 2009 when a southern conference was added in Inhambane province, creating a total of 289 participants across the four conferences. The project added music as a mode of communication, and three (3) music groups attended the conferences. The year 2009 also saw the addition of female conference participants! JOMA leadership decided that although the project began as male [...] health community groups, JOMA’s exclusion of women was counterproductive to its ultimate goal of promoting gender equality. The project expects that the safe environment created to discuss gender and stereotypes must be extended to include young girls. Without the perspectives and opinions of the young women in gender discussions, JOMA could not effectively work towards challenging and developing the masculine understanding of gender.

In 2010, JOMA held 4 conferences in Maputo, Chimoio, Quelimane, and Nampula. These conferences were shorter – three days – and consisted exclusively of sessions revolving around gender theory, responsible program design and management, leadership skills, and HIV/AIDS education. Throughout the first four years of the project, much of the conferences’ curriculum focused on the specific training in the communication skills. Mozambican professionals in the various project areas worked with conference participants to develop basic skills that they would be able to, in turn, teach to the rest of their group in the community. However, in 2010, JOMA leadership decided to withhold all technical training from the actual conferences and to begin a new component of the project in which the technical trainers visit the groups in the communities. These technical site visits were greatly successful in their first year of implementation and continued in 2011 and 2012.

In 2011, there was an unfortunate misunderstanding with government officials in one of the provinces of Mozambique. Due to confusion with the JOMA name and the words used in it “Jovens para o Mudança e Acçao”, the Mozambican government asked Peace Corps to change the name of the group. The new name JUNTOS (Jovens Unidos No Trabalho para Oportunidades e Sucesso) was decided upon in early February 2012, its objectives, and policies remained the same.

Also in 2011, JOMA/JUNTOS made a structural transition from holding a few large national conferences to having more regional conferences called Workshops. These Workshops were weekend-long conferences; facilitated by Mozambican Counterparts, these workshops covered the JOMA/JUNTOS curriculum of HIV/AIDS prevention and transmission, gender and its inequality, [...] health, puberty and reproduction, self-esteem, community leadership and communication. A total of 13 regional workshops were held in 2011. This successful change in structure was maintained in 2012, when a total of 16 regional workshops were held.

Project Description

The main objective of the JUNTOS project is to educate Mozambican youth about quality of life issues emphasizing HIV/AIDS awareness and to provide them with the knowledge, tools and methods necessary to communicate these issues to the greater community.

Mission Statement

“Promoting positive behavior change in the Mozambican youth to reduce HIV/AIDS incidences through cultural expression.” –

Project Motivation

JUNTOS was developed out of an observed need by Peace Corps Volunteers serving in Mozambique. Although the project first came to life in 2006, Education and Health Volunteers have identified a need for a project like JUNTOS since Peace Corps' introduction to Mozambique in 1998. The learning environment in schools and communities did not foster a feeling of a “safe space” where youth could feel at ease discussing potentially sensitive issues such as [...] health, gender issues, or HIV/AIDS.

JUNTOS was created to cater to the participants involved in the project. The extracurricular framework was created to build upon the students' interests, and the educational curriculum was formed to educate participants on important issues affecting Mozambican youth and their communities. Through instilling these ideas in the Mozambican participants and teaching them about self-esteem and leadership, these participants have the tools to become an example for their peers and leaders in their community.

The 2 main aspects of JUNTOS are training in technical skills related to communication and exploration and education of important societal topics, by the way of forming an imperative bond. Equipped with this new information and new technical skills, participants can then express and communicate important messages about topics like HIV/AIDS or [...] health to their communities in a creative and effective ways.

Project Goals

These goals were developed with respect to policies set for by PEPFAR as well as Mozambique’s National AIDS Council (CNCS):

Development of a strong knowledge base and a promotion of health attitudes and behaviors concerning equality of gender, sexuality, HIV/AIDS, and leadership and communication among Mozambican youth.

Training of Mozambican role models to guide youth in the exploration of cultural gender norms and selection of healthier behaviors.

Using communication skills to design and execute community-based projects to share knowledge of healthy behavior. With the support of a volunteer, professor, or community member, groups choose projects in the areas of theater, journalism, photojournalism, art and music. These groups operate all year round in their communities, and have other opportunities to participate in activities or conferences through Peace Corps.

Project Structure and Components

JUNTOS uses a multi-phased approach to accomplish project goals. The management of JUNTOS 2014 is split into the following five (5) regions, each headed by a Regional Coordinator (all of whom are Peace Corps Volunteers): Cabo Delgado/Nampula, Niassa, Zambezia, Central (includes Tete, Manica and Sofala provinces), and Southern (includes Maputo, Gaza and Inhambane provinces).

The project is organized into three (3) phases: Phase 1 – Regional Planning and Training, Phase 2 – Workshop and Technical Training, and Phase 3 – Community-Based Projects and Experience Exchanges

Although JUNTOS groups meet on a weekly basis, each of the phases are characterized by regional events scheduled throughout the year. These events include: the Regional Planning and Training Seminar (Training of Trainers or TOTs) held in March, the Regional Workshop starting in Mid-May, and Community-Based Projects and Experience Exchanges occurring throughout the school year (with the majority of community events scheduled for July, after the completion of Phase 2).

Regular Meetings

JUNTOS groups meet about one or two times per week. During these meetings, the groups can learn about and discuss important topics such as HIV and AIDS, malaria, puberty, [...] reproduction, domestic violence, etc. in a safe environment. Counterparts and Peace Corps volunteers also incorporate lessons of media communication skills (journalism, theater, photography, art, music, and dance) using technical manuals into the weekly meetings, so that the groups can transmit good health practices and healthy gender norms to their communities through their chosen mode of communication.

Regional Planning and Training

The Training of Trainers is aimed at informing participants about the JUNTOS projects, getting JUNTOS groups active at the community level early in the year, and preparing members for regional events. Seminars will focus on how to be an effective group leader, run a workshop, facilitate workshop planning, and the other types of JUNTOS events available throughout the rest of the calendar year. At these seminars, each group leader will receive an updated curriculum and materials to use during the rest of the year. Groups will develop their projects and technical abilities through a combination of this material, Regional Workshops, and in-province support from their respective Regional Coordinators. Invitations for the Training of Trainers Seminar (ToT), are scheduled for March/June, and are sent to group Counterparts and/or PCVs.

Regional Workshops

The Regional Workshops are not just for the JUNTOS group leaders (Mozambican Counterparts and/or PCVs), but for a select number of youth members from each group. At the Workshops, education about the prevention of HIV/AIDS and other quality of life issues are explored in-depth; training in proper communication through arts and culture is also given through PCV and/or Counterpart Instruction.

Starting in Mid-May to June, JUNTOS holds Workshops across the country, with participation ranging from 3-8 groups at each one. Each Workshop will last a full weekend, beginning on a Friday night and concluding on Sunday afternoon.

Mozambican Counterparts facilitate Workshop sessions, focusing on HIV/AIDS prevention, gender equality in the community, leadership, [...] health, self-esteem, communication, and malaria prevention. In correlation with the HIV/AIDS sessions, these Workshops will also provide free HIV testing and counseling. The Workshops provide the students with a safe environment to learn about, explore, and debate these issues. In addition, workshops encourage groups to exchange ideas and experiences regarding their work, weekly activities, and projects in their communities.

Community -Based Projects and Experience Exchanges

A community event is an opportunity for your JUNTOS group to educate members of your community about any health or public interest issues that will benefit local citizens. A community event may include more than one JUNTOS group and can be used as an opportunity to perform an exchange experiences. Examples of JUNTOS community events from the past are:

• Theater performances for community members during holiday events and gatherings
• Music performances related to community event’s agenda
• Using art as a format to express gender equality and [...] health themes
• Painting a mural
• Publishing a community newspaper
• Recording music onto CDs

JUNTOS community events may be done anytime of the year.

Most community events are self-sustainable and are fully carried out by the members of the JUNTOS group and those involved (i.e., theater or music performances).

See also

• Peace Corps Mozambique http://mozambique.peacecorps.gov/subprojects-VOA.php
• HIV/AIDS in Mozambique
• JOMA Project