Generally when we work
in sexual and reproductive health we focus on youth and pregnant women. This
makes sense in that they are a sexually active population, or soon to be
sexually active and they are often under-informed or misinformed about their
sexual health and rights. Also, they are fairly accessible populations here in
Nicaragua, what with casa maternas and high schools in every town.
But there is one very
large and powerful population that we too-often forget about, MEN!
They are half of the
population after all, and in the machismo culture that exists in Latin America,
men often hold most of the power within their relationships, families, and
communities. Because of this, working with men can be intimidating and
uncomfortable for a lot of volunteers. One idea that came out of the manual Aquí
entre nos from Peace Corps Honduras is the Billiards Tournament.
The idea is simple,
gather a group of men in the local Billiards Hall and hold a Tournament. The
only catch is that the tournament also includes presentations about HIV/AIDS
and condom use, and in the final game the players have to answer questions
based on the information from the presentations.
During the Health 63
practicum week in my site, we pulled off a very successful Billiards Tournament.
It was definitely one of the most fun and rewarding events in my first year of
service. Here are a few things that went well with the tournament that we
hosted.
