After days of rain, the weather on November 28 was favourable to The Cedar Foundation Tanzania and the community of Nyamatongo ward. On this day, we celebrated World AIDS Day with drummers and dancers, games and awareness sessions, and free HIV-testing and counselling.

The focus of the day was to educate people about HIV/AIDS. In a community where misconceptions about transmission and prevention of HIV are prevalent, it is of paramount importance to constantly raise awareness on these issues. Cedar Tanzania’s Community Health Workers, did a great job in explaining what is fact and what is fiction about HIV and answered questions of the community members. An important service which we offered on-site was voluntary counselling and testing for HIV and we’re proud to say that 110 community members made use of it.

While HIV/AIDS is an important yet serious issue, joyous activities were not neglected. Several community members participated in games which, while being fun, carried important messages. For example, that everyone can be a leader and role model in her or his community or that not knowing your HIV status can be a big obstacle in life.

Everyone in the community needs support, but for those living with HIV it is even more crucial to be supported to not feel stigmatised. The SASA! Community Activists did a great job in addressing the important issue of giving and receiving support – the central theme of the current SASA! phase.

A demonstration of TackleAfrica, Cedar Tanzania’s project to educate adolescents on sexual and reproductive health rights delivered through football drills, took place as well. The drill explained in a playful and fun way the three steps of Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) and aims at taking away the fear of this process.

An eventful day came to an end when the local performance group released a snake out of a box. This is a local Sukuma tribal dancing tradition in which a sedated snake is released in public celebrations to the sound of dancing and drum beats. The community was excited and joyous at this extraordinary sight, especially the children who dispersed in all directions with shouts and screams. What a day!