HIV Health Fairs

Following the HIV/AIDS workshop that I attended in St. Lucia, a co-worker and I set up tables at health fairs in 2 poorer communities. We had a great turnout at both and were able to reach about 200 people in total, ages 16 to about 60. At the first fair, we conducted both male and female condom demonstrations and distributed approximately 1,000 condoms to the surrounding community, while educating them on HIV and STI’s. We found that the photographs of infected body parts were especially effective in getting their attention...you would understand if you saw them too. The small shop owners were very receptive to us and welcomed the information. At the second fair, we had an even larger crowd (and more men) and they were especially captivated by the visual tools illustrating the female anatomy and the female condom. It was exciting how many people showed interest and were willing to learn more about how they can personally prevent the spread of HIV.