Promoting positive living
Positive living is a term that is a synonymous with the increased well-being of people living with HIV. Memory work is making a huge contribution to strengthening positive living in communities, by helping people living with HIV to strengthen their coping strategies. Parents living with HIV, who have worked through the memory work process, are able to draw on new strengths and skills to enable them to proactively cope with their situation and support their children. They, often, speak of renewed hope and better health from the empowerment that memory work engenders. The change of attitude is summed by staff at Tilla in Ethiopia, but is typical of experiences of all partners:
"Mothers are also preparing themselves for seperation from their children. Before, they didn't want to save money, were selling property - they thought they would die in days. Now they opening savings accounts and arranging for their property to go to their children."
Enhancing children's resilience
The starting point for memory work has traditionally been the strengthening
of children's resilience to the reality of the HIV epidemic in their lives.
Resilience is increased by:
Mulu's son's story
"Since the training, when my mother has time, I force her to have
a discussion with me and my sister on different issues - cooking, cleaning
the house, and things like that. I am helping with what my mother asks me
to do and help my sister do things at home, like washing dishes. I didn't
do these things before.
The Memory Youth Club is new but it has already helped us share our experiences.
Now I know it is not only my mother who is affected but also the mothers
of others. It would be good to have our brothers and sisters come to the
Memory Youth Club with us even if they have not had the training. They need
MYC and the club needs them."
Strengthening family relationships
Changing family dynamics is of key importance in memory work, and the impact from the IMP project, so far, has been dramatic. Writing a memory book facilitates dialogue as it offers an opportunity for the parent or guardian to explain sensitive family issues to the child and gives the child an opportunity to express their own feelings. The memory work process develops family relationships by:
Memory work can also help promote legal rights for women and their families. Lucy, a participant's in KANCO's programme explains how her life changed after participating in memory work. A mother of three and a caregiver for three orphans, the wedding ceremony to the man she considers her husband, is not legally recognised.
"Before the training, I had not even thought about planning for the children's future, but now I am doing that. I am now even planning a wedding to my husband to put all the necessary legal documents in order. The wedding will be in December and afterwards I will immediately begin preparing my will...being legally married will just make sure my children are protected and will give me the legal rights I need to provide for them in my will. It was during the training that I began thinking about getting married."