Fight against AIDS;

protect children from the spread of AIDS;

make children understand the repercussions of contracting AIDS;

information and training;

advice;

public health discussions and seminars etc...

We try to reverse the roles; instead of making the parents talk about AIDS to their children, we attempt the contrary; we would like children to be able to relate their feelings or concerns about AIDS towards their parents. We hope this will make an impact and that the message will be better accepted, that’s why our main activity is to make our children aware of the problem.

We want to protect our daughters from the sexual predators who lurk on the streets of Congo. These men approach the girls on their way home from school, they brandish their bank notes in an attempt to ‘woo’ our daughters, unfortunately for some of the girls these are bank-notes of death. That’s why we fight for vulnerable young people and who do not always realise the dangers. When our children are infected by the virus, we are helpless to save them. We have no more strength to act against it, the outcome is known already.

In our society we are witnessing an inexplicable phenomenon: When a person recognizes themselves as being HIV positive sometimes they revolt against society. They deliberately contaminate innocent people and their targets are usually our children. Therefore, we call to all people (men, women, infected or healthy) to combine our efforts by loving our children and by giving them the opportunity to lead a good life. Our children represent our future. HALTE-SIDA realises this and targets young people because they are the most vulnerable and the most-frequently infected.

Our association acts by producing and distributing leaflets on AIDS, through theatre performances and public discussion making people aware of the AIDS epidemic. Drop-in sessions for children are held every Saturday from 4 pm to 5.30 pm. The cultural activities (songs, theatre etc…) are held every Tuesday and every Thursday from 5.30 pm to 6.30 pm.

We warn our children to take care and protect themselves. People infected by the virus, suffer both physical and mental torment, which in-turn impacts upon their whole family. Our children have to be aware of the illness and must be able to talk about AIDS with those around them, their friends and their siblings. AIDS should not be a taboo subject. When we refuse to talk about AIDS, the HIV virus spreads more rapidly and the number of victims grows everyday. It is not a disease resulting from witchcraft as we can hear so often in Africa; the only demon is HIV itself. We have to educate communities in methods of preventing the spread of AIDS which kills so many people. Unfortunately, there are so many orphans and our tears run dry everyday for people who die (children and parents).

Dear children, please be sensible and do not hesitate to ask for information about HIV, AIDS and other related illnesses.