Project Launch:

A $500 grant was awarded to the Community Health Mural Project in 2009 by World Connect’s Kids to Kids program to involve HIV positive youth from a local health clinic in an art project aimed at helping them understand more about their disease, HIV prevention, and ways to communicate HIV prevention messages to the public. Project participants painted a mural in the Batey communities with kids and health promoters that live and work in the community, which kicked-off the new health promotion program. Participants from the health clinic rarely had the chance to participate in fun group activities because of physical and/or mental health problems associated with their disease and/or social stigma related to HIV/AIDS. This project marked the beginning of a series of activities and support group efforts that were newly available to this population. According to project leaders, launching support group activities for these kids gave them hope and started a positive conversation about condom use, relationship management and choosing sexual partners.