From the gleaming airport malls of Beijing to the grittier markets of Yunnan, Asia Catalyst traveled in China to work with local partners on strategic planning and budgeting. On this trip, we spent a few days with Phoenix in Yunnan drafting their plans and budget for the next quarter, and providing some computer training. Phoenix members also lit candles on mid-Autumn festival to commemorate two members who recently died of HIV/AIDS.
This post is based on the presentation that Asia Catalyst scholarship recipient Zhao Gang from Kang Xin
Home, a drug user NGO based in Yunnan, China, gave at the International AIDS
Conference in Vienna this July. Kang Xin Home (pronounced Kang
Shin) aims to bring together Chinese people living with HIV (PLHIV), injecting
drug users (IDU), and methadone treatment personnel in order to promote
HIV/AIDS prevention, self-help and mutual support. Kang Xin aims to reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS
on their community, improve the quality of life
for drug users and PLHIV, and promote social equality.
The Situation of drug users
There are several main problems that drug users face in their daily life
which impact their ability to build an organization. Long-term drug abuse leads
to low self esteem. Drug users in our area lack stable employment and therefore
a secure livelihood. They are marginalized and lack support and trust from the
community they live in. The resulting instability makes it difficult for them
to integrate into society. Grassroots nongovernmental organizations (NGO) can
benefit drug users and give them hope through both the services they provide
and the opportunity to get active. However, organizing drug users faces some
distinct challenges that I would like to discuss here. This discussion is part
of a process to actively find solutions and to build sustainable organizations
by and for drug users in China.
By Chan Fei
AIDS Concern is proud to launch its newly published Chinese-language manual POZ in the City, coauthored by AIDS
Concern and a group of people living with HIV (PLHIV) experienced in public
speaking. We invite you to step forward and work together to combat stigma and
prejudice attached to PLHIV. 香港「关怀爱滋」伙拍一群公众演说经验丰富的感染者共同撰写了「正能量计划」手册，希望籍此和各位同工及感染者分享如何进行感染者公众演说，共同为消除对爱滋病和爱滋病病毒感染者的标签及偏见努力。
Download:
Handbook in Simplified Chinese
By Mike Frick
From June through early August, I
helped Asia Catalyst’s partner organization, Phoenix, to train five volunteers
in research and rights documentation skills. Phoenix is an NGO that serves
women living with HIV/AIDS – many of them sex workers and drug users — in
Gejiu, Yunnan Province, China. The five participating volunteers on our
research team are all former drug users, and several of them also work as sex
workers. Our goal was to build their capacity to conduct the kind of research
that can inform advocacy and make a difference in the lives of the community
Phoenix serves.
by Sally Hancox
This advice can be applied to any information you use to present your organization
to the public, including websites, brochures, and logos.
1) Who are you trying to reach?
This is the most important question. What does the audience already know about your
organization and the issues you address? You don’t need to tell them what they
already know; but equally, try not to make assumptions that they already know
stuff just because you do.
