Embedded Files
A story of Local Response by Dewi Rahmadania Busthami
And then in 2006 I started to be a volunteer at the Indonesian Red Cross in East Jakarta as a peer educator who works in a high risk area with youth community to prevent HIV and AIDS. As a peer educator I always came every week (sometimes twice a week) to the youth community to do a community meeting. I also brought information about HIV and AIDS and reproductive health etc.
As a Muslim woman, is not easy for me to work with communities that come from a different background. My family comes from a conservative traditional background. I am also influenced by my family because they have taught me since I was a little girl.
When I saw people living with HIV, I simply thought that this was their problem and it was not my problem. They did the wrong thing and got infected by HIV. That is their fault and it is their responsibility to deal with it. It is not mine.
I saw the community as an object or as a target group. I came as an expert who brought a lot of information and sometimes gave the solution to their problems. And then in 2007, I came to know about the AIDS Competence process. We are so lucky because we had an opportunity to know the approach earlier than others. But, it is not easy for me to understand the process, it really needs time to learn and understand the process and tools.
After one year, I had done a lot of SALT visits to communities, not only youth communities but also the transgender, sex workers, and MSM communities. I started to realise that the approach makes my work easier. I learned much from the community. And I began to understand what SALT is. I am just a human being, not a hero, not a person who brings a lot of information and gives a solution to people’s problems. Now, my point of view has changed. The way I think, and the way I work, even in my personal life. I'm happy to be around the community, and I can find strength from the community and believe that they have the capacity to solve their own problems.
My family is still wondering why I want to be a social worker and not get a lot of money. They try to get give me another job. And then I started to collect my courage to tell my family that I love my job, that I am happy being involved with the community and that it makes me feel alive. And there is more. It is not all about the money. It is about happiness. But happiness is nothing without someone you could share with. And I have found that in every community that I meet.
The conclusion of my story is that the SALT approach and the SALT visit change the way I think and the way I work.
Page updated
Report abuse