Ugandan leader mobilizes volunteers to share TeachAids with over 1,000 in Zimbabwe
“The project received overwhelming support from local community members and leaders… Also the project managed to reach the communities which were usually starved of HIV/AIDS information due to the nature of the teaching media.”
– Alex Guma, Volunteer Educator
Despite not having support from or affiliation with any formal organization, Alex Guma, a Ugandan transplant in Zimbabwe, has taken it upon himself to bring TeachAids to local communities, reaching students, orphans, and deaf individuals. He has already trained 23 volunteers as “TeachAids Educators” who travel to various communities and schools throughout Zimbabwe with the aim of empowering youth with life-saving information.
At a young age, Guma lost his parents to HIV. This loss solidified his determination to help save the next generation of young people from this condition. He first connected with TeachAids as a student in Uganda, where he used the animated software as part of an independent project called College Hope for Life. Soon after, Guma travelled to Zimbabwe, where the HIV epidemic is one of the harshest in the world, with a prevalence rate of nearly 15%. There he has worked with local leaders and volunteers to raise awareness about HIV prevention throughout the country.
In addition to targeting youth and community leaders, Guma has shared TeachAids software with another key group that often lacks HIV information: the deaf. Like Agatha Borbor, an inspiring individual who brought TeachAIDS to the deaf in Liberia, Guma is doing the same in Zimbabwe. The visual representations of biological concepts coupled with detailed image text and subtitling makes it easier for deaf communities to access this information. According to Guma, “deaf people have been left out of HIV education, and TeachAids has come as a solution.”
Guma and his team of educators have already made presentations in community settings such as churches and at institutions of higher learning, schools, and orphanages. His initiatives have received an overwhelming response, reaching more than 1,000 men, women, and children.
TeachAids applauds the efforts of individuals like Guma who bring education and resources to key populations in their communities, spreading knowledge and empowering others. Guma joins committed individuals around the world bringing TeachAids to Tanzania, South Africa, India, and the United Kingdom. Many thanks to these outstanding individuals who work diligently to bring much-needed information to some of the most difficult-to-reach locations.
Photo: Children in the Mutare district in Zimbabwe learning from the TeachAids animations.