The Youth Ministry of The Nicaraguan Lutheran Church “Faith and Hope” organized the Sixth HIV Informative Fair which slogan was “If we inform ourselves… we change… if we change, then we stop HIV”

All of this in remembrance of the Protestant Reformation. Since 2004, the The Lutheran Youth Ministry in Nicaragua, organize this fair about HIV where the main focus is on how to prevent HIV. All over these years we have created a space in where all the people, especially young people that live within the church´s neighborhood can inform themselves about HIV prevention and transmission as well.

Every year we begin our activity with a devotion service in which we invite members of our communities all over the country, we also invite people from Nonprofit Organizations and Governmental Organizations that work with the HIV and aids topic and Organized HIV Support Groups for people with HIV or Aids like ASONVIHSIDA Managua, ASONVIHSIDA Masaya, ANIC+VIDA and the HIV Support Group in the Western Region. Within this Devotion Service we, The Lutheran Church, let everyone know what are our thoughts about HIV and aids and the what`s reason of our work with this issue.

Once that we have finished the Devotion Service, we make a little tour around all the different information stands from all the different organizations, who give information about HIV prevention, HIV transmission, HIV myths and taboos, teaching games and different contest of what people have learned.

We also have youth music bands and theater groups that help us through their music and other art expressions, so that they can bring joy and entertainment to all the people that comes to the fair.

This year the youth group putted together a space under a plastic tent, where all the people that came into it could interact, debate, relax, play and express through the art. This tent had different rooms we called: “The Doubt Clinic”, lead by some medical students. “The Trust Little Corner”, lead by graduate psychology students. “The Massage Therapy”, Lead by physiotherapy students and the “Paint Positive on the White Creative Blanket”, lead by young artist. All of them young, future professionals and artist that through their knowledge created a new learning technique about topics like: Dating, sexuality, HIV transmission and prevention, human rights, the importance of doing the HIV test on a voluntary manner, stigma, discrimination, etcetera.

We are proud to be the only church that works the subject so openly here in Nicaragua, and that we can serve as inspiration for other. Together we can end with the stigma, discrimination and ignorance, because it kills more than the disease itself.