Street theatre in Tanga, Tanzania
"That afternoon we visited a village where a group of dancers, drummers and singers were bigging up the importance of safe sex and 'get yourself tested' to the kids. This was mental. It's proven to be a really effective way of getting these messages across, and there was a real sense of something cool going down, under a big mango tree that held the tannoy speaker. The crowd cheering, answering the call and response style singing. The performers are definitely the cool kids, they're the boys in Grease, they're Fonzy baby. I ask someone what it is they're singing. "Be smart, get tested, or AIDS will kill us all!" is bellowed out, as the drummers get wicked. The great irony is that the dancing is incredibly sexual. Barefoot and elegant, the girls move those hips as if the bones in the pelvic area have been liquidised. Says Whitey. A youth peer educator gets on the mike and talks about drink and drugs. "If you come home drunk, you won't be able to get it up and your woman will get her lovin elsewhere!" he warns, as the children gaze up at him, or dart about, chasing and laughing."
exerpt from Paul's Diary.
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