By  VICTORIA OJEME

IN  Yamshyi, a small, sleepy community of farmers and rural dwellers in Kaduna State, routine incidences of rape of young girls are commonplace. The abominable act is usually perpetrated by males and other sexual predators under the pretex of assisting the unsuspecting victims to cross the dangerously water logged bridge which is the only bridge linking the settlement with the outside world.

With an approximate population of 6,470, Yamshyi has just  one  primary school and a secondary school and is a distance of about seven kilometres walk  outside the community. The journey across the bridge during the rainy season is a must, for those who must to go to school, the market and visit  other communities.
Apart from constituting a death-trap for the unwary,  the bridge is unwittingly contributing to the rising incidences of HIV infection among the dwellers.

Peter Jessica, a deaf and partially dumb indigene, was once a victim of rape. The 27-year-old suffered depression, emotional and mental trauma for almost two years until an encounter with the Network of Persons with Disability Against HIV/AIDS, NEPSHA, in Kaduna State, through the State Coordinator, Risikat Toyin Muhammed, turned her life around.

One of the none- state actors in the anti- HIV/AIDS campaign is the Enhancing Nigeria’s Response to HIV/AIDS, ENR, programme, focused on  key concepts of strengthening  sustainable, effective and evidenced –based  HIV  prevention strategies. Aimed at revolutionising HIV and AIDS prevention in Nigeria, the ENR  is a six-year year  programme of support to the Government of Nigeria to reverse the HIV epidemic ,  mitigate  the impact of  the HIV/AIDS on individuals, households and the wider society.

In 2011, the Societies Tackling AIDS Through Rights, STAR (a programme under the ENR) was implemented at Yamshyi, aimed at creating platforms through which selected residents of the community in question convene every first Friday of the month to discuss pertinent issues affecting the community.
One of such key concerns at that time was the rising incidences of rape and how to effect a change in the situation through the efforts of the Community Development Network, CDN, using   and every last Friday of the month to create awareness and sensitisation on HIV/AIDS.

The STAR cycle members are appointed and answerable to the STAR facilitator, the Enhancing Nigeria’s Response to HIV/AIDS, ENR, and together, joined with the CDN to influence and advocate a change in decisions that will benefit the community.
A decision was the construction of a half concrete and half wooden bridge to enhance free passage. STAR and CDN  project members joined hands to  raise N100,000 used to construct the bridge.

Dilapidated bridge
The now dilapidated bridge has once again drawn attention to the  dark days of incidences of rape, and provides a poignant picture of the ties between lack of infrastructure and spread of HIV.
Presently, the community  expresses a collective wish for government to provide better facilities as part of measures to control the spread of HIV.

A field visit to Akwa Ibom State  revealed impact of STAR  programme on indices of HIV/AIDS in Uko Itak Eyulor community as well Adakat community in Mbo  and Ikot Ekpene local government areas respectively. In 2010, Uko Itak Eyulor community, nominated by the Akwa Ibom State Action Committee (AKSACA)as  one of the four pilot communities for ENR-STAR intervention

Their selection was premised on their being one of the poorest communities, abandoned by authorities, with no social services or infrastructure.
Just like Yamshyi in Kaduna, the community was cut off from other communities owing to the collapse of the bridge/culvert earlier built by it, leaving the only means of going out and coming into the community by foot or on motor cycle over a narrow plank.

Cases of rape of teenagers to or from school were reported with incidences of STIs and unplanned pregnancies
These led to many students dropping out from school but ENR intervention saw to the completion of the abandoned school project, ultimately resulting in the reversal of some of the negative HIV/AIDS indices.
In Adakat community, a rural settlement in the State, there were high incidences of unplanned teenage pregnancy and the major cause  was the long distance young girls had to trek to school.

Village Head,  Chief Cyprian Ikono, recounted: “Most young girls were exchanging sex for motorcycle  ride to and from school which is about five kilometres outside the community. This led to a situation whereby most young girls in the community dropped out of secondary education.
To solve this problem, the community held series of meetings to develop various strategies aimed at tackling this issue but to no avail.  In 2010, the community   made it mandatory for young people especially young girls in the community to attend STAR meetings and engaging their ENR Inter Personal Communication (IPC) conductor as their resource person during meetings.

They were told that unprotected sexual intercourse does not just expose them to unplanned pregnancy but also to sexually transmitted infections like HIV etc. The phrase “No condom, no sex” became popular and condom use was widely accepted by the community members.
The impact was dramatic, with a sharp down ward spiral of teenage pregnancy as well as incidences of the spread of HIV/AIDS in 2011.