Visiting Arasa director calls for further collaborations |11 March 2023
Arasa director, Dr Ntombi Muchuchuti (Photo: Joena Meme)
Representatives of the Aids and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa were on a working visit to Seychelles this week, where they held talks with local non-governmental organisations, and representatives of the media at the Maison Football.
The team, led by its director, Dr Ntombi Muchuchuti, accompanied by finance managerSelma Kamati discussed ways to evaluate the Bodily Autonomy and Integrity (BAI) programme in Seychelles and see how the Aids and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (Arasa) could bring everybody under the same roof, tospeak the same language.
The aim of Arasa is to help countries achieve a significant shift in norms, attitudes, policy, and legislation to meaningfully contribute to the long-term outcome and goal of the ‘My Body is Not a Democracy’programme. Through the capacity-building and advocacy, Arasa is calling for collective work and coalitions to be strengthened, to allow for the issues relating to BAI to be fully understood and for actions to be taken that translate these actions to change at both regional and national levels.
Dr Muchuchuti said initially when the partnership started, it was mainly focused on HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) prevention and small funding for civil society organisations to help them establish themselves and get capacitated on issues that affect the society.
“As time went by, and as more information came, there was a need to collaborate more. There was a need to continuously enhance and provide a platform to exchange information and exchanging between both organisations, groups and individuals. With time, Arasa started working with UPBrigade association and through the Bodily Autonomy Integrity (BAI) consultant and the partnership of four organisations, we were able to implement the BAI project,” said DrMuchuchuti.
She noted that there are five groups of people who have been trained by Arasa and they were all working in silos. The meeting held was to strengthen the group and speak in one voice and going forward on how they could strengthen their collaboration.
How does she evaluate the BAI project in Seychelles? “We are actually under financing, because when we came here I said sometimes when you are thinking about a project you do not comprehend what the required resources are but beinghere, sit with the whole community, I got to understand what the priorities are and the contextual issues. For instance the issue of the economic variants and what you might think is a good budget when we plan and when it translates into action,” she said.
The director shared that Arasa was quite honoured to be in Seychelles and see things with their own eyes and understand what has been done with the minimum resource that has been provided.
BAI is just a simple term describing a person’s freedom and right to govern and decide over his/her/their own body.
For her part, Arasa’s project lead, Sabrina Mousbé explained that over the years, Arasa has been one of the regional communities that has created opportunities for various countries in southern and eastern Africa including Seychelles, through the regional advocacy intervention on the issues related to BAI right.
“It started with ‘Every Body counts’, and lately ‘My Body is not A democracy’ under the BAI 1 project (2019– 2022) of which our country benefited from two grants with the UPBrigade being the project host. The 2021 grant was awarded for the creation of the CSATT (Civil Society Activist Think Thank) and the 2022 for the creation of a SC Coalition (civil society coalition),” explained MsMousbé.
She stressed on the need to build the capacity of the activists and tobuild on the pool of advocators. She said having such structures in place providea platform where people can talk and advocate more about the right of BAI, on how to safeguard such rights, and support the residents’ independence.
“It is acknowledged that the 2021-2022 support received from Arasa is actually not the first support received from this entity, in relation to the regional advocacy campaign. Over the past year the country through Haso (HIV/Aids Support Organisation) has already benefited. Maybe the support provided by Arasa to our country is evidence of their commitment to advancing the BAI concept in our country and I believe you will agree with me that this is a good step in the right direction. Additionally, it has helped at forging synergy between all of us in pursuit of a common goal,” shared Ms Mousbé.
Those taking part in the meeting were able to speak up freely about the current issues they were facing and how best to serve the community.
Chantal Melanie who is in charge of the National Health Centre for the youth,was among the persons trained on the subject.
“My job is to help a young person make the appropriate decision regarding his/her body. We have heard enough and done many workshops and in this forum we have all agreed that it is high time for action!” concluded Ms Melanie.
Vidya Gappy
