House of Hope intensify HIV/AIDS awareness

House of Hope Society

The House of Hope Society is an incorporated non-profit organization registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The organization was set up to provide care and assistance to those infected and affected by HIV/Aids and preventive education to the community at large.

Duration of the project is January – December 2005.{{more}}

The project is currently being implemented in the capital Kingstown but beneficiaries are island wide. It is a communication project focusing on HIV/Aids education and counseling programmes.

The activities are as follows:

• Education programme design and delivery

• Website hosting and maintenance

• Procurement of equipment

• Establishment of resource centre

• Use of the resource centre

The House of Hope Society collaborates with the member churches of the Christian Council, the UNESCO National Commission, the Kingstown Medical College, the HIV/Aids Unit in the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.

REGIONAL PROJECTS

1. Youth Path

St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a beneficiary under the Regional project entitled Youth Path, Poverty Alleviation through Heritage Tourism administered by the UNESCO Office for the Caribbean in Jamaica.

Youth from the rural village of Fitzhughes have been trained in capacity building programmes designed to facilitate economic benefits from heritage tourism opportunities.

The first phase of the project commenced in 2003 and activities are ongoing.

Youth Path is an initiative designed to train young people from poor communities in selected countries to document and develop natural and cultural sites as tourism centres. It is aimed at youth development and poverty reduction through sustainable community tourism.

Activities include the following:

• Community consultations

• Workshops in leadership

• Workshops in site management and promotion

• Information and communication technologies

• Life skills training

• Site development

The project was coordinated by the North Leeward Tourism Organization in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, the UNESCO National Commission and the UNESCO Office for the Caribbean.

2. Community Multi-Media Project

The indigenous community of Sandy Bay on the northwestern side of St. Vincent is part of a regional project, which is being coordinated the UNESCO Office of the Caribbean in Jamaica.

This multi media project is also ongoing in Belize, Dominica, Guyana and Suriname. It seeks to enable better access to information and communication, education and training and the development of local content, as a means of empowerment for sustainable development.

Project activities include:

• Installation of equipment

• Education and training using ICTs for centre staff and residents

• Development of local content

Participating organizations are the North Windward Development Organization, Ministry of Telecommunications, and the Garifuna Heritage Foundation

The National Commission provides oversight during the implementation of all projects funded by UNESCO and is responsible for the disbursement of funds and general financial management.

SMALL ISLAND VOICE MEETING

The SIV Meeting was hosted by the National Commission in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in July 2005.

• These programmes were funded at a total cost of US$230,000.