Youth Ambassador chosen to promote HIV awareness in Grenada

Teenager Lannia Browne has been chosen as Grenada Red Cross’ first HIV Youth Ambassador.

Browne won the Youth Ambassadorial Show, held in early February, at the Grenada Boys’ Secondary School auditorium. The event, which had a live viewing audience of close to 150 persons, was sponsored by Grenada’s National AIDS Directorate and the Grenada Red Cross Society (GRCS).

The goal of the show was to find a youth representative to be a front liner for a series of public awareness projects focusing on behaviour modification through information awareness and anti-stigma and discrimination. The show was also used to provide information related to sexually transmitted infections to the wider public.

The six contestants – Brown, Malissa Williams, Terry-Ann Hypolite, Indira Lambert, Keisha Richards and Michelle Thomas – were judged in three categories: Knowledge of HIV and AIDS, Creativity and Presentation skills.

In the Presentation skills category, some of the topics chosen were: Socioeconomic impact of HIV in Grenada; Abstinence –Why wait; Coping with the pressures of sexual intercourse; Social impact of HIV; Young people’s role in the fight against HIV; and Stigma and Discrimination – its role in fueling the epidemic.

Contestants showed off their talents (Creativity category) through song, drama, monologue and music (steel pan).

To test their knowledge, contestants were asked true-or-false questions like: Can a person with HIV be re-infected; A person can be cured by having sexual intercourse with a  virgin; HIV is transmitted only through sexual intercourse; and The use of two or more condoms during sexual intercourse reduces your risk of contracting HIV.

Besides giving their answer, the contestant also had to give a reason or reasons.

The Youth Ambassadorial Show was video-taped and burnt on DVD for distribution to local television stations for airing.