UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS

March 1, 2008

The Bashment Bus

Imagine a brightly coloured bus decked with the vibrancy of yellow, red, blue and green approaching you on a city street. Add to this, music and the voices of young people who chat, laugh and dance as the vehicle makes its way to your favourite “hang out” corner. Would you stop and look? Would you listen to what these young people are saying? Wouldn’t you at least be curious?

Welcome the Bashment Bus!

In Jamaica, the word “Bashment” means party. This bus, which is also called “Bashy Bus” for short, offers a party with a difference. It is a mobile HIV prevention service which is geared towards adolescents in inner cities and rural communities in selected parishes. It uses peer-to-peer education to impart knowledge and skills among vulnerable adolescents, most of whom have dropped out of the formal school system or are so affected by the poverty in their communities that they are unable to afford transportation and other costs needed to regularly attend school. On this bus is a clinic, complete with a bed and enclosed counseling area, where adolescents and young people can access voluntary confidential counseling and testing for HIV.

I accompanied the Bashy Bus Kru (peer educators) into one such community in St. Catherine, an urban community that has been adversely affected by poverty and violence. The great advantage of the Kru is that a number of them are from communities just like this one and have been able to rise above the challenges faced by young people like themselves. So, when they have one-on-one conversations, they can identify with their struggles and show through their own examples that they can overcome these challenges, live healthy lives and work towards their full development.

The conversations are not difficult to start. Young people, as we all know, find it very easy to open up to others like them and share their experiences. The well-trained Bashy Bus Kru are experts at fielding questions, raising issues and challenging how their peers process information in order to help build better decision-making skills. They are also very good at weaving risk-reduction skills into these conversations and know when and where to refer adolescents for further assistance.

The added plus of the Bashy Bus is that it also resounds with parents. Many parents in this particular community who appeared to be struggling with addressing issues regarding sexuality and HIV prevention discussions with their children welcome the Bashy Bus intervention. They even encourage their adolescents to talk to the Kru and participate in the activities.

This year, one of the main thrusts of the Bashy Bus partnership with UNICEF will be to strengthen the Bashy Bus West Kru that has been established to serve adolescents in the parish with the highest HIV prevalence – St. James. With your continued support, we aim to equip children in the parishes with the knowledge and life-skills they need to make informed and safe choices and reduce their vulnerability to HIV-infection.