THE PACT
  • Home
  • Who we are
  • What we do
  • #UPROOT
  • ACT2030
  • Blog
  • Resources
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Who we are
  • What we do
  • #UPROOT
  • ACT2030
  • Blog
  • Resources
  • Contact

​Latest news


World AIDS Day commemorated by Human Touch, with focus on children and adolescents

12/16/2017

 
On World AIDS Day 2017, Human Touch Foundation brought together adolescents living with HIV, representatives of NGOs, government officials at ASRO, Tivim on 1 December.
The event saw the launch of “Bloom and Blossom” club of adolescents living with HIV by Honourable Minister for Health and Women and Child Development, Government of Goa, Shri Vishwajeet Rane, a presentation by adolescents on the outcome of the consultation organized by Human Touch and Youth LEAD, experience sharing by the adolescents on TeenGen Leadership Course held at Bangkok and a cultural programme. 
“Children and adolescents living with HIV have been left behind. They need to be in the focus of the government as well as other organizations, if we are to end AIDS by 2030,” explained Human Touch Treasurer, Dashmi Mandrekar.
Fr. Maverick Fernandes, Director of Caritas Goa, spoke on the work by faith-based organizations in response to the needs of children and adolescents. ”I acknowledge all the people who have been supporting us, including the government, in this initiative. We are determined to coordinate a response with others, including the government and give care, love and protection to those in need,” Fr. Maverick reflected.
A unique club of adolescents living with HIV, Bloom and Blossom was launched during the programme.
“The concept of adolescent club is to provide a safe space for these adolescents to receive treatment and ensure that health is optimized, and spend some time tending to their emotional needs at this critical time in their lives, where establishing peer relationships is particularly important”, explained Peter F. Borges, CEO of Human Touch.
“We face great difficulties in having our voices heard. We need that seat at the table. We want to speak about our issues. We want those working for us to engage us to drive the response”, expressed Shanku, President of the newly launched club, detailing out the issues faced by them in accessing care and support and coping with HIV and presenting the same to the Health Minister.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Vishwajeet Rane, said “You are special children and I will do whatever I can to help you cope with better quality of life and will consider facilities needed in the health system.
“I will ensure that AIDS Control Society is once again reorganized so that we can reach out to the people living with HIV. The whole focus will be on providing better quality of life for children living by HIV. I will work towards creating a better environment for them within the framework and funds that are available. I will be putting a monitoring committee in place with different NGOs and like-minded people so that I can deliver and do something to help the people living with HIV.”, Rane concluded.

Coincidir para incidir entre jóvenes

12/12/2017

 
Picture
La fecha llegó y desde diferentes partes del país emprendimos nuestro camino al centro, donde suceden muchas cosas. Comenzamos a llegar, muchas no nos conocíamos, otras no teníamos muy claro el objetivo de lo que nos reunía, pero todas con la mejor actitud de compartir, reencontrarnos y construir entre pares.

Empezaron las actividades temprano, dialogando sobre la situación actual de temas como los ODS, la salud
sexual y reproductiva, diversidad sexual, VIH, servicios de salud amigables para jóvenes, participación juvenil
en la toma de decisiones, entre otros temas de interés para nosotras.

Poco a poco las conversaciones se tornaban más avanzadas y técnicas, todas comenzábamos a desinhibirnos y el
diálogo fluía, comenzaba a emerger no sólo la experiencia teórica sino también las experiencias de campo,
nuestros contextos personales y las experiencias vividas desde nuestras trincheras. Todo fluía de manera
armoniosa y la cantidad de conocimiento e información aumentaba entre los minutos y las horas que corrían.

Terminamos la primera jornada y llegó el tiempo de convivir de forma más amena, dejando a un lado el peso del
conocimiento, las luchas y demás.

Amanece, el sol llega y la segunda sesión de trabajo comienza. El momento del diagnóstico general se había
terminado y era hora de articular nuevos procesos a partir de las zonas de las cuales veníamos a esta reunión.
Todos los equipos trabajamos, poniendo en práctica el conocimiento adquirido y la experiencia de cada una de
quienes participamos.

Buscamos diseñar protocolos de investigación, para obtener información cualitativa y cuantitativa sobre los temas
que nos competen en la población a la que pertenecemos y por la cual trabajamos, las juventudes.

Llegó la noche y era hora de que la segunda sesión terminará. Después de una rica cena volvimos a reencontrarnos
para seguir conversando y conociéndonos en lo personal. Muchas historias, relatos, experiencias y sobre todo
coincidencias entre lo que hemos vivido. Sin importar que nos separaran kilómetros de distancia y varias horas
de viaje, éramos diferentes pero nos sentíamos iguales.
​
Amaneció y llegó la hora de la última jornada. Era momento de
presentar los avances de nuestros protocolos de investigación, mostrar
lo que trabajaremos posteriormente y retroalimentarnos unas a otras. El
tiempo se iba agotando, teníamos que partir pronto para regresar a casa,
aun cuando llevábamos un par de días sintiéndonos en familia. Llegó la
hora de hacer acuerdos sobre los proyectos, los siguientes pasos en el
proceso de ACT! 2030 México y demás. Terminamos la jornada con
una comida, para después entre abrazos de despedida, sonrisas y un
poco de melancolía, dejar la promesa de volvernos a encontrar pronto.
​
El taller de datos para la incidencia, por parte del equipo de ACT! 2030
México fue una experiencia genial. Una oportunidad de aprender y
recapitular conversaciones sobre diversos temas que trabajamos pero
sobre todo, fue una ocasión especial para reencontrarnos unas con otras,
para fortalecer nuestras ganas de seguir trabajando por nosotras, las
juventudes, siempre recordando “no dejar a nadie atrás”.

Author

​By Rubén Ávila. Nuevo León, México

Taller: Datos para la Incidencia

12/12/2017

 
Picture

Del 6 al 8 de octubre se llevó a cabo el taller “Datos para la Incidencia”, organizado por ACT! 2030 México, aquí
participamos personas que colaboramos en organizaciones de la sociedad civil relacionados a temas de
prevención de VIH y Sida, otras infecciones de transmisión sexual, derechos sexuales y reproductivos. El objetivo
fue tener información reciente y relevante en torno al VIH y trabajar desde esa mirada con problemáticas
regionales que aquejan nuestras comunidades, en este sentido generamos, entre otras cosas, un ejercicio de
protocolo de investigación.
Sobre el espacio Casa Xitla, me queda el buen sabor de boca al conocer este lugar tan tranquilo para trabajar, las
personas que administran dicho lugar son muy cordiales y sensibles a la problemática del medio ambiente, tal es
esta visión que en las instalaciones de Casa Xitla tiene un sistema eco sustentable donde reciclan el agua de uso
diario. Al ser antes un convento, tiene instalaciones muy grandes y cómodas para convivir, salir a tomar aire
fresco y realizar algunas dinámicas como parte del taller.
Referente a los expositores, son personas muy preparadas, todos/as abonaron al qué hacer del proceso de
investigación científico, sobre métodos y técnicas de recolección de datos para la generación de investigaciones
confiables y de relevancia social. Me gustó su intervención en general porque supieron aterrizar los temas de una
manera muy amena y simplificada, promoviendo en todo momento la participación del grupo, el intercambio de
información y la socialización de las experiencias que nos acompañaron a cada asistente desde su estado y ciudad
de origen.
Los y las compañeras asistentes, personas con grandes cualidades y aportaciones, enriquecieron con su
participación cada momento del taller, se percibía una energía muy positiva y propositiva, tomando con buena
actitud la información, que, si bien fue mucha y muy importante, fue asertiva y despejó muchas dudas y prejuicios
que uno en lo personal arrastra referente al VIH.
Al tener espacios para convivir como las comidas, las pláticas al final de las jornadas de trabajo, pudimos
intercambiar las redes sociales de nuestros compañeros/as y conocer más de cerca sus actividades y qué es lo que
hacen las asociaciones donde ellas y ellos colaboran.
En lo personal, me siento satisfecho por participar en este tipo de talleres, donde en todo momento recibimos un
nuevo conocimiento que nos permite crecer como personas y como profesionales en esta materia; al tener
información de gente experta y que ha realizado investigación en torno a los temas, me permitió transmitir dicha
información a los espacios donde colaboro en mi localidad.
Como pendientes, el equipo de estados del norte nos comprometimos a realizar un protocolo de investigación
para contribuir a la construcción de datos científicos sobre la respuesta al VIH en nuestra región y seguir al
pendiente de la agenda de ACT! 2030 México.
Muchas gracias por el esfuerzo en este proyecto y seguir confiando en la juventud.

Author

By Francisco Díaz. Chihuahua, Mexico.

The Nightmare of Seeking Justice For Sexual Violence Survivors in Kenya.

12/12/2017

 
PictureA message on sexual assault awareness prevention appears on the back of a T-shirt worn by a participant in the 5K Run/Walk during Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month at Kandahar Airfield in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Ashley Bell.
​Justice for survivors of sexual violence remains to be an illusion that they seem to chase despite the enactment of the sexual offenses act which was enacted in response to curb the escalating sexual violence. According to the Kenya Domestic Household Survey (KDHS) 2014, 14 percent of women aged 15-49 reported having experienced sexual violence.

According to the Access to Justice Report, conducted by UN Women in 2015, 72.6 percent of survivors were unwilling to pursue justice; while only five percent of the survivors seen in facilities in 2014 were willing to go to court owing to insensitivity of law enforcers. The enactment of the Sexual Offences Act has not been matched with adequate training and dissemination of the Act to law-enforcement officers and relevant justice system agents.

Most of the police stations don’t have the p3 forms which is a crucial document required to be filled by the police at the station and a medical provider hence victims are made to go print or photocopy the form so it can be filled. The National guidelines on management of sexual violence state that p3 forms for victims of sexual violence including rape should be free but the trends in most counties in their Finance Acts is that they are imposing a fee on the p3 form. Most victims of sexual violence come from poor families hence this deters survivors from reporting and creates a barrier of access to justice.

There are few medical providers who are allowed to fill the p3 forms and this extends the time within which one can access medical attention and have p3 form filled which is a document required to institute a case. With the nature of injuries during rape which tend to heal fast and with the doctors being overwhelmed as they deal with hundreds of cases daily, there is a chance that when they get to examine a victim most of the wounds will have healed hence evidence destroyed and making conviction of the perpetrator very hard.

Despite there being such progressive laws in Kenya like the Sexual Offenses Act which was enacted in response to curb the escalating sexual violence, without proper implementation of the laws and policies by the stakeholders and lack of commitment by the parties the realization of justice is just a theory.

Author

Kevin Gitau Mwangi is an advocate of the high court currently practicing in Kenya and currently working with a Non-Governmental organization called Kenya Ethical and Legal Issues Network (KELIN) under the sexual reproductive health and rights  to ensure that human rights on reproductive health are integrated into policies, laws, and regulations

Sumando hacemos cambios, ACT! 2030

12/11/2017

 
Picture

Participar en el Taller “Datos para la Incidencia” de ACT!2030 ha sido una experiencia inigualable. Tuve la
oportunidad de conocer a muchas personas de toda la República Mexicana, a quienes nos unían distintas causas
en común, en especial la de generar cambios y avances en materia de salud sexual y reproductiva. ¡Eso sí que me
motivó a participar activamente durante todo el taller!

Fue mi primera experiencia de este tipo, aprendí cosas sumamente enriquecedoras, como que las personas jóvenes
lo somos no por razón de nuestra edad, sino por –entre muchas otras- nuestra capacidad para contribuir de forma
positiva en la toma de decisiones respecto a situaciones que nos interesan, en este caso en temas de salud y
derechos sexuales y reproductivos.
​
También pude fortalecer mis conocimientos sobre investigación y entendí la relevancia de emplear mecanismos
de contraloría social; todo esto se traduce en herramientas que beneficiarán directamente a la organización de la
sociedad civil a la que pertenezco, Progrésale A. C.
Sin duda alguna, me gustaría asistir a nuevos eventos organizados por ACT! 2030 México y así continuar
sumando esfuerzos para dar seguimiento a los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible. ¡Entre más personas se
integren, los resultados tendrán un mayor impacto!

Author

By Andrea Avilez. Mexico City, Mexico

The Diary Of A Daughter In Law

12/11/2017

 
Picture
Just as I was about to fall asleep a little after midnight there was a knock on the window of the car we were sleeping in, my friends and I were requested to go prepare late night tea for the mourners gathered and singing at the night vigil. Need we be reminded that we had been instructed to be up by 4am to sweep the yard and to start boiling water for the mourners to bath before starting on the preparation for breakfast and lunch.

Earlier when we had arrived the relatives were pleasantly happy that the daughter in law and her ‘helpers’ had arrived from the city to take over the hard labor. It was indeed hard labor and the fact that the reception we received had not been pleasant did made the work and experience much harder. I felt like crying more often than I had to say hello to anyone that arrived, not crying to mourn my father-in-law but because of the emotional abuse I was going through just because I was a daughter-in-law.
 
Day one was done a little after 1am and we surely were up by 4am to start on the chores. As some of my husband’s friends started assisting us with fetching water from the well so as to save our backs, they were soon stopped as it was not permitted to help the daughter-in-law to perform her duties. The same friends came over to assist in cutting the beast that had been slaughtered for consumption at the funeral lunch, but once again they were stopped because the cooking and the kitchen was not a place for men, that was the women’s duty.

​At this moment I was numb, actually I thought I was but I was not ready for what was still to come. As tradition says, the daughter-in-law has to carry a bucket of water on her head and crawl to the grave with it. I thought it ended there, no one prepared me for anything more. As I finished pouring out the water and as I was about to get up I felt two whips strike across my back, they called it tradition.    

Author

Tinashe Madamombe is a freelance writer who is passionate about women's empowerment and development. She enjoys writing opinion feminist pieces that challenge the status core

A glance at the workshop "Data for advocacy"

12/8/2017

 

Author


By Andrea Avilez.
​Mexico City, Mexico

Picture

Get to ACT! 2030 was a coincidence but it was an important one. From October 6 to 8 2017, a group of young
people interested in issues related to sexual and reproductive rights, HIV, sexuality, research and advocacy were gather by ACT! 2030 Mexico to attend the workshop "Data for advocacy".

Now it is the memory of an experience that was full of new information and new learning, which continues to transcend my day to day, as the acquired knowledge has been very useful for my research and advocacy work.

The central idea that I take away from that hard work weekend is the relevance of having data that allow us to have evidence for political advocacy. In that sense, for me the presentations that were given on international instruments that have taken into account the issues of interest were very important because they are a fundamental tool for advocacy.

Specifically, for my work within Fundación Arcoíris por el respeto a la diversidad sexual, knowing the Montevideo Consensus, a document considered the most progressive by the discussions that the feminist movement placed on its agenda, is relevant to the advocacy work related to gender and sexuality. In this regard, I emphasize the specific importance of the priority measure 36 of the operational guide which states: “Design policies and programs to eradicate discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the exercise of sexual rights and the manifestations thereof”.

On the other hand, given that I am in the research area of Fundación Arcoíris, knowing how to develop a research
protocol that aims to obtain data for advocacy is relevant and this was my favorite part of the workshop. Doing
research is something that I'm passionate about, however, we often don’t know what to do with the results we
get. Now, after the workshop, I consider that one of the aims of research is political advocacy and management
since in this way research contributes to social transformation.

By teams we were working, throughout the workshop, a research protocol. I believe that this activity was very
practical and allowed me to meet and collaborate with other organizations. Besides, it was very fun, it was
enriching since, at the same time that the theory was heard, we were applying it in our proposal in such a way
that we were able to write a problem definition, an objective, the rationale and we began to carry out a
questionnaire and the guide for a semi-structured interview.

Finally, I would like to mention that the mainstreaming of the youth perspective was interesting and I find it very
important since we tend to be a population that is little listened to and taken into account in decision-making
processes. Working with young people and for young people is very valuable because now we have to talk and
be heard.
Thanks ACT! 2030 for this experience!

Youth In Action

12/7/2017

 

Author


By Luis Enrique Pérez Méndez. Puebla, Mexico
​

Picture
The 6th to 8th of October 2017 were days of recognition, alliance and preparation.
In Mexico City around 60 young people (between 20-30 years old) concerned about the defence of sexual and reproductive health and rights of LGBTI + population, women, men and adolescents, were gathered. 60 young people who were mobilized from their different states, there was representation from the north (Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Baja
California, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Tijuana); from the centre (Puebla, Tlaxcala, Morelos, Mexico City, State
of Mexico, Hidalgo, among others); from the southeast (Mérida, Campeche and Quintana Roo); from the west
(Guadalajara, Guanajuato and Querétaro); and from the south (Guerrero and Oaxaca).

The three days were of a lot of work, a very ambitious agenda that was achieved. The team of ACT! 2030 Mexico
presented to these representatives of civil society, some students, tools to influence the public policy of the
country; among these we can highlight social accountability, the Making it count curriculum, and especially the
research and development of data as a base to the claims made to the government.

The previous ones were very important approaches, mainly because they bring civil society organizations closer to alternatives to negotiate vis-à-vis with local governments, which is quite interesting due to the process of change that the Mexican public administration has undergone.
​
Personally, as a teacher and close to the beginning of ACT! 2030 Mexico, it was exciting and satisfying to meet
so many young people who work hard to contribute to this society, which demystifies the idea that "young people
are apathetic or disinterested of their environment".

The experience in this workshop has taught me that there are still things to improve, both, in the way that we mobilize and in the tools to make ourselves heard; the technique
used during the workshop of combining academics and activism shows promising results, in addition to making
visible issues that for social reasons we usually do not touch. The point, perhaps, is not to see the government
totally as an enemy but as an actor with whom one must sit down to talk. Finally, it is worth highlighting
recognition for the achievements made by the ACT! 2030 Mexico team in its work to participate and influence
intergovernmental negotiations.
I hope very much that this example of preparation, guidance and accompaniment among peers will be replicated
in other alliances, networks of civil society organizations and activists, I repeat, it seems to me that this is a worth
proposal in order to achieve common objectives, since civil society organizations are close to people and its
perspectives are worth to take up.



ACT! 2030: Assembling for human rights

12/5/2017

 

Author

By Juan Pablo Romo

Picture
​The first step to pursue social change is to build coalitions of people that seek the same goal as you do, for me that was the opportunity to acknowledge human rights activists from the whole country during the ACT! 2030 Mexico workshop.

From Friday to Sunday, the common goal was one: to learn about data based advocacy in the sexual and reproductive rights agenda. I could barely call myself an “activist”, my loose experience within the area is about legal analysis of court cases, law and public policy from Guatemala, Colombia and Mexico during my span as research intern in the Latin America Programme of Planned Parenthood Global.

The diversity of profiles working together during the workshop can be described with a single word: fantastic. From feminists, HIV awareness activists, lawyers, medical doctors, psychologists, sociologists, public policy experts from a wide range of ages and places of origin fills me with hope. As the communication persists and we can find common ground involving ourselves in the Sustainable Development Goals, I’m sure that Mexico can be a champion in the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Agenda.

Even though the workshop’s length was about less than 25 hours, the gap of information was vast and great. As an instance of some of the information we received: implementation of the SDGs in the local agendas; the situation of sexual and reproductive health in Mexico; data based advocacy; qualitative and quantitative data; research strategies; social accountability; research ethics; UNAIDS activity in Mexico; data analysis, to name just a few even though I have listed many of them.

As I stated at the beginning, ACT! 2030 is the perfect opportunity to merge talent in order to achieve a better chapter for humankind. This new chapter shall be one where the Sustainable Development Goals become the basis for the future. 

SDGs: Research from youth perspectives

12/4/2017

 

Author

By Andrés Gaeta.

 Tijuana, Mexico
During the first week of October, young people from all latitudes of Mexico met to discuss the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals and the follow-up to their implementation using research as the main tool.

The development of research from a youth perspective is a paradigm shift that questions knowledge and places youth at the centre, with the possibility of measuring and sharing the problems we experience on a daily basis; research available to young people. To research a rigorous methodology is needed; however, there are many ways to carry out studies from the community, far from just studying the community.

From this idea, we had the opportunity to rethink how access to information and technologies can help us to overcome economic and geographical barriers. We built a space from where we carried out pragmatic research approaches, with direct objectives towards the modification or implementation of public policies, from the measurement of the application of protocols or health programs. One of the key elements for the integration of Mexican youth perspectives is the involvement of social activists from different regions of the country.

ACT! 2030 Mexico achieved the above when including young people who live in the northern region of the country, who live dynamically attached to the neighbouring country, with a construction of citizenship far from centralist logics. As well as involving young people from the southern region, where the challenges of multidimensional poverty and the recognition of indigenous peoples are greater.

​However, despite the contextual differences we all share violence based on gender, discrimination based on sexual orientation, as well as ethnicity and the deficiencies on the health systems to reduce the vulnerabilities of youth in each region of the country. Towards the closure of the activities the sense of network was strengthened, where not only an affirmation of the triumphs of social activism from a latitude different from ours was achieved, but also a kind of support to the knowledge that the difficulties are shared, with a genuine recognition of the experiences and knowledge of the young people.
<<Previous

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    November 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    March 2017
    June 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016


    The PACT 2017. All rights reserved.

Keep in touch!

Picture
Copyright The PACT, 2018. All rights reserved. The views expressed on this website are those of The PACT and do not reflect the opinion of any individual member organisation.