Getting Help from Affirm

Strengthen your work with HIV and AIDS or other critical issues

Who might want help from AFFIRM?

Any person or organisation aiming to strengthen their work with HIV and AIDS or other critical issues:

AFFIRM has long experience of working with communities. Potential clients are those with programmatic aims such as;

the provision of services
strengthening health care infrastructure
bringing different groups together
encouraging change in society
the promotion of sustainable development

AFFIRM facilitators are especially experienced in working with responses to HIV and AIDS and potential clients are welcomed from the following areas;

International, national and local NGOs
Faith organisations and interfaith initiatives
Other religious groups

Why would an organisation want AFFIRM to work with them?

AFFIRM facilitators have significant experience of facilitating a human capacity for response approach (HCR) in relation to HIV and other issues critical to communities. Many organisations understand the importance of community leadership and want to work actively with the communities they serve, but this can be daunting. Communities may seem hard to reach, or it may seem impossible to get beyond barriers such as stigma or fear which seem to block the way to working together. Developing human capacity for response creates an environment in which the community and the organisation can learn together to make change happen and to sustain and build on existing community strengths. Experience of this process has shown that it is more sustainable and effective than straightforward community consultation, or community participation in a pre-determined strategy and programme.

What does AFFIRM do?

A team of AFFIRM facilitators works closely with the organisation/person to plan an appropriate HCR approach. The AFFIRM team facilitates a process over time to enable the organisation and the community to work together to sustain action and change. The exact process depends on the specific situation but includes:

The planning and facilitation of an initial ‘human capacity for response' workshop.
The stimulation and mentoring of interconnected facilitation teams, locally and in a wider sphere, which will be the core of a continued response.
Local community visits through which the local teams will be accompanied and mentored and learn how to work together with communities to achieve their mutual aims.
Learning how to engage communities in conversations through which community strengths and potential joint action are identified.
Developing an understanding of tools and processes through the analysis and documentation of the local experiences and process.
Facilitating participatory processes including outcome evaluation and self-assessment .
Expanding experience within the local teams by including them in other AFFIRM facilitation teams, with the object of learning from the experience of other communities, and gaining confidence in facilitation and HCR methodology.
Facilitating the formation of HCR partnerships and donor linkages in the context of HCR, for those involved who want to expand their understanding, their influence and their financial resources.

How long would it take?

AFFIRM would normally expect to be involved over some time: building a community partnership and facilitation teams involves more than a one-off meeting. A period of around two years would be planned, which would include a workshop and several visits during which the AFFIRM team would accompany local team members as they develop their own responses and actions. After this initial period, AFFIRM facilitators would be available for follow-up support visits. A sustained and supported process means that learning is accumulated and absorbed by both individuals and organisations.

What effect would this have?

When an organisation rediscovers the strength and potential capacity of the communities it serves or works with, this realisation can transform the way in which the organisation works. By engaging actively in a shared learning experience, the organisation triggers a sustained process of learning and renewal. People who come to this kind of work often find a renewed enthusiasm; and they discover the advantages of working within teams and being accountable to close team mates. The positive approach of facilitators reinforces a sense of joint achievement with participants from organisations and communities.

AFFIRM facilitators working with HIV have identified some specific effects:

Stigma becomes a manageable issue and no longer dominates activities.
The process leads to a hugely increased demand for testing for HIV, so that the potential for the uptake of measures for the prevention of mother to child transmission and for antiretroviral therapy (ART) is greatly increase.
Hopelessness and apathy in a community are addressed (this has been demonstrated both in communities affected by HIV and also in those affected by the Asian tsunami of December 2004).
The process of care and change engages with the spiritual life of the community.
When the community manages drug distribution in partnership with local clinics, ART has been found to reach more people.
Duplication and unproductive competition are reduced when different actors are brought together, resulting in a change for the better in working practices and therefore effectiveness and efficiency.

Some of these effects are clearly applicable to other critical issues in communities, such as endemic drug and alcohol abuse, natural disasters and conflict.

For information about what this will entail and cost please go to the AFFIRM website