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Puppet Power Team - Namibia

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Initiated in 1999, The Puppet Power Team is a project of the Namibia Red Cross that aims to spread HIV/AIDS awareness through puppetry. The project uses puppets to disseminate information on HIV/AIDS in an informal and often humorous way. The themes of the shows revolve around how HIV/AIDS is contracted, how it can be prevented, and how certain behavioral patterns can increase the chances of getting infected.
Communication Strategies

This project is carried out by a 6-member group known as the Puppet Power Team. The team, which is based in Namibia's capital Windhoek, often travels more than 700 km away from their base to put on their show. Having performed in schools, mines, companies, and villages throughout the country, organisers claim that the team has become almost a household name in most parts of Namibia.


The show often triggers discussions about sex and HIV/AIDS. During the act there is an interaction between the audience and the Puppet Power Team. Organisers say that this interaction is then carried on by the audience and their families - in both urban and rural communities - when they go home. The team works to break the barriers of illiteracy and language when delivering their message to the audience; each member of the team can speak up to 4 languages.


The Namibia Red Cross has also trained drama groups to disseminate the HIV/AIDS messages in areas of the country where the puppet shows are not culturally accepted. (In some incidents, some audience members fled the performance venue, believing that the puppetry was an act of witchcraft.) In an effort to intensify the dissemination activities, the Puppet Power Team has trained drama groups in 2 districts.

Development Issues

HIV/AIDS.

Key Points

Editor's note: The work done by the Puppet Power team ceased in 2003 due to an inability to secure funds for continued implementation.

Partners

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Namibia Red Cross.

Sources

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies website; and email from Essack-Kauaria Razia to The Communication Initiative on August 24 2006.