Boda boda cyclists with Charles Odeng in Entebbe, Uganda. June 2008
The dangerous driving habits of the for-hire motorcyclists ubiquitous throughout Uganda have earned them wide-spread notoriety. In the media and public discourse, they are also singled out as a high-risk social group in which transactional sex and multiple sexual partners are the norm. Many of these cyclists are youths who offer their services as a means to make ends meet. Due to the mobile nature of their work, they are often hard-to-reach. Preserving the African Family in the Face of HIV/AIDS through Prevention, a project of the Children’s AIDS Fund (CAF) funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), prioritizes HIV prevention activities among such out-of-school youth.
The CAF HIV Prevention project is implemented through trained youth and adult facilitators in five districts of Central Uganda. According to Charles Odeng, a facilitator from Entebbe Town Council: “… Whenever I asked participants to (give) examples of those involved in something for something love (transactional sex) the first answer (is usually) boda boda or motorbike men …”
Realizing that his outreach efforts were consistently missing a key bridge group, Charles was challenged to find a way to break into their social network. Boda boda are the most used means of transportation in his area. Charles made an effort to use every contact with this special class of young men to talk about HIV/AIDS and the closely related STIs, and find out how he could reach others with the same message. Penetration of their network started with a small group of men who invited Charles to talk to them as a group at the car washing bay. Soon, they had mobilized their wives and girlfriends to hear the same message about faithfulness.
Charles built key relationships with his Member of Parliament, the Mayor, Division Chairman, and Local (Area) Councilors (LC1s), giving him credibility with the boda boda operators. He also met and talked with peer leaders and other influential men with the ability to disseminate the key project messages of abstinence before marriage, and monogamy for those who are married. Finally, he wrote letters to the boda boda Chairman and area leaders of Entebbe Council, explaining how participation in the project would benefit the boda boda members.
Charles was granted formal access to dozens of organized networks throughout his area. The area chairman appointed a liaison to reach every stage (waiting area) possible, to whom the responsibility for mobilizing small groups of cyclists was given. The liaison gets in touch with Charles, arranges for an introduction at the various stages, and then small-group outreach, in the form of informal discussion, begins.
Charles believes that his outreach activities are helping to increase risk perception among those who are engaged in risky sexual practices, or have in the past. In June of 2008, the boda boda men requested support with identifying and accessing readily available VCT services in their community. He identified the Uganda Virus Research Institute in Entebbe as an accessible service point, and visited the facilities to ensure the available services were indeed accessible to any referred individual. He is aware of a dozen individuals who have accessed the VCT services they have been referred for, and is optimistic that as he reaches more of the cyclists, a significant number of them will have accessed VCT services.
A counselor at the research institute confirmed to project staff that there has been an increase in the number of people seeking VCT, noting: “… Pupils and students now frequently request VCT services at this centre. Many thanks to CAF, for the ABY program.”
