Malawi

JASS’ Malawi Movement Building Initiative – Amayi Tadzuka! Women Awake! –launched in February 2009 with three workshops in Lilongwe, Mzuzu, and Blantyre. Then, at the end of 2009, a national workshop consolidated the transformative process with district-level leaders from February, together with their national-level coordinators.

Women living with HIV who are leaders in the AIDS movement in their communities in Malawi came together for the start of a four-day workshop organized by JASS. They started by creating startling and beautiful body maps. They did it without any artists to help. In groups of five, the women started by outlining their bodies on large sheets of paper. Each woman was drawn by the other women in the group. People stayed in their small groups to do this, sharing magic markers and other art materials. Through a series of imaginative exercises they added parts to the outline of their bodies.

The JASS team held movement building workshops in three regions of Malawi. Each workshop convened 20 grassroots activists living with and working on HIV/AIDS to share experiences, support each other, discuss and dramatize power dynamics and strengthen their organizing strategies. "...Almost every woman who attends the workshops talks about the disruption of her life by HIV and AIDS but they also share stories of rebellion (crossing the line) and coming to terms with defying the cultural norms..." reflects Hope Chigudu (JASS team).