Testimony of Erica Valeria Baieli, volunteer in Sucre, Bolivia
Erica Valeria Baieli is an HIV/AIDS prevention and gender equality counsellor
Interview by Justine Lesage
“I arrived in Sucre during the carnival, in which members of the CONBOJUV association were taking part. They had organised a large float based on the theme of HIV/AIDS.”
Erica Valeria Baieli arrived in Sucre, Bolivia, at the beginning of February 2007, coming to work as a volunteer for a project aimed at raising awareness of HIV/AIDS. She already had a bachelor’s degree in microbiology, scientific know-how with regard to HIV/AIDS and experience setting up awareness-raising workshops in community kitchens in Montreal.
This is her first time working as an international volunteer, but the culture shock hasn’t been too severe: Erica left Argentina to come to Quebec when she was 12 years old. Language has therefore not been a problem for her.
Once in Sucre, she found her partners to be energetic, committed and quite young. Much had already been done in terms of raising awareness of HIV/AIDS, thanks to the team’s hard work and dedication.
Her first priority was to set up training programs for young people. There was a wide range of issues to be confronted, such as violence, alcohol dependency and low self-esteem, all of which can lead people to adopt at-risk behaviour.
However, Erica quickly realised that it was very difficult to get young people involved and make them understand that it is they themselves who have the power to change things, despite their lack of leadership, especially amongst the girls. Therefore, before she could start any discussions regarding HIV/AIDS, she had to help them build up their self-esteem and sense of self-worth.
Erica works with youth between the ages of 14 and 25. She has led workshops with various groups, including soldiers and students. Since military service is mandatory in Bolivia, it is easy for her to reach a large audience. As well, all these young people live away from home on a temporary basis and then return later on, so large distances are involved.
The workshops that Erica conducts cover eight themes: leadership, communication, sexuality, adolescent pregnancy prevention, intrafamily and intracouple communication, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and violence prevention. The young people who take part in these workshops are then able to play a leadership role in their communities and raise awareness in turn amongst other youth.
Erica is currently working with young people who have already received training so that she can consolidate what they have learned, spur them on to action and help them put their skills to use. Although she has occasionally found it difficult to talk to them about sexuality – a taboo subject in the country – she says that they are more open and receptive to the topic after the training sessions.
“But you can’t give up on them! I have another year and a half of work with young people here and I want to make sure the progress we’ve made lasts.”
What’s next for Erica? Time will tell. She may continue to work in international development, but if not, her experience in Bolivia has also sharpened her desire to work on the same issues here in Quebec. “There is also a lot to do back home, setting up HIV/AIDS prevention programs in schools and working with Latin American communities and other new arrivals.”
