Drew's African Odyssey - Mwange Refugee Camp, Zambia

In the camp today inviting participants to the PE teacher training that will start later this week. Early in the morning I went to check up on the Anti-Aids club that is giving a workshop to Zambian youth from a local primary school. Whenever I attend these workshops it’s amazing how enthusiastic and motivated these people are. I like to think that it is because of RTP that this is the case. When I came into the room, the workshop was in the middle of performing skits about HIV/AIDS. The skits involved how youth deal with sexual approaches and the right things to say to avoid sex. After the skits, the group broke into a song and dance about youth empowerment. They even tried to teach me the lyrics, which was a difficult task. At the end of the session, I said that I would answer a few questions from the group. I didn’t realize what I was getting myself into. The first question was about masturbation and if it was a sin. They asked if it was normal to ejaculate during your sleep and if masturbation was a substitute for sex. I had to be very careful in answering the questions as masturbation is a very touchy issue in that most groups don’t accept it. I answered that it is quite normal to have “wet dreams” and that it is one’s personal choice whether they want to masturbate or not. People shouldn’t discriminate against you if you do… Afterwards, I hoped that I had answered the question in a way that the youth could relate to…