Community facilitors (FCs) from Eastern Uganda have been trained to improve their ability to facilitate social mobilization for HIV and AIDS using the STAR approach.
The training, which was held by International HIV/AIDS Alliance Uganda in Jinja district last month (19 to 28 September 2011), saw different FCs from Iganga, kamuli, Muguye, Jinja, Mbale, Kapochwe, Abim, Bugiri among others learn about the STAR mobilization approach.
The STAR approach – which stands for situation, task, action, result – is a participatory approach that emphasizes that change must start at the family level and go upwards. This approach facilitates and supports mobilization of communities to bring change by targeting families in order to reach communities and government because it is people in families that form communities and societies – and people in communities are the ones who are leaders in the government.
The STAR approach also adopts a power analysis, showing that people have powers within them to influence change, such as capacity, ability, authority, consciousness and attitude, before having ‘power to’, and ‘power over’.
By adoption the STAR approach, Alliance Uganda wants the systems to be changed and strengthened to disband top to bottom approaches of implementing resources and services in all sectors of the government, arguing that people should first understand and participate in decision making and action rather than have the government taking actions and decisions for them.
A case in point is the health systems; how knowledge, thinking, resources and services around healthcare are held at the national level, ignoring the community level, and yet it is the community that is mostly affected. The role of the STAR approach is to enable communities to start questioning these systems, and build their consciousness to participate and raise different issues that have not been incorporated. The STAR approach also focuses on changing the methodology of getting and passing on information, coordinating health system structures and ensuring everyone knows about health policies and rights.
The STAR approach has six principles: that every issue should be people centered, with mutual respect for human rights, for people to participate through social mobilization, to come up with an action and decisions.
With this approach, community and individuals will begin to know that they have power within, to and over – and change will happen.
