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our mission statement

Using an innovative rights-based approach, TAI will strive to work in partnership with communities to provide an integrated, participatory programme that:

use a non-directive approach in line with the principles of KAMSEE (Knowledge, Attitudes, Motivation, Skills and Enabling Environment) to encourage behaviours that promote well-being;

build skills and capacities that develop self-reliance and self-efficacy;

deliver essential services as per identified community needs and TAI's capacity;

network and co-operate with relevant structures to provide complimentary services; and

advocate and lobby key decision-makers around priority community issues.

In particular, TAI's programme will focus on strategies that engage young men in issues around positive masculinity and meaningful participation in promoting community well-being.

rights-based

the individuals within a community have a right to decide what the priorities for that community are, the nature of activities taking place and the content of those activities
the community has the right to refuse activities and content that could potentially cause harm to individuals or the community

partnership

the relationship between the community and ourselves should be as equals, where each owns their contribution to the success of the programme
the role of the community in the partnership is to create a vision for their community, commit to that vision and to take steps to make that vision a reality
our role is to provide capacity building, develop knowledge and facilitate activities that support the community in achieving this goal

integrated

we must understand that HIV prevention and AIDS mitigation are vast and complex challenges with many interrelated components
we cannot only address one aspect, such as knowledge, and expect anything to change

participatory

we must ensure that as many individuals as possible are included in dreaming and designing our activities and content
we are here to serve the will of the community, we must listen to what their will is and not assume that we know already
where it is difficult for people to express this will, such as with children and young people, we must make sure that we take the time and effort needed to help them do so

the kamsee model

The core model in our well-being promotion programmes is the KAMSEE model. This model recognises that promoting changes in behaviour is about more than just sharing information and distributing materials. Rather, the entire context of the individual needs to be examined so that they may come up with realistic strategies for identifying behaviours that will promote their well-being, in their specific context. The model can be described as follows, using HIV prevention as the point of reference. It can be adjusted to any key issue.

table 1: explanation of the kamsee model
Component	Description
K	Knowledge	What does the individual know about HIV and AIDS? What do they know about HIV spread and prevention? What information do we need to share to enable them to make informed choices? This could include information relating to puberty and the workings of the human reproductive system. What information does the individual have that could place them at increased risk? Such as myths about sexuality and sexual development
A	Attitudes, values and beliefs	What attitudes, values and beliefs does the individual have that could be strengthened to reduce their vulnerability to HIV infection? What attitudes, values and beliefs does the individual have that create vulnerability for themselves? Such as the belief that “real men” should have multiple concurrent partners. What attitudes, values and beliefs does the individual have that create vulnerability in others? Such as the belief that men should make decisions about sex and are within their rights to refuse condom use. This places women at risk. What activities can we engage the individual in to allow them to examine their values, attitudes and beliefs and to strengthen those that promote well-being and lessen those that create vulnerability?
M	Motivation	What will motivate the individual to change from behaviours that create risk to behaviours that promote well-being? These should be internal sources of motivation. What activities can we engage the individual in to build on internal motivation to make the change in behaviour? This could be through a process of identifying goals for your future; understanding how becoming HIV positive could impact on you achieving those goals; understanding the implication of your actions on others
S	Skills	What skills does the individual need in to effectively implement the changes in behaviour that they have identified? A range of skills need to be built such as effective condom use; negotiating condom use with your partner; understanding and withstanding peer pressure when you begin to deviate from the norm; communication skills to engage community members; how to effectively access services (eg STI treatment)
EE	Enabling Environment	It must be understood that individuals function within a broader system and that this system also creates vulnerability. What can the programme developers do to create an environment that supports behaviours that promote well-being? For example, your intervention focuses on condom use but there are no free condoms within the area. Or you promote STI treatment but when young people access the service from the local clinic, the nurse is derisive and threatens to tell their parents. What can programme developers do to assist the individual to influence their environment in a way that better support behaviours that promote well-being? This could include lobbying and advocacy skills to engage with service delivering structures, or communication skills to engage with parents on issues around sexuality. For example, an individual has decided to reduce the number of partners they have, however he now faces tremendous pressure from his father who now feels that something is wrong with his son because he doesn't have many girlfriends.

In our experience, if programme developers integrate all of these factors in their programme, there is a greatly increased chance of assisting individuals to shift from behaviours that create vulnerability to those that promote well-being.

build skills and capacities

we will work with the community to find out what they feel they need to learn how to do to achieve their vision. To the best of our abilities we will provide this training. If we are unable to, we will form a partnership with another service provider.

deliver essential services

we are able to offer excellent VCT to communities and we can ensure that the HCBC deliver a high quality service
we also have the ability to distribute various materials, such as condoms

network and co-operate

we understand that it is important for us to offer an integrated plan to communities. Unfortunately, we are just one organisation and we cannot provide all of the services needed by everyone
however, we can, create meaningful relationships with other service providers who do provide those services
we can also work with other service providers to share our strengths with them

advocate and lobby

communication is key to change. If we want change we need everyone to understand the change we want and how we think we can achieve it.
we must work with communities to create unified messages to share with our leaders and decision-makers

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