Masks and Marionettes at War against AIDS

Many Americans appalled by the high number of AIDS victims in Africa blame the victims for carelessness and for not caring. This is certainly not the case in Mali where about 2 percent of the population is HIV positive.
MALI's highways are lined with signs warning people against AIDS, and throughout the country youth organizations try to teach people how to protect themselves. Curiously, one powerful medium for diffusing information has not been used. When we suggested the use of masks among the Dogon, the Bobo, and the use of marionette theater among the Bozo, we received an enthusiastic response from the young peoples associations. We also received a strong response from a Bambara school in Kati, near Bamako where the children went to work with crayons and pencils to create powerful AIDS warning images.
video Antoni Ansarov

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• AIDS
• Mali
• SIDA
• Bamako
• Dogon
• West
• Africa
• Education
• Children
• marionette
• theater

[PrismaticRAYS]

Sounds like a great idea. But I gotta wonder if it isn't too little too late. Anyway, prevention is the key, and if the best way to reach the ppl is with puppets then God bless the puppets and those use them, I say.