This SARAR tool was designed in l997 for use at the UNDP/NGO HIV Consultation in New Delhi. Within a year it had also been adapted with interesting results in South Africa. (see pg. 26) The simplicity of the tool itself and its evocative design is what makes it adaptable to different situations. Here the tool is described in its basic format and the South African experience is appended to illustrate the kind of response it can evoke. A caution: this is not a story-telling exercise. Its value does not lie in how "good" or believable are the family situations created by the participants with the help of the silhouettes, rather it should be valued on the basis of how real are the issues it raises and how penetrating the discussion it evokes.

Purpose:

To create awareness of the social, economic, legal, health employment and other consequences of the HIV epidemic at the family and community levels and the importance of evoking the collective will of the people in providing support to positive people and their families.

Time: One hour 45 minutes to two hours

Materials:

Multiple sets of cardboard cutout silhouette figures of men, women, and children, representing nine different age groups: old men, old women; prime age men, women; adolescent boys, girls, school-age boys, girls; infants. Some of these figures will need to be colour-coded with a red dot on the reverse side to indicate the presence of HIV. However, when placed on the table, the side with the dot should be placed face down so that the red dot is not visible to participants at this stage.

Photo by Jacob Pfohl

Procedure:

Invite the participants to sit around the table in groups of three.

Ask them to look at the nine sets of demographic silhouettes, and to select from them a set of "individuals" constituting an imaginary family. The situation and composition of that family is entirely up to each subgroup. Do not influence or restrict the imagination of the participants by giving examples of the kind of families they may choose to depict.

Invite them to explain briefly to the other groups the composition and dynamics of their imaginary family, including roles and responsibilities of individual members, and what contribution they make to the family’s progress (or otherwise) within the local community or wider context. Then have them project how this family will fare five years from now.

When all the family situations have been clarified, ask the groups to turn over their silhouettes so that the reverse side is exposed. Draw their attention to the red dot on some of the figures and explain that the red dot represents HIV infection. Once they have absorbed this revelation, invite feedback on how the presence of the virus in each family might affect the family’s economic well-being, quality of life, social situation, etc. in five years time.

When all have shared, raise the general question: "which of those problems that you identified as affecting your imaginary family do you believe can be resolved by the family from within its own resources? Which would need support from outside the family, i.e., from the community and or from available services of the government or NGOs?"

Time permitting, have these responses tabulated on the board under different categories (legal, ethical, economic, social, etc.) so that the insights from this activity can be linked to other activities which focus on community roles and responsibilities in confronting the epidemic.

Source: SARAR International and ACDIL, Goa, India