The Asetena Pa Concert Party Project

Imagine this: A crowd of 300 seated on benches in the local community center. All eyes are on the stage, where a play in Twi, featuring popular actors, is taking place. In the course of the play, Kwame, the protagonist, learns that he has HIV. He is devastated. Some audience members show compassion by giving him money. Yet the real problem arises when he must decide whether or not to disclose his status. Kwame is at a loss: if he does, he may risk losing his wife, job, family and friends. On the other hand, he does not want to put his wife at risk, and he needs the support of his community to deal with the disease. In his confusion he turns to the audience and asks: “What should I do”?

Goals
The primary goals of the project are to give voice to People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Ghana and to trigger a public discussion about stigma and the social and cultural factors that must be changed in order to put a stop to the spread of AIDS.

Project Description
“Asetena Pa” (meaning “Positive Living” in the local language of Twi) is a performance project for Ghana that will engage local PLWHA and local popular artists in a collaborative process to create a “Concert Party” performance based on the experiences of the participating PLWHA.
6 PLWHA and 6 artists will participate in a series of workshops led by the directors, Iddi Saaka and Galia Boneh, to raise issues, choose themes and develop characters and plots. In addition, the participating PLWHA will be trained as counselors for HIV testing.

Following the format of a regular concert party the performance will open with popular music, followed by comedy (in which the comedian can “break the ice” about embarrassing topics), followed by the main part of the show: a dramatic play intersected with highlife songs. The play will open a forum for discussion of the social and cultural issues of HIV/AIDS and treatment of PLWHA.

After the performance, there will be a Question and Answer session with the artists and PLWHA. In addition, free voluntary counseling and testing services will accompany the performance, in which audience members will be encouraged to get tested. The participating PLWHA will serve as counselors for the testing. Audience members will also be informed of treatment options and support groups of PLWHA in their area, and will be given a hotline number that they can call to find out more information. Finally, the day after each performance, artists and PLWHA will visit schools, chiefs, DCEs, and other influential institutions and people in the community, to further advocate their message.

As a pilot the Asetena Pa Concert party will be performed in 10 towns in Ghana. These performances will be thoroughly documented and evaluated for their efficacy. If the project proves successful, funds will be raised for a more extensive tour of the country, as well as television and radio broadcasts.

Rationale
While mass media campaigns in Ghana are prevalent, most of them require reading knowledge, knowledge of English, or access to television or radio. Since many of the rural and urban poor populations do not have such access or skills, these efforts must be complemented by a medium that is accessible and understandable to them.
The concert party form takes place in the local language of Twi; it is a familiar cultural form, and is known to attract the youth, who are the population most susceptible to HIV/AIDS in Ghana. The performance will be free of charge, and will enable all members of society to attend, including poor and out of school youth.

Although mass media can reach millions of people at once, a live performance, which requires bodily presence and full attention of the spectator, is more engaging and thus more influential than a television or radio program. The concert party form also allows for in-depth treatment of the subject matter and involvement of the audience in the play. In addition, the presence of a free testing van at the site of the performance, allows for the education gained in the performance to be followed up with immediate action.

Finally, the performance will be an empowering experience for the PLWHA on stage and in the audience, and will assist in creating a larger network of PLWHA in the country, an act that will strengthen PLWHA as a socio-political group.

Organizers and key personnel
The project is directed by Iddi Saaka and Galia Boneh. Saaka, a Ghanaian, is a choreographer and MFA graduate of the University of California in Los Angeles. Boneh is a PhD candidate in “Culture and Performance”, at the same University. Both Saaka and Boneh completed their undergraduate studies at the University of Ghana’s School of performing arts in Legon. Saaka and Boneh, a married couple, have been working together on various arts education projects for the past 6 years in Israel and Los-Angeles.

Collaborations with other organizational units:
- The West Africa AIDS Foundation (WAAF)
- National Association of People Living With HIV/AIDS (NAP+ Ghana)
- Mabihigu Association of PLWHA in Tamale, northern Ghana
- Ghana Concert Party Union (GCPU)
- “Kristo Asafo” Concert Party Troupe
- Ghana Sustainable Change Project (GSCP) funded by USAID
- Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC)

Time Line
Aug. 22-30.06 - Selection process of PLWHA
Sept. 18-22. 06 - Counseling course for PLWHA
Sept. 24-30 - One week intensive workshop
Oct. 2-6 - additional rehearsals and preparation for first performance
Oct. 7 - performance at location near Accra (e.g. Nsawam, Somanya)
Oct. 9-Nov.10 - preparation for tour, advertisement, etc.
Nov. 17- Dec. 2 - Tour
Dec. 1st - World AIDS Day performance (culmination of tour)
Dec.-Feb. - Advocacy and Fundraising for extensive tour of Ghana.

Donations:
Donations to the Asetena Pa project will be highly appreciated, and will enable our message to reach hundreds of more people, through more performances and educational activities, as well as enable more people to get tested and take control of their lives.

Checks should be payable to: EarthWays Foundation
And in the memo state: Asetena Pa
And sent to:

Earthways Foundation
20178 Rockport Way
Malibu, CA 90265

Donations of more than $50 are tax deductible. Donors will receive a tax receipt from Earthways Foundation by mail.
*Kindly notify us through email once you have made the donation, so that we can keep track.

For more information please contact Iddi Saaka and Galia Boneh at:
Email: galia@iddiandgalia.com
Tel: 233-246-482-563
Or visit: www.iddiandgalia.com

Thank you for helping to give voice to people living with HIV/AIDS in Ghana and stop the spread of HIV.

info@earthways.org