Members of Hands in hands group and students.

These students are carrying out a project named “Zoom In”, which aims to help young European people understand problems facing Vietnamese youth, especially reproductive health and HIV/AIDS issues, through photos and stories taken and written by the 13 students.

A photo of a single pen on the table while other pens are put carefully in a pen sheath, is captioned by Nguyen An Tuan, a student from Truong Dinh High School, as follows: “Long carries HIV. He is kept away by classmates and is treated in a different way by his teachers. He feels self-pity. Why don’t people give Long a chance to integrate in the community?”

That is one of the photos taken by these students. To have photos like this, they have had to go to places where drug addicts convene and write scripts to have meaningful photos.

Before taking the photos, they studied about HIV/AIDS, writing skills, photography and group-work skills under the guidance of Hands in hands group.

“This is a new form of media about sexuality and cultural exchange in Vietnam. It attracts the attention of many people and the support of parents and especially the young,” said Nguyen Thi Anh Nguyet, Hands in hands group leader.

Zoom In is the idea of Marie Stopes International (MSI), Papardes Zieds, the World Population Fund (WPF) and YouAct organisations. The idea is being implemented by Hands in hands group, gathering 13 students and former students of the Psychology Faculty at the Hanoi University for Social Sciences and Humanities under technical support from WPF Vietnam.

The above international organisations expect that Zoom In will affect European leaders so they will give more assistance for sex education and anti-HIV/AIDS projects in Vietnam.

(Source: Tuoi Tre)