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CREATING AN EPIDEMIC OF HEALTH Safe Sex @ Carnival Body, Mind & Spirit participates in carnival every year, spreading the message of safe sex. This year however we took it to the next level by taking part with our own float in the parades on August 1st and 2nd. On our float director of tourism Glenn Holm shined in a magnificent suit of the ‘Dove of Hope’. Behind the float were the old and new Programs Coordinators – Dimetri Whitfield and Johan Schaeffer – and a group of volunteers who handed out goodies and condoms to the public. In total BMS handed out between 2200-2400 condoms and we sure hope they are being used or spread around to those who will. BMS would also like to express sincere thanks for the many donations that were made by the people of Saba to make the dream of a float a reality.
Safe Sex @ Carnival
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Dance4life
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Family Fun & 3 Resource Day New Coordi- 3 nator BMS @ Gay Pride
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Rainbow Sabaoke
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Rock & Water 6 Sister Talk
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Dance4life on Saba Dance4life is an international campaign that strives to provide young people with the knowledge, skills and confidence to protect their health and promote safe sexual choices. They use the universal language of dance and the positive energy of music to connect with young people as their equals. Since its inception in the Netherlands in 2003, Dance4life has expanded to 18 countries on 5 continents, reaching close to 2 million youth. An initiative between Child Focus Foundation and Body, Mind & Spirit, with the assistance from the Saba Lions Club, brought the Dance4life to Saba as a part of Child Focus’ Summer Camp program. Dance4life has an active team on Barbados and they were invited to Saba to organize workshops with the youth. The workshops with the Dance4life Barbados team on Saba were held at the Saba Comprehensive School and targeted boys and girls from 12 to 18 years old. These workshops focused on team building, selfesteem, contraception, sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention and transmission, gender roles, stigma, discrimination, and substance (drug) use. In all, the teenagers enjoyed the sessions with the Dance4life team and BMS congratulates all partners for a successful week. To summarize the results of the workshop BMS would like to refer you to our Facebook page – www.facebook.com/BodyMindSpiritSaba - to check out the videos that were made during this eventful week. There is one video made by the organizers of the workshops and one by Adam Watkins of Chizzilala.
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Family Fun & Resource Day This August the Center for Youth & Family organized the 2nd Family Fun & Resource Day. BMS took part in the event, next to many of the other foundations on the island that provide services that can make life a little easier or better for all. Children could win small prizes playing memory games and for their parents there was a lot of information available on how to discuss sexuality with children that are growing up and about different STD’s that can be encountered on Saba.
New Programs Coordinator – Johan Schaeffer In 2006, Body, Mind & Spirit Foundation (then known as AIDS Support Group Saba Foundation) took on its first programs coordinator to assist in the implementation of the foundation’s activities. Under the guidance of these committed members of staff, the foundation has become a pillar in the Saban community, advocating for the sexual and reproductive health of all residents of Saba, especially among vulnerable populations on the island. Since August 2015, Johan oversees the implementation of all BMS-ASGS Foundation’s programs. He handles project management, facilitates educational workshops in the field of HIV/AIDS and reproductive health, develops and implements public relations strategies and marketing campaigns within the community. He oversees the foundation’s administration, grant proposal writing and reporting. Johan has been living on Saba since October 2012. After getting his Masters in Film & Television studies at Utrecht University, a career as a content producer/ researcher for national (science) television in the Netherlands and a year as head media & IT on an international school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Johan and his wife decided to settle on Saba. Johan’s experience with a great variety of television shows has trained him to take on different projects, educate himself quickly on the things that matter and spread the message. In his own words: “I’m a storyteller. The challenge is always to keep people hooked or spark their interest. If your message is remembered and spread, you’re already halfway there. Far better of course is if your story is the talk of the day. Create many sparks and eventually there will be fire!”
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Justin Simmons represents Saba at Amsterdam’s Gay Pride On Sunday, July 26, Justin Simmons, representing Body, Mind and Spirit, on behalf of Saba’s “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersexed” (LGBTI) community set off for the Netherlands to attend Amsterdam Gay Pride Week, where the focus was on information sharing on gender and sexuality issues to promote equal rights in international contexts – an initiative of the municipality of Amsterdam for its internationally renowned Gay Pride. In Amsterdam, Simmons was joined by Shundrey Kleinmoedig of FOKO Curaçao and Milicent Sof of EQ Bonaire, along with 15 other young LGBTI activists from around the world. To kick off Pride Week, Simmons, along with Kleinmoedig and Sof, visited the diversity department of Amsterdam’s city hall to meet the persons responsible for organizing the initiative. This was followed by an inspiring lecture by Peter Dankmeijer of EduDivers and GALE (Global Alliance for LGBT Education) on the integration of sexual diversity in school curriculums. While at city hall, Simmons met with other LBGTI activists from the former Netherlands Antilles, who currently live in the Netherlands. Simmons’ first day was topped of with a debate on equal rights within the kingdom, which was organized by Angelo Tromp of the Aruba House and attended by Wethouder Simone Kukenheim, Member of Parliament of Aruba Desiree Croes, and Glenn Helberg of OCaN among others. As part of his training as an LGBTI activist, Simmons received media training at Radio Netherlands Worldwide in Hilversum to learn how to incorporate old and new media in an effective manner to deliver a particular message. He also took part in a round-table discussion with religious leaders on acceptance of LGBTI persons within the church at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) in The Hague. At a workshop led by lobbyist Martijn Koning of Public Matters, Simmons learnt how to influence politics with regards to LGBTI rights through lobbying. While in the Netherlands, Simmons had the opporuntity to meet several influential LGBTI activists, such as Adam Long and Boris Dittrich. Long was the driving force behind the referendum for marriage equality in Ireland. During his speech about the legalization of same-sex marriage in Ireland, Long said, “We are on the right side of history.” Dittrich is the advocacy director for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch, an international organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. After attending a reception, which was held at the mayor’s residence, Simmons –along with many other LGBTI activists and supporters, took part in The Pride Walk to the Homomonument. The walk symbolizes the fight against homophobia, voilence towards LGBTI person and intolerance. The Amsterdam Pride Week celebrations culminated with the Canal Parade, where different LGBTI groups, organization and supporters of LGBTI rights sail through the canals of Amsterdam in solidarity to show their pride. Simmons, Kleinmoedig, Sof and many others from the islands of the Dutch Caribbean sailed on The Kingdom Boat, which was organised by Ramona Pikeur of Dushi & Proud. “One Kingdom, One Love” was the theme for the boat. “My time in the Netherlands was both inspiring and enlightening,” said Simmons, as he looked back at his experience for Amsterdam Gay Pride.
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Celebrating Diversity with a Rainbow Sabaoke Party When same-sex marriage was approved across the United States on June 26th 2015, it echoed around the world. The acceptance of everyone, no matter their sexual orientation, to be united in this – for many sacred – bond is a great step forwards in the fight for equality for all. Local hotel and restaurant Scout’s Place decided to celebrate this event with a rainbow edition of their weekly Sabaoke night. The first edition was a great success and the owners of Scout’s Place, Wolgang and Barbara Tooten, decided to continue their celebration of diversity with a second Rainbow Sabaoke in September. Body, Mind & Spirit (BMS) – and through them the Pink Orange Alliance (POA) – decided to support this event as human rights are high on the agenda of BMS and the POA strives for genuine acceptance of the LGBTI communities across the six Dutch Caribbean islands. BMS provided the party with a photo booth, where board member Bastiaan Janssens took festive pictures of the party goers. Check out a small selection here and find the rest on the BMS Facebook page!
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Rock & Water training for boys From July 13th to July 17th, Body, Mind & Spirit (BMS) along with Child Focus Foundation hosted Rock & Water workshops for boys aged 12 to 18 years old. Lead by BMS program coordinator Dimetri Whitfield and local volunteer Heidi Defever, this workshop covered topics such as self-control, anger management, selfconfidence and basic self-defense through Tai chi techniques, meditation, archery and self-reflection. Tai Chi is a martial art developed in China that focuses on using inner strength in both aggressive (hard) and passive (soft) ways. The week long workshops were fulfilling and stimulating as the boys learned how to control themselves while also being more assertive, and understanding when to be strong and when to be flexible. Ms. Defever, who recently moved to Saba with her family, is a seasoned Rock & Water leader back in her home country of Belgium. Mr. Whitfield recently completed the Rock & Water train the trainers workshop in April 2015 hosted by EC2. During that event, several persons on the island became certified Rock & Water leaders. This is the first large scale Rock & Water workshop on the island led by local trainers. BMS and Child Focus hopes that this can become a sustainable initiative for the
Rock & Water explained Rock & Water is a manual-based program that provides young people and adults a pathway to self awareness, and increased selfconfidence and social functioning. The program is based upon a psycho-physical approach, that is, the program contains a large number of experiential exercises that support young people to develop self-awareness through physical exercises. The aim of the program is to support young people in developing: • Body-awareness - or supporting young people become "intune" with their body, including body language, posture, breathing and physical sensations (e.g., stress, anger, arousal). • Emotional-awareness - this is the process by which young people learn to understand and identify emotions (e.g., anger) within their body (body awareness is a pre-requisite to emotional awareness). • Self awareness - this is the process by which young people combine body- and emotional-awareness with their thought processes, and through this, are able to manage and regulate their emotions/behaviours in the context of their environment. In short, Rock & Water provides a systematic way to teach young people body-, emotional- and self-awareness. The program also provides a structured means for adults to nurture the physical and social development of young people. Physical exercises are constantly linked into cognitive and social skill-building exercises. What sets Rock & Water apart from other programs is its psycho-physical learning approach. The program includes the use of physical exercise, non-intrusive self-defence activities, role plays, group discussions and debriefing exercises. Each participant of the Rock & Water program undergoes a journey of self-awareness as they learn about responding to life in either a "rock" or a "water" attitude. The use of symbolism is central to the success of the Rock & Water program and the reason why young people are drawn to the program. Source: http://www.connectedself.com.au/young-people/rock-water-program
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Sister Talk with Nadia Turner In August Nadia Turner, born on St Eustatius and with a successful career as an artist in the United States, was invited to do a ‘Sister Talk’ with the girls on Saba and Statia. In two sessions Nadia shared her life experiences and how she found her way to being a strong, independent woman. First there was a morning session for the 10-13 year old girls, which was followed by an afternoon session for the 14-19 year olds. The talks were perceived as very inspiring. It’s often intriguing to see how successful people reached their goals in life and Body, Mind & Spirit is already looking forward to a following session of Sister Talk. The talks are a cooperative effort by the RCN, the Public Entity of Saba, Child Focus, Body, Mind & Spirit and Saba Boys & Girls Sports Society.
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BODY, MIND & SPIRIT is a community-based organization tasked to create public health awareness campaigns. It was established in 1990 as the AIDS Support Group Saba (ASGS) Foundation to address the specific challenge posed by the HIV/AIDS epidemic and other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). While the organization has broadened its scope , it is still the prime agency charged with the development and implementation of the Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS prevention and control. Through our ongoing efforts the organization seeks to further the well-being of the community by mobilizing resources to prevent diseases and promote a healthy, balanced lifestyle.
VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME! We welcome your contribution and invite you to join, helping us empower our community to live a healthy lifestyle in an environment free of stigma. Volunteers in our programs have a real impact, especially in the lives of our youth, helping raise a tolerant and well-informed HIV/AIDSfree generation. CREATING AN EPIDEMIC OF HEALTH
Eugenius Johnson Centre, Windwardside, Saba, Caribbean Netherlands Phone: +599 416 3700 Email: infobmssaba@gmail.com Web: www.bmssaba.org Facebook: BodyMindSpiritSaba For the latest: Follow us on Facebook or request a copy of the newsletter by email.
ACT RESPONSIBLY! Get informed and be aware you can’t tell if someone’s got a sexually transmitted infection.
PROTECT YOURSELF! Free condoms are available at our office.
KNOW YOUR STATUS! GET TESTED! Find out NOW! Ask for a rapid HIV test and get your results today. MAKE A DONATION! We rely on outside sources to continue our awareness programs. No amount we receive is too little. We greatly appreciate your kindness. JOIN US! Our meetings are open and membership is free!
Designed and edited by Johan Schaeffer