Samaritan's Purse Uganda (SP-U) implements an on-going abstinence and behavior change program for youth called MET (mobilizing, equipping, and training) whose goal is helping youth make healthy choices that prevent new HIV infections, especially through abstinence, secondary abstinence, and faithfulness. In support of prevention activities, there is also a minor element of basic health care and support (HBHC) that is limited to community-based support for vulnerable families in the form of non-medical care. To achieve this goal SP-U emphasizes two objectives: 1. Mobilizing the churches and communities to action in their spheres of influence by utilizing moral instruction for primary behavior change, focusing on abstinence, delay of sexual debut among youth and increasing secondary abstinence. 2. Building and expanding the capacity of communities, schools, and churches to reduce the risks of HIV infection in youth through new and existing programs of education, prevention, basic care, destigmatization, monitoring, testing, and training about AIDS.

In FY06 SP-U MET program started programs for mobilizing and training church, community and youth leaders having influence over youth in Kamwenge district and three SP-U MET program teams were established each to be in charge of three subcounties. These teams in FY06 held thirty "There is Hope" workshops which teach the youth leaders how to communicate with youth about HIV/AIDS, with an emphasis on how abstinence, secondary abstinence and faithfulness can prevent these diseases. A total of 1,383 youth leaders were trained by June 2006 and they had outreached 11,169 individuals with the AB message. Some of these youth who have been outreached have been involved in giving home basic care to households of PLWHAs. In FY06 training of youth leaders with the It Takes Courage Curriculum started, and twelve Community Based Volunteer Teams have been formed. SP-U MET staff have hosted meetings of community leaders and have opened up dialogue on child sexual abuse and exploitation. This has helped the leaders to identify the causes of sexual abuse and have come up with action plans of how they are going to fight it in their communities. MET program is working with YEAH to partner with them especially for YEAH to provide reading materials which can be given to the youth outreached through MET programs.

In FY07 SP-U MET program will strategically focus on increasing never-married male and female youth knowledge and practice of abstinence and faithfulness by adapting the curriculum to expand the effective communication skills given to youth educators and emphasize secondary abstinence during the training, expand coverage in terms of areas where training is going to be conducted, introduce radio messages and talk shows. SP-U MET program intends to reduce multiple sexual partner tendency through video shows on STIs, HIV/AIDS, and by taking music dance and drama acted by Community Based Volunteer Teams (CBVTs) to schools and churches, use bill boards bearing AB messages while promoting testing and networking for testing services availability. Further, SP-UG MET program will focus on increasing community conversation on sexual abuse and exploitation and involve youth more in home basic care activities for PLWHAs and vulnerable households to reduce stigma.

Activities for SP-U will train individuals to provide HIV/AIDS prevention programs that focus on AB under the theme "There is Hope" serving 36 communities in the nine sub-counties of Kamwenge district. The trained individuals will reach individuals with community outreach HIV/AIDS prevention programs that promote Abstinence, Secondary Abstinence and Be faithful in the same communities. After three to six months, the leaders will attend an advanced workshop for training youth leaders to teach a character and life skills curriculum that empowers youth to achieve abstinence and being faithful and how to develop a mentoring relationship with youth at risk, particularly youth who are sexually abused or exploited. At the end of the workshop each participant will commit to teach the youth he taught the initial workshop, 16 lessons of the life skills curriculum in a period of four months. During the workshop participants will be encouraged to form Community Based Volunteer Teams and 39 are expected to be formed in FY07. The team members will elect their leaders who will assist to follow them up to fulfill their commitment. The CBVTs will also hold 36 youth conferences and 21 sports competitions in FY07 which they will use as avenues to communicate AB messages to the youth. In each community where Advanced Workshop has been conducted, SP-U MET staff will host a two to three hour

conversation meeting for about 25 village leaders. The purpose is to open dialogue to discuss sexual abuse and exploitation of youth and children in the community and identify other traditions that are harmful and place them at risk of HIV infection. Six months following Advanced Workshop CBVT leaders assisted by SP-U MET staff will host a meeting in the community of their fellow participants bringing together some district level leaders to recognize their volunteerism. In this meeting CBVTs and other participants will share success stories, identify obstacles to reaching their goals of their commitments and discuss ways to link interventions with existing and future HIV/AIDS programs and find ways for sustainability. Nine months after the advanced workshop, a second meeting between CBVTs, participants, district level, church and government leaders will be held. CBVT leaders and their fellow trainees will receive certificates for completion of MET program and will be charged to continue their efforts to abstinence and faithfulness and other healthy behavior change among youth in the community.