Basha Lesedi (Youth are the Light)

Basha Lesedi (Youth are the Light) is a five-year FHI project that employs community interventions to promote abstinence and related life skills among youth in the Republic of Botswana. The project is funded by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and was awarded to FHI by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For Basha Lesedi, FHI is leading a partnership of five diverse and well-respected organizations in Botswana. The Botswana Network for AIDS Service Organizations (BONASO) is the in-country managing partner. Local implementing partners are

• Humana People to People (household visits)
• Makgabaneng (media)
• Botswana Christian AIDS Intervention Project (activities with faith-based organizations)
• BONEPWA+ (activities with individuals affected and infected by HIV and AIDS)

The project's goal is to reach youth ages 10–17 with compelling HIV/AIDS-prevention information and messages that contribute to an AIDS-free younger generation in selected districts of Botswana, a country with one of the highest HIV infection rates in the world. Basha Lesedi offers a critical opportunity to reach youth before they begin to engage in risky behaviors, including sexual activity and alcohol use.

The project aims to change social norms; build skills among young people that help them avoid alcohol and resist peer pressure; increase the ability of parents, guardians, and community leaders to support health choices; and increase the capacity of local organizations to engage in participatory project planning and implementation.

FHI's work with Basha Lesedi builds on its previous youth-intervention and research experience in developing countries, including the USAID-funded YouthNet project and an important youth intervention in Tanzania.