Association of Youth Committed to Health Promotion (AJEPS)
The Association of Youth Committed to Health Promotion (Association des Jeunes Engagés pour la Promotion de la Santé), or AJEPS, is EFA’s oldest association, located in Maroua and established in February 2005. Now comprised of close to thirty active members, AJEPS meets twice a month and manages two income generation activities. The first is the sale of potable water to members of the local community. In 2005, AJEPS negotiated with the local water authorities to install a water faucet in the AJEPS office. As a result, members of the association are able to fill jerry cans with water and distribute them on push carts to households in the community. The second activity, launched in early 2009, is the sale of refrigerated items, such as juice and ice cream. In late 2008, AJEPS was the recipient of a grant from GTR. The association opted to use the funding to purchase an industrial freezer, so they are now able to keep items cold for sale in the community.
History
As AJEPS was the first association in the network, the first Technical Assistants employed by EFA were also selected from AJEPS’ members. These courageous young people braved potential stigmatization and discrimination by openly discussing their HIV+ status with the members of the new associations and helping EFA to develop and formalize the Technical Assistant program.
