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The Hoja Performance Group in southern Tanzania uses interactive methods to educate communities.
Many people living in rural areas of Tanzania are illiterate, which means that conventional learning can only be so successful. Whilst COCO is working to ensure that the younger generation can access education, innovative techniques are essential to ensure that essential knowledge reaches all people in the community.
The performance group educates the communities on a variety of issues relevant to the local area. For example, education on the use of mosquito nets and safe sex prevents transmission of preventable and potentially deadly diseases. Similarly, teaching parents who have not accessed education themselves of its value encourages them to educate their children.
The impact of the performances has been measured by COCO. Before one particular performance, only 14% of people asked knew how to use a mosquito net properly. After the performance all people asked knew how to use a net properly. Similarly, 95% of those asked said they would change their sexual habits to counter the spread of HIV/AIDS as a result of the performance.