HPP China’s Total Control of Epidemic (TCE) project has two project locations in Liangshan prefecture: Butuo County and Yuexi County. The Field Officers (FO) in each county are the main stay of HIV/AIDS education in their local fields. Those FO work full-time to visit villagers house-to-house and also in the field to explain and discuss HIV/AIDS and its prevention and other health knowledge. One FO covers an area of 2,000 people. The FOs connects to the people and mobilizes the people to fight HIV/AIDS together. Only by bringing the community together and engage every person in the community through communication and mobilization can HIV/AIDS be controlled and eradicated.

The TCE project volunteers are called “TCE Passionates”. These Passionates are mostly village leaders, village accountants, village doctors, officials from the township government and other local recognized personalities. They closely cooperate with FOs to contribute their time and efforts to the local battle against HIV/AIDS.

Passionates use their own time and ability to do different voluntary work: when the FO comes to a new village, local leaders and village doctor will take it upon themselves to lead the way to their village, introduce the FO to villagers and help them to get HIV/AIDS knowledge; when the TCE project conducts a big education and training event, the Passionates will help to distribute the flyers and pamphlets, and later tide up the training site etc.; the Passionates also will discuss with their friends and relatives and spread HIV/AIDS prevention knowledge…

Former Passionate Tubi Erbo became a TCE Butuo project Field Officer in 2010. He mobilized and trained 32 Passionates to help him to provide HIV prevention and control services in his field.  

What is even more important, after the TCE project closes, these Passionates will continue to be important educators in their local communities. They will continue to impact others and spread HIV/AIDS prevention knowledge to others.