On the 18th of December 2020, ZiMSA representatives Nathaniel Kapfunde (UZ), Tariro Madamba (UZ), Gerome Brock (NUST), Lindah Nkomo (NUST) and Zvikomborero Mugunzva (MSU) left Harare and embarked on a journey to the UNICA campsite in Victoria Falls to attend the annual IMUNZI Boot Camp. The Boot Camp is an event that is set to train Youth Ambassadors on issues pertaining to sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS as well as mental health conditions associated with HIV and AIDS. Each year ZiMSA sends a team of medical students to the camp to train the Youth Ambassadors, and these are some of their experiences at the camp.

 

 

Lindah Nkomo

Part III MBBS

National University of Science and Technology

My name is Lindah. My camp experience was quite phenomenal. I met incredible people who actually taught me a lot about life- life from their perspective. They made me understand what it was like to be a youth ambassador and to live in a tourist town where promiscuous behaviour of youth is quite high. I learnt how to relate with others better, how to be a better listener and overall I learnt about myself from the feedback I got from the youth ambassadors. The experiences were quite unmatched; for me this was the first time sleeping in a tent and it took some getting used to but finally I got used to it and looking back there is absolutely nothing I would change about the camp (except the means of travel to Victoria Falls).

Tariro Madamba

Part 2 MBCHB

University of Zimbabwe

I was part of the ZiMSA delegation that attended the 2020 IMUNZI Boot Camp in Victoria Falls. I really enjoyed the camping experience and the opportunity to make new friends. What we did for the most part during the camp was to teach the UNICA Youth Ambassadors on HIV/AIDS and mental health related issues. I personally led a discussion on the nature of HIV, its life cycle and how it leads to the pathogenesis of AIDS. I personally learnt a lot from the experience, most importantly that HIV and mental health issues do not have one size fits all solutions, and that tackling the problems requires solutions specific to each case. We also learnt that by the virtue of our backgrounds and other factors we can’t necessarily control, we may be predisposed to the effects of HIV/AIDS and mental health issues; and finally that the community as a whole is affected by these issues and they require the community as a whole to be part of the solution. In summary it was a fun and educational experience!

Tinashe Kapfunde

Part 2 MBCHB

University of Zimbabwe

I thoroughly enjoyed the camp, getting to know my colleagues as we did team building challenges and held awareness sessions with the Youth Ambassadors. We had very engaging discourses about drug abuse and HIV/AIDS awareness which were quite thought provoking. During the sessions we not only learnt about the scope of these issues, but we also got to appreciate that these issues are multifaceted, requiring different approaches and not a one-size-fits-all approach.

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