Harambee is a Kiswahili word that loosely translates to a community coming together to address an issue, a “let’s do this” type of call. Project Harambee! Is a research project designed to work alongside three of the largest African immigrant communities in King county, namely the Ethiopian, Somali, and Eritrean communities to test for HIV and explore the barriers to HIV testing.
In our pilot study, Harambee! 1.0 We conducted a mixed-methods, research-service project where we held mini health fairs in residential complexes housing large numbers of African-born individuals. We held integrated HIV testing, where we offered attendees point-of-care screenings not only for HIV but also for hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol, obesity, and more. Through our qualitative work and discussions with community partners, we learned that we would need to focus on HIV-related stigma reduction first before offering HIV testing.
In the second phase of our work, Harambee! 2.0 we conducted formative work using qualitative study methods. We conducted key informant interviews and focus group discussions with community members to better understand HIV-related stigma but also intersectional stigmas, with the ultimate goal of developing an intersectional stigma reduction intervention to implement in our communities.
Provided that we get funded, sustaining the relationships and partnerships we have built with the Ethiopian, Somali and Eritrean communities to reduce HIV-related and intersectional stigmas is our top priority. In our third phase, Harambee! 3.0, we plan to work with religious leaders from different faiths and have already started building partnerships with some of the sites across King County.
