The Lilac Tent : Reproductive Health Travels to Rural Bolivia

• Why a lilac-colored tent?
• Objectives of the Lilac Tent
• The Lilac Tent Comes to Town!
• Inside the Lilac Tent
• Outside the Lilac Tent
• Monitoring and Evaluating Impact

Why a lilac-colored tent?

The Lilac Tent was the first, most visible, and most important project undertaken by the Bolivia National Rural Reproductive Health IEC Strategy. The purpose of the Lilac Tent was to generate community mobilization efforts and strengthen local capacity for reproductive health IEC activities. In October 1998, three lilac-colored tents began to travel through rural Bolivia disseminating reproductive health information and serving as the locus for IEC skills training nationwide. Each tent was designed for a specific region of the country: highlands, valleys, and plains. The tents housed videos, live music, theater and folklore dance troupes, mimes, games, puppet shows, and print and interactive multimedia material. The distinctive color for the tents came from the lilac-colored Las Manitos logo developed in the mid-1990's.

The tent was intended primarily for rural adolescents and young couples although market days and local holidays provided broader exposure of reproductive health messages to adult men and women. The messages disseminated during the Lilac Tent's tour dealt specifically with reproductive health, including STD prevention, safe motherhood, and informed decision-making . There were also messages on environmental conservation and children and women's rights.

Objectives of the Lilac Tent

1. Increase knowledge about reproductive health.
2. Improve attitudes towards reproductive health.
3. Increase communication about reproductive health at the interpersonal, spouse, and community levels.
4. Increase political support for reproductive health IEC activities.
5. Strengthen local capacity to design and implement reproductive health IEC activities.

The Lilac Tent Comes to Town!

Before the arrival of the Lilac Tent in each town, NGOs in charge of each tent worked with local authorities over a period of two weeks to coordinate logistics for the arrival and set up of the tent and to advocate continued support for reproductive health IEC activities in their communities. Artistic resources from the community were invited to join the enter-educate activities during the tent's three-day stop in each town. Concurrently, community radio operators were trained to disseminate reproductive health information. As part of the training, the radio operators received prototypes scripts and a reproductive health message toolkit for local production.

The arrival of the tent in each town was marked by a carnival-style atmosphere. Balloons, posters, and flyers were distributed before and during the tent's visit. Community radio operators advertised the tent on the air and vehicles with megaphones made their way through the town. Local schools participated in reproductive health mural painting contests sponsored by the Lilac Tent.

Inside the Lilac Tent

The tent itself is divided into 6 areas, each one requiring the analysis of a specific topic through the use of "enter-educate" activities.

Groups of ten people enter the tent and participate together in each of the activities. In the first area, the visitors use life-sized wooden dolls to role play how a couple would solve a problem. The next challenge is to put together puzzles related to breastfeeding and environmental conservation. Then visitors are asked to go through a sensory tunnel to learn about childbirth. Each person plays the role of a baby who is about to be born and must find the "exit" from the womb. In the fourth area, visitors play board games where they learn about warning signs during pregnancy. In the fifth area, visitors use dolls to analyze the problems faced by pregnant women in their community. The last area of the Lilac Tent is a library where visitors can pick up comic books and pamphlets related to menstruation, sexually transmitted diseases, falling in love, and sexuality.

Outside the Lilac Tent

While groups of people circulate inside the tent, a master of ceremonies leads activities outside the tent. These activities include discussing videos related to reproductive health, performances by local musicians, actors, and dancers, and puppet shows with reproductive health messages. There is also a playground area for toddlers and young children.

Monitoring and Evaluating Impact

Exit interviews were conducted in each town after exposure to the Lilac Tent in order to monitor and evaluate the impact of tent activities and messages on the intended audiences.

Exposure

According to the latest reports 495,362 people participated in Lilac Tent activities or were reached by Lilac Tent messages through other communication channels. The following breakdown of information corresponds to the 21 municipalities visited by the Lilac Tent between October 1998 and June 1999:

(1) This includes people who went inside the tent and participated in each of the 6 enter-educate activities.

(2) This includes people who watched music, dance, and theater performances, video screenings, and puppet shows outside the tent.

Knowledge

After participating in Lilac Tent activities, more than 90% of the audience was able to define sexual and reproductive health. Ninety percent were also able to identify health centers as points of information and reproductive health services. Nearly 70% of participants were able to identify risk factors for obstetrical emergencies and 73% said reproductive health decisions should be made with their partner. Seventy percent mentioned contraceptive methods as a way to plan their families. Finally, the number of people who wanted information on family planning increased by 21% and prenatal care increased by 33%.

Community Support

All municipal governments, local authorities, and NGO representatives without exception made available human, financial, or logistical resources to carry out tent activities. Furthermore, local governments pledged to carry out projects to improve reproductive health in their regions. One example of the goodwill and support of local governments was that the tent traveling through the Plains regions was able to secure financing for additional presentations.

National-Level Support

Support for the Lilac Tent was also provided at a national level by the Vice Minister of Health, Vice Minister for Gender Affairs, Directors of Health Services, Departmental Education Directors, Women and Children's Health Departmental Directors, Rural District Directors, and Regional Reproductive Health Coordinators.

Synergy

One of the roles the Lilac Tent took on was that of serving as a platform for joint health and development actions. For example, a national vaccination campaign was launched in the Highland Tent and the National Women's Health Day campaign was launched in the Valley Tent. In addition, microcredit programs were promoted in the Highland Tent.

Interinstitutional Coordination

Forty-two national organizations collaborated with the Lilac Tent through the National Reproductive and Sexual Health Forum. Approximately 80 institutions at the departmental level and 315 local organizations were involved in planning and implementing the Lilac Tent.

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