The lives of young girls are in more danger every year in Malawi, as 50% of all new HIV infections occur among the nation’s youth. The Center for Communication Program’s innovative BRIDGE project addressed this vulnerable group. Promoting self-confidence and skills to perform small, do-able actions to prevent HIV, this BRIDGE project radio program inspired action, participation, and hope.

At 23 years old, Grace Nkandwe should already be married. In her tribe, the Sena, she should be the second or third or even fourth wife of an older man. But after attending a BRIDGE-sponsored youth group event, Grace learned that being in a relationship with multiple concurrent partners could put her at risk for HIV. So she fought against tradition, refusing to become the second wife of a family friend. She stood up to her father and was chased from her home.

“I was desperate,” said Grace. But she refused to give in. She found comfort and strength in the Tisankhenji (The Choice Is Mine) radio program, another component of the BRIDGE program, the country’s six-year behavior change HIV prevention project. The radio program aimed to instill confidence and self-esteem in adolescent girls as they made critical decisions about their health and future. Tisankhenji promoted the small, do-able actions that young girls could take to prevent HIV.

Grace eventually returned to her father’s house, but on her own terms. She now serves as the Tisankhenji Coordinator for her district of Chikwawa. “I love the Tisankhenji program because it enlightens girls to make good decisions, whatever pressure they face.”

Grace is just one of the tens of thousands in Malawi who have been touched by the BRIDGE project. Initiated in 2003 by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs (CCP), in partnership with Save the Children, and funded by USAID, BRIDGE interventions made great strides in increasing self-efficacy around HIV-protective behaviors, increasing behavioral intentions, decreasing HIV-related stigma and increasing testing rates.