Playing around with sexual and reproductive health issues: The provision of health information through the use of theatre in Vanuatu Case Study Click on the following links for further information about this case study: Teacher's Notes Student Activities Introduction Kam Pussun Hed literally means come stick your head in (and have a look!) in Bislama, the language of Vanuatu. Kam Pussun Hed outreach work, funded by the Australian Government's overseas aid program and implemented by the Wan Smolbog Theatre group, is using volunteers, along with Kam Pussun Hed nurses, to raise awareness of reproductive and sexual health issues among targeted communities in Vanuatu through the use of theatre. Their Centre is based at Wan Smolbag Theatre in Vanuatu. The Wan Smolbag Theatre group has been working in the field of health education since 1989. Wan Smolbag means 'one small bag' in Vanuatu. The theatre group wanted to show that all you need is one small bag to put costumes in to disseminate information so that people are better placed to make informed choices in regard to their reproductive and sexual health issues. The aim of these performances is to provide information to the women and youth of Vanuatu. The performances have placed particular emphasis on the problems with teenage pregnancy, maternal health and sexually transmitted diseases. Because many people in Vanuatu are illiterate, the plays enable women and young people to gain a picture of what happens and make it easier for them to understand these health issues. This project will be an extension of the work the Department of Health has done with youth, women and community in and around Port Vila. Women are the primary targets as they often don't have access to information and services relating to reproductive and sexual health that directly affect them. They also are not involved in discussion and decision-making processes, whether it be village or community. Vanuatu has one of the highest birth rates in the south pacific region. The Wan Smolbag Theatre group.   Vanuatu has quite a young population. Forty-six per cent of the population is under 15 years with the national average age being 17.6 years. The elders demand a strong sense of discipline amoung their youth. Wan Smolbag Theatre enables young people to participate in the design and making of plays, enabling them to express their concerns and tell the community about their lives and their feelings. The young people are also targeted as they are the largest group of young people in the history of Vanuatu reaching their reproductive years and these issues are of paramount concern to everyone. The theatre group continues to provide a means through which important information can be disseminated, discussed and internalised. The group also is important as village concerns can be expressed to appropriate agencies and partnerships between the theatre, government departments and non government organisations can develop. The Blacksands / Tagabe community The Wan Smolbag theatre group spent six months in 1997 working with the Blacksands/Tagabe community in Vanuatu to develop a community play. It researched the customs, stories and various issues affecting contemporary daily lives of its members. Further work was done in May 1998 with the community on these issues. This resulted in the Wan Smolbag Theatre Group developing further programs outside its central activities of playmaking and theatre. These included: A community 'drop-in' centre, providing a common area where people could come and watch videos, chat, get advice and counselling on reproductive and sexual health issues and ante-natal checks; and Small educational groups/workshops on reproductive health issues.   Top © Commonwealth of Australia