Rien que la Vérité

In 2006 the United States Embassy in Kinshasa and the Kinshasa Music Club invited some of DRC's most well-known musicians to participate in the project by contributing an original song to a compilation CD, with lyrics that communicated something about one or more of the four key components of HIV prevention: abstinence, fidelity, condom usage, and regular testing. In addition to recording individual pieces, the musicians came together to perform an ensemble song, as well as to record an accompanying music video. Association de Santé Familiale (ASF), a local non-governmental organisation (NGO), produced the music video, as well as a documentary film showing the musicians rehearsing in the recording studio and including interviews during which they share their thoughts and personal stories about how HIV/AIDS has affected their lives, the lives of their people, and their country. The songs can be downloaded from the project website.

The Rien que la Vérité television drama, which was developed two years later, follows the lives of a Kinois family. Each episode is accompanied by short talkshow segments during which a host introduces music clips, talks to well-known musicians and actors, and interviews representatives from local NGOs and organisations whose messages dovetails with the episode's theme.

FrontlineSMS was introduced during the second episode of the drama. The audience was invited to participate by sending an SMS with the name of their favourite character. The responses were collected using FrontlineSMS as a way to test the software and to begin exploring the audiences' perceptions and preferences. The programme intends to use the technology to support fan clubs, so that people who watch the show can find each other, meet, and, talk about the show and the topics it introduces, as a way to normalise conversation about HIV/AIDS. The technology will also allow the organisers to send out questions via SMS to fans before and after each show, in an attempt to measure any changes in attitude, knowledge, or self-reported practices due to exposure to the show's messaging.

FrontlineSMS is free open source software that turns a laptop and a mobile phone into a central communications hub. Once installed, the programme enables users to send and receive text messages with large groups of people through mobile phones.

HIV/AIDS

According to the 2006 UNAIDS/WHO report on the global AIDS epidemic, almost two thirds (63%) of all persons infected with HIV in the world are living in sub-Saharan Africa: 24.7 million. An estimated 2.8 million adults and children became infected with HIV in 2006, more than in all other regions of the world combined. The 2.1 million AIDS deaths in sub-Saharan Africa represent 72% of global AIDS deaths. In the DRC in 2005, it was estimated that as many as one million people - more than 100,000 of them children younger than 14 years - were living with HIV. Nearly 1 million children have been orphaned by AIDS in the country.

FrontlineSMS is being used around the world in a wide range of social change projects, including:

• human rights and election monitoring;
• disaster relief coordination;
• natural resource management;
• emergency alerts and mobilising task forces;
• field data collection;
• conducting public surveys;
• health care info requests;
• agricultural price updates;
• organising protests;
• mobile education programmes;
• coordinating fundraising efforts; and
• providing weather updates.