Life 101, a print serial drama produced by the AIDS Resource Center, published its final episode on July 2012. As part of AIDS Resource Center’s modeling and Reinforcement to Combat HIV (MARCH) project, Life 101 is a behavior change communication that supports HIV prevention, treatment and positive living among Addis Ababa University students. It’s a photo comic book that revolves around the lives of five fictional university students as they go through the various experiences of campus life exploring relationships, sexuality, education etc.
The photo comic serial that has gained popularity among Addis Ababa University (AAU) students over the years targets AAU students and is distributed to all the 15 campuses under the AAU system with a print circulation of 12,000 per episode. It’s also read among high school students who find the publications through friends.
This innovative and fun publication addresses relevant issues in an entertaining manner and seeks to promote safer sexual behaviors and respect for others, enable students to make informed and responsible decisions about sex and relationships, achieve long term and lasting relationships and the ability to live productively while dealing with the challenges of living with HIV.
Its convincing characters and story-line, expressive photos and presentations articulated through common university vernacular make the comic book series captivating and appealing to the youth. These series of gripping and emotional episodes were developed in collaboration with university students sharing their experiences in the initial design process; the stories depicted on Life 101 although fictional are based on students’ real-life encounters and experiences.
MARCH, the project that produces Life 101, follows-up the prints through trainings that seek to reinforce the behavior change communication endeavors. Students are trained on a variety of topics and required to organize events in the campuses promoting Life 101 in order to create forums for discussion and underline the messages embedded in the stories.
 Life 101, The Journey - Episode 01 (3.51 MB)  |
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