The Apparel Lesotho Alliance to Fight AIDS (ALAFA) has launched a new initiative to overcome language barriers and reach Mandarin speakers working in the Lesotho apparel industry to inform them about HIV and AIDS.
The Lesotho apparel industry provides work for around 42 000 mainly Basotho workers in more than 40 factories. The majority of the factories are owned by Southeast Asian entrepreneurs, mainly from Taiwan.  However, these factories also employ migrant workers from Asia, mainly as line supervisors and in production management.
Many of these expatriates are recruited from mainland China and have little knowledge of HIV and AIDS. They also do not speak English and this has limited their participation in the different aspects of the ALAFA programme, which uses English and Sesotho.
ALAFA estimates that there are around 1 000 Mandarin speakers in the industry. These migrant workers, who spend at least two to three years in Lesotho, are vulnerable to HIV as they are mostly separated from their partners.
They are also key to implementing the programme in the factories as they are often the first point of contact for workers who want to use ALAFIA services such as HIV testing or medical attention at the factory clinics.
To increase awareness of HIV and the legal requirements around dealing with HIV at the workplace, ALAFA has developed training materials and a peer education curriculum in Mandarin. The material also takes into account cultural differences. The aim is to promote safe sexual practices among expatriate workers, as well as decreasing discrimination in the workplace. This will make implementing the various components of ALAFA, including prevention programmes, VTC (voluntary testing and counselling) and treatment, more effective in the factories.
A training manual and materials have been completed and four local Mandarin speakers have been trained as trainers for supervisor trainings and factory-based peer educators. Training of supervisors started in October, with more than 300 Chinese employees already trained. Peer educator training is scheduled to start in November, with the aim of providing ongoing information in the factory dormitories.
The training has also sparked interest with some Chinese construction companies working in Lesotho, and is being supported by the Chinese Embassy.

Levi Strauss & Co. is sponsoring the programme.