Youths of four organizations played the game in small groups. Attention was paid not only to the rules of the games, but also to the educational element of the pictures on the cards. Mastering the game system appeared not to be so simple: it was a challenge for the participants to remember the cards and analyze strategies.

To put the new found teaching skills into practice, a grammar school in Moshi was visited where the trainees played the LOVE.check game with children from the sixth grade. The game was received with great enthusiasm. Even while the class had many children and there were few games, the pleasure was quite evident. As soon as the kids understood the LOVE.check rules, great effort was made to gather as many cards as possible. Every match was welcomed with lots of clapping and shouting for joy.

Very interesting discussions started, based on the pictures. For instance, many children were of the opinion that condoms were unsafe. Testing them with water and pepper has proven that they are porous, according to the students.

This opinion is shared by many in Moshi. The use of condoms is therefore difficult to put into discussion and is not an option for most. That's why sexual abstaining until marriage is strongly stressed, also faithfulness to one' s partner. And exactly these two forms of prevention are very difficult to put into practice. Research shows that one quarter of the children in the highest classes is already sexually active. Besides, poverty sometimes forces girls to offer their bodies for monetary gain.

With the help of LOVE.check and other interactive teaching methods the youth organizations in Moshi review the daily realities with the children and teach them the skills to stay HIV-free.

Adimka Uzozi

Medical student David Pols and some of his friends came to Tanzania to help building an orphanage. Additionally they supplied information on HIV/AIDS by utilizing the LOVE.check game. In spite of the fact that the game was intended for Zambia it slotted perfectly with the Tanzanian culture, according to Pols. First the children received basic knowledge on the human body and then about HIV/AIDS.The difference between fact and fiction turned out to be wafer-thin during these lessons.There is a great lack of the right information. The Dutch and their Tanzanian colleagues played the game utilizing their new insights and then included a group of children 10 years and older. The Tanzanians translated. The game was played with great enthusiasm. Many questions and remarks based on the game's pictures were of an impressive high degree of perception, according to the translators. It seems that a great deal of information was retained by the children who now are convinced they can explain the gist better to their friends.

Condoms were a sensitive subject because of religion and their use was discussed at length. The story goes that the village owned only two condoms that were washed and shared by the villagers. Also that condoms were used as shopping bags. Condoms were perceived to be unreliable and expensive, because the condoms were often damaged because the packages were opened with a razor blade. Therefore they did not truly understand why we Westerners value their use. They also think that mosquitoes transmit the HIV/AIDS virus. And was it safe to go to the hairdresser? After all, he uses those razor blades too, etc.