With the devastation resulting from AIDS, it may seem strange to talk about HIV Hope. After 25 years in HIV education throughout the world, Duane Crumb has concluded that there is great hope in this AIDS ravaged world. In fact, without focusing on hope, HIV education fails.

Motivation is the key to effective HIV education messages. Rather than fear, Crumb believes that HIV education must be built on positive motivation. That requires a foundation of hope. People need accurate information, and this book provides it. But, without motivation, the best information fails to produce the desired results. The other key to effective education, according to Crumb, is the understanding that effective motivation always comes from within each culture, not from the outside.

Thus, this book does not attempt to tell people how to motivate others in their culture to make healthy life-choices. Rather it helps readers consider important questions that will help them use their understanding of their culture to develop effective motivational messages. Along the way, insights are offered into approaches and attitudes that will either increase the effectiveness or weaken the impact of HIV education.

You and others like you know your culture. You know the barriers that exist that keep people from making healthy life-choices. You know the techniques and styles that work in your setting. By combining your understanding of the people in your area of the world with your compassion, your creativity, and the information found in these pages, you will be empowered to impact the future of the HIV pandemic in your community and nation.

Written by Duane Crumb, 2010, 224 pages, 5.5 x 8.5, paperback