Every person in Katete is either infected by or affected by HIV/Aids and every activity Tikondane does mitigates the effects of that disease

The next chapter in AIDS education takes into account gender relations. Here, there is an absolute taboo on discussions about sex. In the local language () "I love you"  cannot be direct translated and men can be found saying to local prostitutes that they are now their wives for a night. Every man who believes himself to have status has a wife and at least one girlfriend, and having a girlfriend means having at least one child together. If  after church a boy asks a girl whether she will accompany him that evening, that is simply an invitation for sex and young girls and women are not supposed to say no. For instance, for the married woman it is very hard to refuse her husband or make him use a condom, when he comes home after a night out with his male friends, which generally includes sex with another woman. It is also very difficult to convince older women to persuade their husbands to speak to their young sons about the need to use protection during sex. In fact, some believe that the disease is spread by the Muzungus (Swahili for 'white man' used throughout Southern Africa) themselves who never stop talking about HIV/AIDS or condom use, even in front of children.

The next step is to discuss safer sex practices. In fact, this is when all STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) are again highlighted as a portal to HIV/AIDS infection, as well as such local traditions as men preferring dry sex (the absence of lubrication). It is this type of topic that needs to be addressed. Western notions of foreplay especially in the form of candlelight dinners or romantic gifts are rather unknown in Katete, as well as such practices as the payment of alimony to divorced wives. Having a child is the way to gain status. For instance, after giving birth the mother is no longer called by her first name, but is now referred to as "the mother of...". Barrenness is the worst thing that can befall a woman in Katete, and in local hospitals gynaecologists have their hands full with women who complain of only having one or two children and feeling inadequate. Proper women do not have caesareans, which is one cause of the extremely high infant and maternity mortality rate. Almost half of the population is stunted; such women have very narrow hips for a child to fit through, while, those girls who have their first child at around 18 years of age, before they are fully grown, have equally small birth canals. There is a paradox here for HIV/AIDS teachers who advocate no sex before marriage, when traditionally women were married by the time they reached puberty. These are but a few reasons why HIV/AIDS is especially prevalent amongst the women of Africa. The greatest risk of becoming infected with HIV/AID is to get married, which makes the stigma attached to this disease absolutely ludicrous. At Tikondane the previous manager, Zee, could not make herself accept counselling and testing for HIV/AIDS, although it was patently obvious that she was in the later stages of the disease and even though she had two close friends who were doctors. Even she, as a mature and educated woman, could not bring herself to tell people here that, like everybody else, she had simply been sexually active. If she could have spoken she could have begun taking advantage of the free ARV (Anti-Retro-Viral) drugs available. There is still a fear that these drugs may not be available at some point in the future, another fear is that people may be breeding a multi-resistant strain of HIV/AIDS, because of their somewhat more flexible schedules due to the simple fact that few people in Katete have clocks or wristwatches.

At this stage it is time to prepare people for growing extra food, because even somebody who is only HIV positive needs 10% more food than a healthy person and those on ARVs require substantially more food, plus vitamin supplements. This is why Tikondane believes that starting irrigated gardens where possible is an important step. These gardens should be more diverse in their production, namely growing soya beans. These are extremely high in protein and are nitrogen-fixing, which is an advantage to the impoverished soils in Katete, which have been over farmed. African soils have suffered from erosion over millions of years, being exposed to damaging severe heat and heavy rains. It is very difficult for people who still live in the Middle Ages, and have always believed in one sole truth difficult to change their mind set. For instance, sorghum is drought resistant, but it has to be protected from the birds. This means that people must now not only adjust to eating sorghum instead of maize, but also go the extra mile in protecting the crop from birds, something that is not required when maize is grown. There is a feeling that birds should have access to food just as we do. It was also incredibly difficult to convince the Tiko crew that father rabbit had to be separated from mother rabbit after babies were born, as the father could have eaten the offspring. It was considered strange to separate sexual partners even in the animal world.

Ideally, a course would contain basic microbiology, to combat the widespread belief that witchcraft causes disease. During such a course it was very rewarding to teach people, mainly from the villages, and mainly illiterate, that there were at least four types of micro-organisms which they all knew very well (i.e. Human Immune Virus, Bacteria Causing Diarrhoea, Fungus Causing Ringworm and the more sophisticated entity causing Malaria). Even the notion that different micro-organisms (germs) cause specific infections was news. It was amazing to see villagers so engrossed in the science of health. It is clear that they now have a better understanding of why it is necessary to keep HIV patients clean, to take the trouble of keeping water clean and to use a pit latrine for sanitation. Around 1850, these notions became generally accepted in Europe and brought about a dramatic improvement in the health of the population. Tiko is applying for funding to organize more workshops of this kind. Westerners take for granted the knowledge they gain regarding health so early in life and Tikondane's HIV/AIDS education programme looks to break down the cultural borders between people and information.