Taking the action forward : Reflections from the ground
by Tanja Arntz, Co-ordinator, Campus HIV/AIDS Support
Unit
As the Co-ordinator of the Campus HIV/AIDS Support
Unit at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, I work directly with
student organisations from the Durban campus on creating
student awareness around HIV/AIDS. Our main aim is to
encourage students to translate what they know into
a change in behaviour, and so to reduce their vulnerability
to HIV and AIDS. We offer students resources that will
assist them in deepening their knowledge, both of themselves
and of the epidemic - and in realising that whatever
their race, financial status or cultural background,
they are all personally affected by HIV and AIDS.
As a university committed to finding dynamic responses
to the epidemic, we work to nurture graduates who are
able to engage in genuine dialogue around their sexuality
and the social issues that cut across HIV/AIDS –
its socio-economic impact, its epidemiology, the biological
nuts and bolts of transmission and the immune system,
stigma, caring for HIV-positive people, self-protection
and the like.
During Orientation Week this year, our focus has been
on welcoming new students to the University and introducing
them to our services and strategies. We were almost
overwhelmed by the intensity of the passion and the
range of activity generated by the Students’ Representative
Council (SRC) and student organisations’ Orientation
2003 programme. At a point when my colleagues have all
commented on how “burnt-out” they feel, how
little hope there seems to be in terms of progress in
the many-fronted struggle against HIV/AIDS, I can honestly
say that I feeling totally inspired after our Orientation
programme.
Our newly elected SRC is totally dedicated to HIV/AIDS
awareness, with a number of members having recently
pursued voluntary counselling and testing to get to
know their HIV status. The central theme of the 2003
Orientation Programme has been “NU United Against
HIV/AIDS” and the student body has been committed
to engaging in HIV-awareness in unique, novel and entertaining
ways. Some highlights included the performance of a
play produced and acted by the Drama department on our
Pietermaritzburg campus called “It’s not what
you say”, a dance programme performed by a group
called “Beyond Words”; there were also poetry
readings, residence committees performing plays, and
the Hip-Hop Association’s own composition which
was centred on abstinence and condom usage.
I have often felt that when I stand up to give a presentation
to students about HIV/AIDS, their eyes glaze over and
one can almost hear the collective sigh of “Been
there, done that – got the T-shirt and given it
away …” - yet the SRC programme was jam-packed
with fresh new ideas to challenge this apathy.
“It's not what you say” was developed through
a process of workshopping with students about their
day-to-day worries and experiences around HIV/AIDS.
The actors depicted different scenarios of personal
experiences of HIV: to mention a few, the pressure of
religious beliefs as against the pressure of partners
whose physical urges prove very persuasive; a gay student
who had been raped having to tell his partner that he
had been infected with HIV; a couple in a two-year long
relationship facing the discovery that she was HIV-positive.
Other highlights in this programme included the performance
of a short skit by the Tower Residence House Committee
which centred on a local chief trying to find a suitable
husband for his beautiful daughter. The first suitor
is a really trendy Hip-Hop guy, who promises the world
to her. The second is a real nerd who presents his proposal
to her along with condoms, saying that he believes in
protection for both of them - and the daughter chooses
him.
The Charlie’s Angels, a group of students from
Charles James residence, produced a play on Voluntary
Counselling and Testing and enacted a counselling session
to give students an idea of what the process involves.
Performers from His People’s Church gave a rap-performance,
challenging students to celebrate in abstinence. A group
calling themselves “Condom” sang songs about
how HIV/AIDS affects their lives, and the Hip-Hoppers
strutted and jammed their way through an appeal tostudents
to protect themselves against infection. One student
jumped onto the stage and read out his poem about abstinence…
The diversity of creative approaches to prevention
and the energy with which the students fuelled their
messages completely engaged the audience. As an AIDS
activist racking one’s brain for innovative methods
of HIV/AIDS messaging, my cup was running over! So yes,
although my daily workload often makes me feel overwhelmed
and disheartened, Orientation Week re-ignited my mind
and spirit, and I look forward to a year of unified
and committed action. We hope you will join us!
Tanja Arntz, Campus HIV/AIDS Support Unit Co-ordinator
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