Community Sector

World AIDS Day 2004

On World AIDS Day 2004, HIVAN’s networking team hosted a Launch a Project Alliance (LAPA) Event in partnership with IMBEWU Development Trust. The event afforded opportunities to participants on the Sectoral HIV/AIDS Partnerships for Excellence (SHAPE) series to present their “caring together for women and girls” project ideas, alliances, and training needs.

The event showcased the ideas of forty participants representing traditional healers, home based carers, child-headed households, HIV positive support groups and the gay and lesbian community. The event was preceded by intensive networking and information-sharing in the four month build-up to World AIDS Day. Six definite project ideas have emanated across teams. Targeting areas KwaMashu and Umlazi respectively, group leaders Bongani Mchunu and Sibongile Mbhele envisage the establishment of two holistic drop-in centers offering HIV information, counseling, testing, support, home based care and facilitating access to social grants.

A group from Cato Manor, who are running a soup kitchen for needy households, proposed an establishment of a children’s day care centre. The day care centre will target orphan and vulnerable children from Cato Manor, but will also accept other children who need the service in the area. Cwebile Mahlinza did the presentation on behalf of the group.
Another project idea, which was presented by Thanda, who is running a support group for people living with HIV, was that of providing HIV/AIDS education through Drama. The project will target people who visit local clinics and VCT sites as well.

Traditional healers, who represent different communities under the auspices of Ethekwini Traditional Healers Association, envisage establishing themselves as an organization, which will offer VCT and home based care. They will partner with a retired nurse in order to offer a comprehensive VCT service.

The Imbewu Development Trust who were partners in hosting the SHAPE series envisage a project that will deal with xenophobia in the context of illegal immigrants and sex work in a high transmission area. They will partner with HIVAN and CAPRISA in an attempt to build capacity and experience in the area of research.

Rural women form KwaXimba in Cato Ridge who have food gardens envisage a food security project for orphans in the area. They will distribute vegetables from their gardens to 10 identified households where there are orphan children.

The different groups identified training needs and choices, which will enable them to run these projects effectively in their communities. The overall training areas are:

• General HIV/AIDS information
• Counseling
• Home based care
• Social grants
• Nutrition
• Child care
• Office administration
• Acting
• Script writing
• Voice grooming
• PLACE Method

At the end of the day the each of the participants wrote brief evaluation of the SHAPE series as a whole. Participants came up with different stories which together briefly communicated their experience of SHAPE as an educational, exciting and encouraging one. One of the participants summarised her experience of SHAPE in the following poem:

Good morning SHAPE,

You are beautiful, a hero of the nation
You open when all's closed
A proud leopard
You, who removes the clouds from my eyes
And the fear from the sick person and his carer

SHAPE, we came here in fear
Without hope
Today we speak boldly, we are trusted
We no longer fear HIV/AIDS
We explain it all and provide all to help

Today we are amazed
Look, we sit with the gay and lesbian community
Involved in church
Raising awareness in sunday school

SHAPE, we look like we're rich in the community
But, we're the riches of heaven
The dying call us and they die in hope
Because of the love you have created, SHAPE

Look, we give our harvest from our gardens,
And our chickens from our chicken houses.
You are beautiful
SHAPE.

You’ve put us in touch with clinics and hospitals.
You have trained us.
You are the connection.
We can call you and make calls to all places
SHAPE, we can live with HIV because of you.

Keep traditional healers and ministers of gospel in one voice.
Keep orphans clothed and full.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

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